Cincinnati Highland Dancers

Heritage - Fitness - Family - Fun​

What ​is CHD?

We are Cincinnati's OFFICIAL Scottish Highland Dance group.

CHD is led by three teachers qualified through the British Association of Teachers of Dancing and the Royal Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing:


Louise Reid, RSOBHD Judge and Fellow Member BATD

Melissa Volck, Fellow Member BATD

Morgan Reitz, Member BATD


In addition to competing in local, regional, national and world competitions, the dancers of CHD enjoy performing throughout the year for the community. We'd love to have you come join us!

Halftime at NKU Basketball Game

Our Instructors

Louise Reid

Instructor - RSOBHD Adjudicator, Fellow Member BATD

Louise was born in Glasgow, Scotland and moved to the United States at a young age. After a few years in Chicago, her family settled in Cincinnati, Ohio where her mother opened a dance studio. 


Louise began to take Highland dancing at that time and competed successfully throughout North America and Scotland. She has competed in the World Championships at Cowal and had students qualify for the United States National Championships. She became a teacher in 1997 to continue to share her love of dancing and the Scottish culture. Louise continues to perform as a featured dancer with Seven Nations and has also had the pleasure of dancing with Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Off Kilter, and Albanach among others.

In addition to highland dancing, Louise is owner of Celtic Corner and president of Cincinnati Highland Dancers. 


Louise is a member of the RSOBHD Worldwide Panel of Adjudicators and a Fellow member of the British Association of Teachers of Dancing.

Melissa Volck

Instructor - Fellow Member BATD

Melissa was born in San Francisco, CA. She began her dance career at the age of 4. At the age of 17, she was encouraged by her partner to learn and teach highland dancing. Following her successful competitive career, she went on to pursue her Fellow membership with the British Association of Teachers of Dancing. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in Early Childhood Education.  Over the past 20 years she has enjoyed combining her love of dance and expertise in education to create a fun and encouraging environment for her students. 

Morgan reitz

Instructor - Member BATD

Morgan grew up visiting local cultural events around Cincinnati, and although not Scottish, she fell in love with the music and dancing. Starting Highland Dance in middle school, she enjoyed a fun competitive career also filled with many exciting performance opportunities, which led to her pursuing her Member BATD certification in 2016.


With a degree in Anthropology, Morgan is passionate about cultural representation and preservation just as much as dancing itself- and enjoys mixing history, culture, and Gaelic into her classes. 


Additionally, having worked on several accessibility programs (focusing on disabilities, language and cultural barriers, and financial difficulties) with local arts organizations, Morgan firmly believes that dance should be for everyone, and strives to create an environment where everyone is welcome. 

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