Dougie recently took some time out to chat with Highland Dancing's Queen of Queens, Miss Colleen Rintamaki, about life after competing, her recent performance at Cowal and the future for the Ten Times World Champion.

Hi Colleen, thanks for taking some time out to chat to dutk.com.au. Firstly how’s life for you these days?

Things are going pretty well for myself, just extremely busy

You retired in 2005 after winning your 10th World Championship and still you are the world’s most known Highland Dancer, how does it feel to be sitting in the stands nowadays?

Sitting in the stands and not competing anymore has been great! I still miss being up on stage competing, I'm not sure anything can ever take its place, but it is a joy to sit and watch my students compete. It is a whole different rush. I now understand the feeling that Joy had to go through when I competed!

You won 9 of those world’s on the trot and then skipped 2004 - what brought you back to the Cowal stage for number 10?

I unfortunately had to take some time off dancing in 2004 due to the fact that I had had surgery on my foot and I never gave it enough time to heal and therefore recover. After taking the year off dancing my foot felt back to normal and I still had that urge to compete. I wanted one more go at Worlds, dancing pain free and just enjoying the entire experience. My final year was not about results, but about dancing for the love of it and taking in what the whole Cowal experience means.

What drove you to succeed to the heights you did?

I believe I succeeded in the way I did because of my love of Highland and my determination. Highland Dancing will always be my first love and therefore I thouroughly enjoyed working hard and making sacrifices over the many years in order to succeed.

And ofcourse in 2004 you made the trip Down Under where you pulled out of the Championship due to injury. I remember sitting watching your swords, I think everyone in the audience felt your pain, how was that moment for you physically and emotionally?

When I was in Australia competing, it was a very disappointing and frustrating experience. I was so excited to have to opportunity to compete there. In my first competition over, I pulled my hamstring. I had just a short period of time before the Champions of Champions competition to recover. Unfortunately, it was not enough time....the doctors had encouraged me to pull from the competition, but of course I didn't. Anyways, I made it through the fling in not too much pain, but it was the highcuts in sword that finished me off. This was probably the most pain I have ever felt. It was extremely disappointing as I had always wanted to compete at this competition. I suppose that is just life, but again very disappointing.

Do you at any stage think that was the end of your competitive career?

All through my competitive career I was pretty lucky in that I never had too many injuries, but I went through a spell when I hit the adults where my body seem to just not working with me as well. After that whole spell of injuries, I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to compete again, but through alot of physio, patience and hard work I was able to get my body to a healthy and pain free state. This is why I came back to compete my last year.

Do you wish you were still competing now?

I miss competing alot, but it is definitely time to move on to other areas of the Highland Dancing world. There will never be anything like the rush you get when you are competing, but I can come pretty close to that performing in shows.

You have a very close relationship with your teacher Joy Tolev, how important do you feel the teacher/ student relationship is when it comes to succeeding competitively?

Joy and I are very close. We have always had a great relationship in that when it comes to my dancing it is completely teacher/student. I have the utmost respect for her and trust her in every way. What she tells me to do, I do. I don't ask questions or doubt her. This relationship definitely was the entire basis for our success! We were and still are a team and she continues to guide me and mentor me in whatever I am doing.

Whilst you have been a spectator these last two Cowals, you were still very much involved in the proceedings - firstly in 2006 being honoured by Cowal Games and presenting the newly crowned World Champion and then this year starring in The Mitchelson brothers Dance with Fire concert, what was it like to be involved whilst not competing?

The last two years at Cowal have been great. I was very honoured to be recognized at Cowal in 2006. and presenting the trophies to the new World Champions was unreal. It was wonderful to be on the other end of things and see the emotion in their eyes as they received their awards. This year, I performed with the boys in Dance with Fire, which again was an honour. I have always admired the Mitchelson brothers and to be able to work with them and perform on stage with them was definitely a career highlight! Both of these experiences allowed for a great transition for myself from competitor to spectator!

And I believe you were in Ireland just prior to Cowal Games, how was that?

My time in Belfast this year was amazing! Highland dancing is still fairly new to Northern Ireland and it was wonderful to be part of the process in developing and growing the community there. They were more than hospitable to us and have a great program running there. And as a bonus I got to spend some time with judges that I have always admired, Judy Clark, Aileen Robertson, and of course, Veronica McFarland!

You have made the transition from competing yourself to teaching champions of the future, what goals do you have as a teacher?

Now taking on the role as a teacher has been great. I thoroughly enjoy working with all my dancers, trying to develop each individual dancer's potential. Not every dancer is going to be a champion, but I would like to see each dancer grow to their potential and gain the same love of Highland Dance that I have. Through setting individual realistic goals, proper technique and understanding of Highland Dance each dancer can develop their own love and hopefully continue on and one day pass their love of Highland on to their own students!

Any plans to sit the judges exam in the near future?

As for my judges, that is definitely in the near future. With the coaching of Joy, we are working hard towards me sitting the exam when we feel I am ready.

Colleen, you’ve won ten worlds, numerous Canadians and Ontario provincials, you’ve met Queen Elizabeth amongst so many other great honours. Can you recall the biggest highlight of your career to date?

There are so many great memories and highlights of my career. Of course winning the Worlds and other Championships has been wonderful and satisfying as I have met all the goals I set out for myself. Meeting Queen Elizabeth was an honour and something I will never forget, but I think the best thing I am taking away is the relationships I have developed. Through competing I was able to travel around the world meeting many dancers. Some of my closest friends are from highland Dancing. Plus now travelling teaching workshops I have also developed many relationships with not only dancers, but other teachers, judges, and in many cases professionals outside of Highland, but with in the celtic realm. It has been great developing friendships with musicians and other dancers. These relationships are what will continue in the future.

Your fan base spreads right across all corners of the globe, if you can say one thing to them what would it be?

My advice to all dancers is to believe in yourself. Because we are in a judged sport results may not always go the way we want or how we thought they would go, but if at the end of the day you are proud of the way you performed and feel that you have done your best then you can't ask for anything more.

Whats in the future for Colleen Rintamaki?

What is in my future? Gosh, if only I knew! I will continue to teach my students and perform in shows. Hopefully, in the near future we can say that I am a judge as well! Whatever does come my way I know Highland Dancing will always be involved and my great passion in life!

Thanks for your time, all the best for the future - hope to see you back in Oz soon!