Over the past 40-plus years, Rae MacCulloch has found and developed talent that may otherwise never have been discovered.

The vast majority of Highland dancers from this area is directly attributable to her great talent as a teacher.

With her dedication and perseverance, all of her students have been greatly appreciated by people throughout Glengarry and by people much further afield - in fact on a world - wide basis.

They have entertained on the most prestigious stages in North America, Scotland, China and Puerto Rico.

MacCulloch was born in Montreal to parents Donald Archie Grant and Josephine St Jacques, both of whom were from the Alexandria area. In the Grant family, there were three great athletes - Joe, who is inducted in the Glengarry Sports Hall of Fame, Alex, one of Glengarry’s all-time great athletes and Donald Archie, a member of Alexandria’s Ottawa District hockey champions in 1913.

Instead of following the athletic family tradition, MacCulloch and her three sisters became interested in dancing, with Rae specializing in tap and concert dancing.

Eventually, Highland dancing became more important and with diligent practice MacCulloch mastered the intricate steps and became interested in teaching these ancient traditions to a younger generation.

Later, Rae became Mrs. Alex MacCulloch and her new Glengarry residence widened her field of opportunity in teaching the art of dancing.

A Montrealer by birth with Glengarry parentage, MacCulloch was the first to accept the challenge of restoring Glengarry credibility as the home of future Highland dancers.

Her first classes began in 1955 with her dance studio in the kitchen of her sister Sybil Cameron’s Glen Roy home.

She traveled to Bonville, St. Andrew’s, Martintown, Avonmore and Vankleek Hill for classes. Later, classes were held in the Alexander Hall in Alexandria.

MacCulloch teamed up with Father John McPhail of St. Finnan’s to provide dance numbers for his St. Andrew’s concert.

From there, Ron Clare and his band were instrumental in providing MacCulloch with opportunities for her students to entertain with the growing popularity of tap and other stage dances as well as Highland traditions.

At the Glengarry Highland Games, the MacCulloch dancers began the custom of presenting the massed Highland fling in a circle around the infield, a pattern that has been adopted by most games in Canada and the U.S.

In 1972, the MacCulloch Dancers took their first major trip when they toured Scotland with the Glengarry Pipe Band. Bookings also came from CFCF-TV in Montreal, CJOH in Ottawa, CBC in Halifax and the John Allan Cameron show.

On New Years Day of 1976, Glengarry dancers were parading the streets of Pasadena, California in the Rose Bowl Parade. Two days later, they were performing at Disneyland. An appearance in Union Square, Los Angeles as part of bicentennial celebrations followed.

In October, the dance troupe also appeared at bicentennial celebrations in Philadelphia and Washington.

Thus began the first of successive trips abroad in the next 20 years.

Meanwhile, Rae and Alex were raising a family - Heather, Gregory, Jamie, Deborah and Lindsay.

Rae continued to forward as she mulled over the thought of staging a concert at the National Arts Center in Ottawa.

She was backed by the pipe band executive and the Brigadoons when approached the Glengarry Club of Ottawa for support.

Thus the first concert put on by local amateurs was staged in the prestigious Opera House of the National Arts Center (NAC) in October 1976 to a capacity crowd.

The show was so successful, eight more performances followed at the NAC. The shows continued every second year at the Centerpoint Theater from 1989 to 1995 with the MacCulloch Dancers entertaining at each one.

MacCulloch and her dancers have traveled to Disney World in Florida many times along with the Brigadoons to entertain during the March break.

Each January, to celebrate the birth date of Robbie Burns, MacCulloch gracefully fills the role of hostess, entertaining with dinner music, song and dance at the Bonnie Glen.

Today, MacCulloch still maintains a dance studio in her home, now run with the assistance of her daughters Heather and Deborah. Thus the MacCulloch Dancers continue to be a family affair.