We had a wonderful day yesterday watching all of the videos that had been sent in. It was so nice being able to see some of our students dance as it's now been 10 weeks since we've held a class! My, how they've grown in those 10 weeks!!
We were very impressed with all of the entries but here are our top 3 in each category with a brief outline of what we loved so much. We ended up splitting our youngest category into two; those born in 2015 and those born in 2016. Certificates will be sent to the top 3 in due course.
Born in 2016:
1st Place - Evie Docherty 2nd Place - Farah Mashat
3rd Place - Thomas Blakemore
Evie - A very good piece of choreography made by you, which included lots of moves from class and wonderful characterisation. I almost thought you were Elsa!
Fantastic use of moves from class included lovely points and close, spins on demi point and opposition arms.
We loved how you got into charter and the twirl at the end of the acting.
Wonderful skips as always.
Good use of levels and arm qualities.
Farah - A very good performance of one of our routines with the most wonderful ending. Fantastic use of eye line at the beginning following the line of your arms. I can see that you’re remembering a lot of the dance all by yourself which is very good!
Wonderful gallops around the room, keeping one leg in front the whole time.
The ending was perfect with the right leg and then left leg, Ariel sit and hide.
We also loved the costume!
Thomas - a fast paced piece of free work where your love for dance was plain to see.
Good energy throughout and lots of quick footwork.
Your style of movement matched the song well.
I saw a little jump from one foot to the other which is hard and shows good strength and balance.
Born in 2015:
1st Place - Isabelle Murphy
2nd Place - Yashvi Gorsia 3rd Place - Phoebe Millward
Isabelle - A piece of free work that included excellently executed moves from class and was both thoughtful in the type of moves included to suit the music and in style.
Wonderful, technically lovely plies to begin and end the routine. Variety of dynamics with arms which I loved. We had the soft and gentle arm movement which included eye line and then the faster arms mimicking the water movements.
Lovely walks and spins on demi pointe showing how strong your feet are.
Good use of levels with lunges and good co-ordination between arms and legs on the gallops.
We loved how you finished in first position.
Yashvi - A fantastic effort to do the routines we learn in class without looking too much for help. Wonderful timing and moves for the opening of Prince Ali.
Excellent natural rhythm. The first part of Prince Ali was on point with the music and I’m incredibly impressed.
You’re trying to push yourself to remember the dance without watching the video which is very good.
Good co-ordination of arms and legs on the running man.
Phoebe - A good freestyle routine which is perfect for a warm up and stretch.
Lots of use of core strength and balance which will make you better at all forms of dance.
Excellent side stretches on both sides and a good variation of moves into a side stretch. I especially like the co-ordinated arm circle in to side stretch.
It’s fantastic how you remembered how to do plies in both first and second position and your first position was very very good.
I loved the little bit of acrobatics at the end!
Age 5-6 Category: 1st Place - Zac Carter-Blake
2nd Place - Ella Moreton
3rd Place - Georgie Jones
Zac - Both set routine and free work were tidy, technically correct and done with wonderful showmanship.
You show a very good memory of the set routine being able to complete it correctly and independently all the way through. All of your dance steps are tidy and I can see that your proprioception (knowing where your arms and legs are) has improved massively.
We love your smile and every now and then see that your in character as Lumiere.
We’re impressed that you worked out the box step on both feet and are impressed by your own choreography.
Ella - A sassy, tidy and on point dancing of one of our set routines. Your timing is so on point! Everything is done to the beat of the music which makes the routine a pleasure to watch. The complicated footwork of forward back, pa de boure has been mastered by you which is fantastic. That is a difficult step and you co-ordinated it with the arms and lean back too! You are so enthusiastic and give your dancing everything that you have. We loved the sass and how mum helped you out with the partner work.
Georgie - A fun and energetic routine using carefully thought out moves from class and a sprinkle of sass to finish.
Your marches were perfect. Straight and strong opposition arms with high knee marches that were in time with the music.
Fantastic use of set moves from classes. You used bounces, plies and marches which shows you really thought about what moves you could include in your own choreography. We also loved dads influence at the end of the dance. A girl after my own heart, you chose to dance to one of my favourite songs by my favourite band and I was wiggling along with you at home.
Age 7+ Category: 1st Place - Zayn Clarke 2nd Place - Zach Clarke
Zayn - A wonderful, passionate piece of contemporary choreography from Zayn showing off his newly learnt skills. A lovely circular walk with extended foot that you’ve learnt all by yourself at home! Excellent use of core with the balances and floor work included. Your passion for dance really comes across in the videos which is so nice to watch. I’ve been so happy to see you learning and trying new things during lockdown. There’s a big improvement between this video and last weeks which shows that you’ve been working really hard at home.
Zach - An upbeat commercial routine using lots of trendy movements that you’ve both learnt at home and in class. I love how you have included Fortnight moves that I know you love from watching you and the others during free work in class and mixed them with elements we’ve learnt at dance. You have however choreographed these into your own little sequence, showing creativity and understanding of the moves. Good use of floor work.