Teacher Profiles

Principal Teacher -
Lisa Barker

Dancing Qualifications:
SOBHD Adjudicator
UKA Fellow
UKA Members Highland
UKA Members National
NDA Elementary Teachers Certificate
NDA Intermediate Teachers Certificate

Other Qualifications:
Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) with Honours
Certificate IV in Business (Front-line Management)

Lisa Barker was the winner of 50 State and National Championships during her 20 year competitive dancing career which spanned from 1985 to 2005. Lisa’s competitive achievements include the Australian Champion of Champions and the Grand Australasian elite titles in Australia.

Lisa has danced before Queen Elizabeth II by invitation at the Braemar Games and has danced throughout Australia in numerous performance capabilities. She is currently a lead dancer with Australia’s premier Highland Dancing performance group OzScot Australia, and has performed for the Sultan of Oman at the Oman National Day celebrations, and at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Scotland. She was a member of the OzScot’s professional Beltaine Collective which performed ‘Needfire’ in conjunction with the Performing Arts Development Program.

Since completing her competitive dancing career, Lisa has obtained professional teaching qualifications with UKA and NDA and successfully passed the examination to be a SOBHD Adjudicator. She is the Vice-President of the South Australian State Committee of Highland Dancing, and was a part of the founding group when YSA was started in 2007 to support the young teachers and adjudicators for a successful, progressive future for Highland Dancing.

Lisa created the Ardlair School of Dancing in 2003, and her continuing focus is to develop outstanding Highland dancers who have a life-long passion for the dance form and work hard to meet their full potential at any level they choose. Her desire is to participate and contribute to the Highland Dancing community on a personal level, and also through the training of champion dancers, teachers, adjudicators and examiners to grow and sustain Highland Dancing for the future.