Dawn Moss, owner of Celtic Ceilidh Dance Academy, wanted to help her dance students find the proper shoes, apparel and costumes for their classes and recitals. Finding high-quality products proved to be a tricky business, so Dawn decided to launch her own dance apparel store. In 2008, Celtic Encore opened its doors.
“There was nowhere available in Edmonton to buy these products,” Dawn says. “One man was selling shoes out of his apartment, and the rest would be bought online. For the practice tights and dance wear, this is not much of a problem; but it is for the shoes. So just like starting the dance academy, I saw the community needing something more. I went for it and haven’t looked back.”
Highland and Irish dancers, much like all dancers, are judged by form, agility and stamina, but special attention is paid to their footwork. “Their feet are more closely judged than anything else, so to have shoes that don’t work is to have the technique suffer,” Dawn explains.
