A north Highland dance school will soon be wearing a newly designed tartan.
The Tanya Horne School of Highland Dancing has been working with a tartan specialist to design its dance wear bringing together the official Caithness Tartan and the colours associated with the school.
Owner, Tanya Fryer, who has been dancing since the age of three, said the commissioning of the tartan will play a part in defining how important every member of her 70-strong dance school are.
Mrs Fryer explains: “Not everyone in the dance school has a full Highland outfit, and for me that means that not everyone has the opportunity to be included.
“So I worked with Brian Winton from Crieff who helped me design a tartan that kept the traditional colours of Caithness, as designed by Trudy Mann from Wick, alongside the colours of the dance school.
“The plan is that every member of the dance school will be able to have an affordable part of costume.
“We will always have the traditional Highland Dance outfit, but we will also have shorts, t-shirts, skirts and dresses that will be made up using the tartan pattern.
“The girls are very excited about the tartan and are planning to have window blinds in the dance school building made up in it as well.
“Anyone who has seen the dance school perform will know that we merge very traditional dance steps with modern music, or tunes specially written for us.
“My aim, is not that all the girls will be able to wear a bit of the tartan and that we will be members of a team that work together.
“I want the girls to get older and look back and not regret a single moment of all the time and energy that is involved in being part of a dance school.
“We don’t have many boys who are part of the dance school, but we would love it if more people came forward to take part.
“I have just started a boys group, and two boys are coming along regularly, I am hoping that more youngsters will join them over the coming weeks and months.”
