Alumni Spotlight | Chloe Scott

CHLOE SCOTT Class of 2009 Interviewed by Michelle Noble | October 2017

C

hloe had been patiently waiting all spring long when the letter she’d been hoping for arrived - she

had been chosen to be a part of the International Highland Dance Team 2017! This huge accomplishment meant she would be travelling to Russia in August to dance at the annual Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival in Moscow’s Red Square. Chloe’s passion for dance found its way back into her life after graduating from Mulgrave, and she has learned to eloquently balance this passion with her academic career. In this week’s Alumni Spotlight, Chloe shares her experience and relays what it was like working at Mulgrave and building an Alumni Relations programme for the school.

ABOVE: Chloe with the International Scottish Highland Dance Team in the Grand Kremlin Palace.

You have recently returned from

European Union Celtic Pipes and

in October 2016, and I worked

performing at one of the most

Drums.

with my teacher to ensure I was

vibrant and memorable festivals in the world with the International Scottish Highland Dance Team.

Can you tell us a little bit about this festival and what it was like performing in the Kremlin?

The show ran for 10 nights, and I had butterflies in my stomach every night as we skipped onto the square towards St. Basil’s Cathedral, accompanied by the European Union Celtic Pipes and Drums mass band.

The Spasskaya Tower International

We also had the opportunity to

Military Music Festival (Kremlin

perform on three national television

Military Tattoo) is held annually in

spots, march in a parade, and have a

Moscow’s Red Square. This year, the

private tour and photoshoot at the

festival celebrated its 10th year, and

Grand Kremlin Palace.

included over 2000 cast members from around the world. Performance groups included military bands from eight different countries, including Egypt, Italy, Belarus, Yerevan Drums (all-female drum line) from Armenia, Top Secret Drum Corps from Switzerland, Taoist Monks, and the

as prepared as possible. With it being an international call, we were required to submit audition tapes online, showcasing dances the Dance Director had set. I filmed and submitted my audition tape in January, crossing my fingers that the work I had put into the process would pay off. In March, I received an email that read “You’ve been chosen to be a part of the International Highland Dance

That sounds like an incredible

Team 2017! Congratulations!” I was

experience! The team you danced

ecstatic to have been selected to

with in Russia was put together

join the team, comprised of 48

specially for the show. What was the

dancers from Canada, USA, the

audition process like and how were

UK, the Netherlands, New Zealand,

you selected to perform?

Australia, South Africa, and Russia.

We travelled as invited guests of the

The call out for auditions came

Russian government to Moscow in

Highland Dance Team is my biggest accomplishment as a dancer, while a close second would be dancing on the Vancouver School of Highland Dance Choreography team and tying for 2nd place at the Canadian Championship Series in Winnipeg in 2016.

Has your dancing career enabled you to travel?

Highland Dancing has enabled me to travel both nationally and internationally. Moscow and Halifax, where I danced on the Irish and Highland Dance Team in the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, are highlights. As a competitor, I have regularly travelled to cities across BC, Alberta, and Western Washington.

What is the difference between Scottish Highland Dancing and Irish Dancing?

This is a question both Irish Dancers ABOVE: Chloe competing at the Championship Series in Winnipeg in 2016.

and Highland Dancers get asked a lot! Both are complex step dances.

August to rehearse as a team for

in Moscow and began six-hour long

In Highland Dance, we use arm

the first time, just four days before

rehearsals, as I felt strong and ready

positions similar to that which you

opening night.

to give it my all.

would see in ballet, whereas Irish

Once selected, what did you have to

What would you say is your biggest

do to prepare for the show?

accomplishment in your dancing

Shortly after submitting my audition

career?

tape, I had an old injury flare up, and

While my main focus is my

I wasn’t certain I’d be able to dance.

professional career, Highland

I spent a lot of time in physio and

Dance is a fun and unique hobby

yoga and worked hard to maintain a

that has led to many opportunities

high level of fitness without risking

I’ve been able to take advantage of

further injury or inducing pain. The

over the past nine years. Dancing

care I took paid off when I arrived

on the International Scottish

dancers keep their arms stiff to their sides. Highland Dance is traditionally accompanied by bagpipes, and is rooted in military history. Many people differentiate Highland Dance as ‘the one where you dance over swords’!

Though you danced a lot as child, you shifted your focus from dance to your academic studies during your

senior years at Mulgrave. What re-

studies, make new friends, and keep

programme. Why was this

ignited that spark once you were in

active. During my first semester,

something you were interested in

university?

Highland Dance was being offered

pursuing?

My sisters and I danced competitively while in elementary school. When I came to Mulgrave in Middle School, I continued to dance recreationally, but my parents really encouraged me to explore all the new opportunities available to students at Mulgrave. I am grateful that they did, as I have such fond memories of performing in school musicals, participating in service learning and outdoor education

through the student rec centre. I loved being back in class so much that I made the decision to return to competition. I have since had the privilege of training with a wonderful team of dancers at the Vancouver School of Highland Dance (VSHD). I’ve found good company in my fellow dancers; there are many dancers who have continued dancing through their twenties and thirties for reasons similar to mine.

Mulgrave School holds a very special place in my heart, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to return to Mulgrave and be part of the creation of a programme I see immense value in. I had spoken with graduates of other private and IB schools, where Alumni Relations programmes thrive based on a long school history.

Being a young school, I saw (and continue to see) an Alumni Relations programme as beneficial to both

trips, and developing leadership

After studying at SFU in

alumni and the school as our school

skills as a Service Action Council

Communications and English

community continues to grow and

member and Prefect.

Literature, you took on the position

evolve. By providing a platform to

of Alumni Relations Coordinator

create and sustain relationships

and spearheaded the establishment

beyond graduation, I think there is

of Mulgrave’s first Alumni Relations

amazing potential in the networking

At Simon Fraser University, I was seeking a way to balance my

ABOVE: Chloe at the Alumni Winter Social with her classmates, in 2016.

CHLOE SCOTT

programme, or learn about a career they are interested in pursuing!

I see the Alumni Spotlights as an opportunity to bridge the current Mulgrave community with the alumni community.

What do you do in your current role for the Sea to Sky School District?

Currently, I work at the Sea to Sky School District, which stretches from Furry Creek to D’Arcy, BC. I serve as both the Executive Assistant to the Superintendent of Schools and the Communications Officer. My roles are challenging and dynamic, and, similar to my role at Mulgrave, they provide me the opportunity to foster positive connections among internal and external stakeholders.

One of the highlights of my role is producing a bi-monthly column in the Whistler Question newspaper.

Topics on which I have written include BC’s new curriculum, specialised programming including an Environmental Stewardship course, and initiatives put forth by the school district’s Aboriginal Leadership student group.

ABOVE: Backpacking in Pemberton Valley with Brandon Pao, Ashley Peet and Nima Jelveh (Class of 2009).

Favourite Mulgrave moment?

ZoomFest was something I looked

and mentorship opportunities

enjoyed connecting, and in some

forward to every year - arguably

that can be established through an

cases, reconnecting, with former

more than any holiday break!

Alumni community.

students and learning about their

Completing the Juan de Fuca trail

university experiences, chosen

as part of the Duke of Edinburgh

career paths, and adventures. I

programme is also a cherished

believe that through recognition

memory and an experience that I

Coincidentally, my favourite part of

of alumni, current students might

attribute my love of backpacking to.

my role at Mulgrave was working

be inspired to try something new,

with alumni on the Spotlight Series. I

apply to a certain university or

What was your favourite part of your role at Mulgrave?

Chloe Scott, 2017