| South
West Area Award
The
annual South West Area Awards took place on Sunday 25th April
at Launceston Town Hall, Cornwall.
The
committee expressed its gratitude to the adjudicators, Gillian
Dawson and Anthea Sanders, and the pianist, Liz Hewson, for
making the 300 mile journey to the South West and for the
encouragement that they were giving to all the participants
in the Awards.
|
Junior
section: (L - R) Hannah Connolly,
Emily Brown, Jessica Goundry, Katie Roscoe
& Aimée Moore |
The
day began with the Junior Section. Here were 35 excited little
girls (no boys this year), not quite sure what was expected
of them. “I've never done this before”, “I
can't remember it”, “What comes first?”,
“My tummy feels funny” were some of the whispers
as I waited with each group in the wings. But their eyes spoke
of excited anticipation and. once on stage, the nerves disappeared
and they danced with joy as they warmed to the generous applause
from parents and friends. After the set exercises, the dance
was performed in pairs and then Miss Dawson called back eight
children to repeat the dance on their own.
It
was Anthea Sanders' agreeable task to award the Vacani statuette
for Joy of Dance. This beautiful bronze figure of a dancer
is kept for a year and then handed on to the next lucky winner.
Miss Sanders said that there had been so much evidence from
the children of pleasure in their dancing and she commended
several participants before naming the winner and the runner
up. From all the comments I heard at coffee time it was clear
that the audience agreed with her choice.
Miss
Dawson then congratulated all the participants on their neat
and tidy appearance and good placement, commenting on the
many well-stretched feet and reminding all of the necessity
of the correct hand position in 5th en haut. All the Juniors
received a dance badge and left the stage happily looking
forward to returning next year.
 |
| Winners
& some participants from the Middle & Senior section:
41 Lauren Turner (kneeling), 50 Carrie Johnson, 37 Lauren
Blackmuir, 51 Naomi Solomon (standing behind Lauren),
56 Imogen Ireland & 48 Jodie Toms (kneeling) |
The
Intermediate and Senior sections took place in the afternoon.
It is interesting to observe the development of the participants
at these levels as they attack the Cecchetti work with increased
assurance. Miss Dawson reminded the dancers of the importance
of the use of the head (eg inclination is more than a bob
from side to side!) in ports de bras, which was equally a
timely reminder for us, the teachers, as we endeavour to hand
down the principles of our Method.
The
atmosphere was friendly throughout the day and the feedback
to the teachers has been extremely positive. The parents,
too, welcomed the opportunity given to their children to go
on stage and display to a wider audience the work they had
been taught. We all look forward to next year's Awards.
Kay
Jones
Photographs: Kay Jones
Winners
Junior
Award
Joint Winners
Katie Roscoe (Kay Jones)
Emily Brown (Kay Jones)
Runner up
Hannah Connolly (Francesca Brown)
Commended
Jessica Cronk (Pippa Reece)
Chloe Blackmuir (Francesca Brown)
Lucy Sharp (Francesca Brown)
Vacani
Award
Winner
Jessica Goundry (Francesca Brown)
Runner up
Aimée Moore (Francesca Brown)
Middle
Award
Winner
Lauren Blackmuir (Francesca Brown)
Runner up
Jodie Toms (Kay Jones)
Commended
Bryony Tayler (Francesca Brown)
Luke Tayler (Francesca Brown)
Joy
of Dance
Lauren Turner (Kay Jones)
Senior Award
Winner
Naomi Solomon (Kay Jones)
Runners up
Imogen Ireland (Pippa Reece)
Carrie Johnson (Kay Jones)
Commended
Fiona Campbell (Pippa Reece)
Laura Marshal (Pippa Reece)
Joy of Dance
Imogen Ireland (Pippa Reece)
Sian Ward (Sandra Powell)
|
