The Incredible Teachers Of The MidMichigan Highland Dance Academy. Christie Freestone, pictured here flanked by some of her students at the recent USIR competition in Mount Vernon, is the Director of the Mid-Michigan Highland Dance Academy where she heads a staff of nine Member and Associate teachers of Highland Dance. Over the past 35 years, her students have won over 100 championships throughout the world. She is a Member of the SDTA, a life-time Fellow Member of the BATD and a member of the SOBHD Judges? Panel. Christie is the founder and first president of the FUSTA organization. She has developed techniques for teaching young children to dance and has lectured internationally about her teaching methods. She has a Master of Arts Degree in Early Childhood Education and currently teaches kindergarten in Ithaca, Michigan as well as Highland Dance at Alma College. Judge Emma Trentman Emma Trentman pictured at Chicago Spring Fling where a celebration in her honor was held to commemorate her recent passing of the SOBHD Judge's exam.  Emma is the only dancer in North America to have passed the exam test this year.... GO GIRL!!!   Emma is originally from Maryland and has been attending classes at the MMHDA these last three years as she persued her studies at MSU.  She is getting married on Memorial Day weekend in Maryland and will then be moving with her husband to California for the summer.  Her plans then include a two year stay in Egypt where she will be working on her doctoral thesis before returning to Michigan to complete her doctorate.    Emma is the latest in a distinguished list that are the product of the Freestone school of judging and teaching. All of us at the studio congratulate her and wish her the best in the future. Emma Trentma Hannah Faustman, Alma Highland Festival queen. Hannah Faustman, pictured center as the 2005 Highland Festival Queen, with Katherine Crombie and Leda Starkweather, is a very popular and acomplished teacher.  Hannah has been a student of Christie's since she was a small child.  She has been the MidWest Highland Dance Champion in her age group multiple times.  Hannah has also placed in the top 4 dancers at the United States Inter-Regional Championship on numerous occasions.  Hannah has been teaching at the dance studio for several years. Kate DeGood Kate DeGood Has won 36 championships in USA, Canada, Scotland and Australia. She is a 5 time U.S. Champion. 2 time 1st runner up world champion. She is a graduate of Alma College and is currently studying medicine at Wayne State.  She passed her SOBHD Judges exam in 2007.   Trisha MacConnell originally hails from San Jose, California where she danced for twelve years at the San Jose School of Scottish Dancing under the direction of Norine Harmon. Since relocating to Alma in 2003 for college, Trisha has been both a dancer and teacher at the Mid-Michigan Highland Dance Academy. Trisha is a Sacramento Valley Open Champion, a three-time Western United States Open Champion and a five-time Western United States Regional Champion. Trisha has also been a Western Regional Representative to the United States Inter-Regional (USIR) Highland Dancing Championship ten times and has finished in the top six eight-times including second runner-up twice and first runner-up once. Currently, Trisha is the fourth runner-up in the adult class. Trisha is also a two-time World Junior Highland Dancing Championship finalist. Trisha has been an Associate member of the Scottish Dance Teacher's Alliance (SDTA) since 2002 and a Member of the British Association of Teache! rs of Dance (BATD) since 2004.  Trisha is a graduate of Alma College and is currently studying physical therapy at Duke University. If I could please get some pictures of the rest of the teachers along with some "copy" I will get them all in.