SDTOFVA Director
Although Scottish Dance Theatre of Virginia's Director, Eleanor M. Unger, started her dance career as a four year old tap dancer in Scotland, she was destined to become a Champion Highland Dancer in New Zealand, where she was taught by fellow Scot, the legendary Ina Bruce Chisholm. After a highly successful competitive career, she continued her Scottish heritage by teaching and judging Highland Dancing prior to moving to Virginia Beach. She is a Life Member of the British Association of Teachers of Dancing (BATD) and is an Adjudicator for the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing. Eleanor has taught hundreds of Hampton Roads Highland Dancers for over 30 years, training some to reach the highest levels of competition in the U.S. Championship finals and to be certified as Highland Dance teachers.
In addition to directing Scottish Dance Theatre of Virginia, Eleanor is dance director/choreographer for the Virginia International Tattoo. Prior to meeting these challenges, she was director of the Virginia Beach Highlanders. Eleanor has contributed to the dance community by serving of boards in various capacities over the years. She has held the offices of President and Secretary in the Southeastern United States Highland Dance Association (SEUSHDA) - Vice President of the Federation of United States Teachers and Adjudicators (FUSTA) and chaired the Judges Committee for the Southern Region of that organization.
Locally, Eleanor was one of the five founders of the Tidewater Scottish Festival, Inc., which for over 20 years produced an annual Highland Games. She served on its Board of Directors as Vice President and President. Other community activities have included Arts Chair of Global Cultures and a past President of the Multicultural Alliance of Virginia.
Eleanor feels there are three avenues of her art that she pursues with equal vigor: 1) Training the competitive dancer for Highland Games but realizing that not everyone can be a champion, hence recognizing the importance of; 2) Performance and Creativity - Producing choreographed works for performing dancers of all abilities; and 3) Teacher Training - The importance of passing down one's art, talent and knowledge with nothing held back to dancers who have the ability to do the same thing for future generations of Scottish dancers.
SDTOFVA@aol.com (757) 481-2165