A dance teacher managed a pregnant pause as she took to the stage to collect her PhD from Aberdeen University.
Pat Ballantyne, originally from the Highlands, but now based in Aberdeen, was joined by her husband and two daughters at Elphinstone Hall where she picked up her latest qualification in a chorus line of academic achievements.
Her daughters, Naomi Reid and Iona Ballantyne were both born while Mrs Ballantyne was studying for an MA in History of Art and Gaelic at the university and are now in their twenties.
But Mrs Ballantyne joked that, despite feeling overjoyed in the build-up to the graduation event, there was just one thing she was worried about.
She said: “I am delighted to be graduating before Naomi gives birth to my first grandchild – and I am hoping she manages to hang on to the end of the ceremony!”
Talking about her work, she discussed how her Stornoway roots had influenced her academic research.
As she explained: “I have been connected with Aberdeen University for much of my adult life. I compiled the University’s James Scott Skinner resource website which sparked off my interest in researching Scottish traditional dance and music further.
“I had been teaching Scottish percussive step dance for a number of years and I also had a Highland dancing teaching qualification when I decided to register for a part-time PhD with the University’s Elphinstone Institute in 2009.”
During her time at Aberdeen University, there have been no shortage of memorable moments.
Mrs Ballantyne said: “Through my research, I have been fortunate to meet some amazing characters from Highland dancers in their 20s to a nonagenarian in Nova Scotia, Canada.
“One of the most exciting moments was when I realised that the archives of Cosmo Mitchell, an Aberdeen dancing master in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was of significantly greater historical importance than anyone had previously thought.”
Following her graduation, she will be heading to Norway to go mountain-climbing with her younger daughter Iona.
