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Adrian teenager Noel Nelson selected to perform in Scottish dancing tattoo

Mary Lowe, The Daily Telegram
·3 min read
Noel Nelson, 16, of Adrian is pictured wearing the costume for specific Highland dances while competing at a park in Madison, Wisconsin. Not everyone wears the same costume. There are many different colors and tartan patterns for the kilts. The kilts and socks are made out of wool, which makes it even more difficult to dance in because they’re heavy and hot, especially outside in the summer.

ADRIAN — She’s driven, she’s committed, she’s a good student, she’s an all-around good person. And 16-year-old Noel Nelson of Adrian has stepped up to the next level with her Scottish Highland dancing.

Nelson was recently chosen to be a member of the Virginia International Dance Team, which will be performing at a tattoo, a Scottish military and cultural celebration in Norfolk, Virginia, in April.

The dancers have to be in Norfolk April 23 and practice through April 28. The performances will take place April 28 through May 1.

It was not an easy task to be chosen for the team. It is usually open only to women ages 18 and up, but this year organizers opened the competition up to 16-year-old girls. The competition drew in women and girls from around the globe.

Noel Nelson is pictured dancing the Scottish-Irish Jig. This costume is specific to this dance. There are many different variations of this costume that other dancers can wear. Boys will wear green or red pants instead of the skirt. There are different variations of the story for this dance, but one of the most known is about a washer women who becomes angry at kids who are messing around with the clean clothes she is trying to hang to dry. Nelson is trying to act angry in this dance to represent the washer women. In this picture, Nelson's hand is in a fist getting ready to perform a punching movement. This competition was in Jacksonville, Florida.

“I’m really excited. It was stressful auditioning for it because it was kind of last minute when they extended the age time. … So it was stressful getting the videos done and sent in. And then I’m excited to be there, but I’m also kind of nervous because they’re going to be older and it’s in Virginia and I don’t know a lot of dancers around that area,” Nelson said. “But I’m hoping some from around Michigan are going to be in there too. But I’m excited to meet more people, and it’s an international dance team so people from Europe and Australia could be coming over too.”

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Scottish Highland dance is the only type of dance Nelson does and she’s been at it seriously since she was 4 years old. In fact, she’s been competing since she was 5 years old.

Noel Nelson is pictured wearing the costume for the national dances. Like the Highland costume, there are many different colors and tartan patterns that other dancers can wear; boys wear pants instead of a skirt. This competition was in Madison, Wisconsin.
Noel Nelson is pictured wearing the costume for the national dances. Like the Highland costume, there are many different colors and tartan patterns that other dancers can wear; boys wear pants instead of a skirt. This competition was in Madison, Wisconsin.

She typically practices an hour and a half a day and does an hour-long lesson by video with her dance teacher each week, this while being involved in cross-country, basketball and track as well as carrying a heavy academic load at Adrian High School.

She is in Adrian’s International Baccalaureate program and has three IB classes. IB classes are similar to Advanced Placement classes in that the students test to earn college credit at the end of the year. The other advantage to the classes is that students are graded on a 5-point scale, so they can boost their grade point averages.

Some people compare Scottish Highland dancing to Irish dancing, but it is different. In each dance a story is developed. A choreographer will be putting together the routine for Nelson's dance team soon.

Noel Nelson is pictured wearing her Highland costume while performing the sword dance. Dancers do different steps and movements around the sword. Every dance has a story to it. For the sword dance, Scottish soldiers would dance around their swords before battle. If they touched the sword, it meant the battle would not go well for them. In competition, if a dancer touches the sword they are disqualified from the dance. This competition was in Wisconsin.

Nelson became interested in Scottish Highland dance while watching teams perform at tattoos in Alma, which is also known as “Scotland USA.” Both of her parents are from Alma and have a lot of Scottish in their blood. Nelson’s mom used to perform in the dances when she was growing up.

Chris Nelson, Noel’s father, said it was not something they pushed on her. It was something she said she wanted to do at a very early age. Now it’s just part of the family structure. They travel from place to place for competitions and meet people from around the world. Chris is very proud of Noel for trying it and even he was a little surprised that she made the team with all the competition.

Noel Nelson of Adrian is pictured dancing the Hornpipe. She is wearing a costume representing a sailor. All dancers wear either this costume or a white one while doing this dance. The Hornpipe is about a sailor on a boat. There are many steps and movements representing work on a boat. In this picture, Nelson's arm is in the air with her hand open, getting ready to come back down. This represents pulling ropes down from the sails. This competition was in Jacksonville, Florida.

Noel is the oldest in the family. She has a younger brother who plays hockey.

“She’s a very driven girl. She’s my first. She’s got a younger brother, so she has that older sister mentality. So she’s just very driven, very committed, just an all-around good student, good human,” Chris said.

Noel said that she wants to pursue a degree in marketing at a college within Michigan after she graduates. She plans to continue her dancing. A possible choice for her, she said, would be Alma College, home of the Scots. The school also has a Scotland Highland dance team.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Adrian teenager selected to perform in Scottish dancing 'tattoo'