About Our Team

Kathleen Higgins BA, Assoc. SDTA

Kathleen has been dancing for 25 years, starting Irish dance at 16 before adding Highland at Highland at Heart School of Dance to strengthen her technique and fell in love with it along the way.

She has competed and performed across Canada and internationally, including Cuba, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. In 2008, she represented Team Nova Scotia at the Canadian Championships in Victoria, BC. Competitive highlights include 4th and 5th Runner Up at the Nova Scotia Closed Provincial Championships and 1st Runner Up at the Atlantic Canadian Open Championships. In 2018, she had the incredible honour of travelling to Scotland with her own dancers to perform for Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II.

Kathleen returned to Irish dance competition in 2020 and competed at the Prizewinner level. She holds her Grade 5 with An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha.

In 2009, Kathleen earned her Associate certification with the Scottish Dance Teachers’ Alliance and opened Higgins School of Highland Dance the same year. She has been teaching in Dartmouth ever since and is passionate about creating welcoming, high-quality training spaces for dancers of all ages, especially adults.

Kathleen holds a Bachelor of Arts in Irish Studies from Saint Mary’s University and works there as Assistant Manager of the Campus Store. Outside the studio, she and her husband Sean share their home with their Galgo, Campero, and their bearded dragon, Orlaith and in 2024, they joined the Halifax Mussels' adult learn-to-play hockey program, further fueling her belief that it’s never too late to try something new.

Genna Dauphinee BSc, Assoc. SDTA

Genna has been dancing with HSHD since 2022 and graduated from Dalhousie University with a BSc in Therapeutic Recreation. Genna specializes in learning how to adapt recreation programming to suit the needs of individuals who have impairments or live with disabilities. Working for 2.5 years at a nonprofit which offers afterschool programming for kids with ASD, ADHD, and other cognitive impairments, Genna learned how to adapt programming to make it universally accessible in a group. While completing her internship at the IWK hospital in the kids physical and cognitive rehabilitation centre; Genna created, implemented, and evaluated an evidence based fundamental movement skills program specialized for children with ASD.

Amongst her other classes, Genna leads HSHD's Adaptive Highland class with the goal to promote development of fundamental movement skills, engage in dance, and have fun!

Simone Trim-MacDonald

Simone has been dancing with HSHD since 2015 and competes at the Premier level. She has built an impressive competitive record over the years, including competing at the Nova Scotia Closed Highland Dance Championships.

In addition to competing, Simone has performed with HSHD on numerous occasions, most notably travelling to Scotland in 2018 to perform for Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle.

Simone has been assistant teaching for several years and is a valued member of our instructional team. She looks forward to pursuing her Associate certification and continuing to grow as both a dancer and educator.

Outside the studio, Simone is an avid equestrian and competes as a member of the Saint Mary’s University equestrian team.