Tattoo a big thrill for Ella

ON WITH THE SHOW: Masterton teen Ella Phillips (bottom row, far left) and some of the New Zealand dancers in front of 'Edinburgh Castle' at Westpac Stadium.

Ella Phillips has gone from dancing the Highland Fling at her school's centenary, to dancing in front of thousands at Wellington's Westpac Stadium.

The Solway College student, who featured in Midweek on January 27, was one of the Highland dance troupe selected to perform at the 2016 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, held in Wellington last month.

Ella was the youngest and only dancer from Wairarapa selected for the line-up, which consisted of Highland dancers from all over New Zealand and Scotland.

When Midweek first met Ella, she was in the midst of practicing the steps sent from the UK, and was unnerved by the military-style rehearsal sessions.

Despite feeling "tired and sore" during practices, she said the prestigious event was a great experience.

"It was really thrilling, and overwhelming," Ella said.

"I was happy with how I danced, and I'd really like to do it again some day."

Having arrived in Wellington for rehearsals, Ella was selected as a reserve, and was told she'd be performing in only one of the major dance routines.

"But I still had be ready to step in, in case someone was sick or hurt themselves," she said.

"The dance I was in was the easiest to remember, and the one I was most confident doing."

She said the practices at the stadium, stretching from late morning until close to midnight, were not as bad as she thought.

"We were told they were going be all blood, sweat and tears, but it just felt like a regular dance class -- just 13 hours long.

"We didn't get many breaks, and I got tired and sore very quickly."

She did, however, cope better than some of the Scottish dancers, who, unused to the New Zealand sun, ended up with severe burns.

Ella said she was a bit nervous to appear in front of almost 35,000 people at the evening performances, but the crowds didn't feel like "a big deal" once she started dancing.

Keeping up with the live bagpipe music was a challenge, especially as the acoustics in the stadium causes sound to bounce back.

"When that happens, it's so hard to keep in time," she said.

"But it was fun -- I loved hearing the audience clap for us, and cheer when we came on."

Mum Jeni Phillips, who was in the audience with Ella's older sister Sam, said she was thrilled to watch her youngest child perform at such an esteemed event.

"It was a proud, proud moment. She worked so hard for it," she said.

Another proud moment for Ella was dancing at Solway College's 100th birthday celebrations.

She had spent several months teaching a group of students the steps and choreography for a Highland Fling, in keeping with the school's Scottish history.

"Some of them had never danced before in their lives -- but they did so well," Ella said.