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Classical
Greek Dance Festival
Saturday
3rd May
Commonwealth Institute Theatre, London.
The 80th
anniversary of the Classical Greek Dance Faculty was celebrated with
a bumper number of competitors at the Finals of the Classical Greek
Festival 2003.
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'Artemis
and Her Young Follower', Francesca Hitch and Nicola Horne (Carr/West)
winners of the 15 years and over Duets.
Photographs: Mike Walpole, Creative Camera |
It was
a full and inspiring day running from 9.30 in the morning until 6.30
in the evening. The programme ran very smoothly and to time with each
section effortlessly following one another. The announcements and synopsis
were clear and helpful, greatly adding to our enjoyment of the performances.
The adjudicator
was Patricia Prime, Chairman of the Theatre Faculties Board and Vice
Chairman of the ISTD. Her encouraging remarks, praise of the high standard
of work seen, and understanding of all the hard work that had gone into
each performance helped to make every competitor feel that they had
all contributed successfully to an excellent day of Classical Greek
Dance.
In the
foyer Susan Mitchell-Smith, with the help of her husband Colin, had
arranged a most interesting pictorial record of Greek Dancing over the
years. Starting with the founder Ruby Ginner and the Ginner-Mawer School,
up to the present day. Over the lunch break there was a reception for
invited guests with a special cake to commemorate the occasion.
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Committee
members, examiners and invited guests helping to celebrate the CGDA
Facultyˇs 80th Anniversary with a cake cutting ceremony at the Festival.
Photograph: Tony Devereux |
The day
got off to an excellent start with the very first item, Dancing in the
Waves, a delightful solo beautifully danced and expressed by Chloe Tubb
(Emjay School), the eventual winner in the 10 years and Under Solos.
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Chloe
Tubb (Emjay), winner of the 10 years and Under Solo |
It was
great to see so many boys taking part with such energy and dynamics.
Joseph Connor (Dupont School) was an outstanding winner in the Senior
section with the Phyrric Warrior, though young Jack Allen (Emjay School)
is one to watch for the future. Mischief, danced by Ricardo Spriggs
(Dupont School), in the Junior section was most enjoyable and great
fun.
Patricia
Prime reiterated throughout the day how the competitors were all winners
having won at the heats held throughout the country during March and
April. She told the Classical Greek Dance Faculty that they should be
proud of the very high standard shown and explained to the children
how the adjudication came down to personal choice, she spoke of a box
of chocolates where everyone has their favourites.
The Groups
- always a favourite of mine - had a variety of storylines and interpretations.
The younger children coped very well, taking their opening positions
on a dark and strange stage. They had evidently learned how to space
themselves and used the stage well. Artemis (Castle School) seemed to
have swarms of children but they all knew where they were going and
no-one got lost! Spellbound (Buckhurst Hill & Woodford School) was danced
with verve and enthusiasm, whilst Hocus Pocus (Dupont School) was well
up to the minute, dancing to the Harry Potter theme.
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A
young dancer from «Artemisˇ, 2nd in the 11 years and Under Groups
(Castle School) |
There
were 11 finalists in the 16 years and Over Groups, a feast of colour,
music and movement with some excellent performances given. The winner,
Apollo (Dupont), was a strong athletic group. I also liked Imagine (Sussex
School), who gave an interesting interpretation to John Lennon's music.
The 15
years and Under Groups included a colourful Kaleidoscope (Stretton School),
a very fast moving Exhilaration (Castle School) and the winner, Lure
of the Marshes (Mayhew School), which told most movingly the loss of
a child.
There
were many inspirational moments to be seen in so many items, there were
excellent beginnings and dramatic endings, moments of sheer pleasure
to be felt from the choreography with some excellent interpretations,
but this did not always appear together in the same dance! I found that
the titles conjured up images in my mind and felt rather let down when
this was not sustained in the choreography that followed.
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Zoe
Davies, Megan Dowell and Annis Pittman (Castle School), 1st Trio/Quartets
11-14 years |
Some of
those special moments that have stayed in my mind are: Dance & Music,
a Perfect Harmony of Action & Melody, a solo danced with such a lovely
sense of joy in movement by Becky Allen (Emjay School); Christine Petrou
(Buckhurst Hill & Woodford School), who brought the atmosphere of a
forest glade into the theatre; The Pheonix, Bryony Thompson (Academy),
well costumed with lovely movements; Fire and Ice, Megan Dowell and
Annis Pittman (Castle School), an excellent opening with good costumes;
Lauren Hall (Kiburn School), who looked as if she really was being pulled
back by the wind; Rendezvous, Rebecca Larkin and Kate Plass (Sussex
School), very atmospheric; The Furies, Alexandra Leonard and Emma-Louise
Earl (Mayhew School), full of menace; Jack Frost and the Flower Fairy,
Rebecca Dart and Amy Lane (Castle School), a delightful ending; the
fierce bully in Alecto, Catherine Harris and Laura Humby (Emjay School).
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| 'Hocus
Pocus' (Dupont), winners of the 11 years and Under Group |
Greek
myths have some wonderful storylines, some rather gory, but I personally
would like to see this balanced with a few more contemporary issues
and themes. Dance can be a very powerful way to get a message across,
and Classical Greek Dance is an excellent medium in which to do it.
At the
end of the day we had the choreography section, to me the climax of
the whole programme. As Patricia Prime said, 'A lovely end to the day,
so many competitors, all absolutely giving their best'. She went on
to say how much she had enjoyed all the groups and how they had suited
the competitors, the mixture of ages and standards being cleverly combined
with good choice of music.
First
was Jonathan Livingstone Seagull (Stretton School), combining dance,
drama, music and the spoken word. 2nd, Reflections of Earth (Sussex),
a more modern interpretation, and 3rd, Planets (Buckhurst Hill & Woodford),
an extravaganza with excellent costumes, the stage full of children
of all ages and standards.
Susan
Mitchell-Smith adjudicated the Special Awards taken over the whole day.
She spoke of the mixture of ages and costumes, the dances that had stayed
in her mind at the end, and the different qualities she had seen.
We went
home dazzled by a surfeit of colour, music and movement, visions that
had filled our minds and hit our senses. Congratulations to all those
who helped make the day such a success.
Jennifer
Schena
Results
Junior
Boys Solo, 10 years & Under
1st
Daniel Breakell (Louisa Hicks) 'Achilles'
2nd Charlie Hulme (Castle School) 'Puck'
3rd Ricardo Spriggs (Cathy Carroll/Dupont) 'Mischief'
Senior
Boys Solo
1st
Joseph Connor (Cathy Carroll/Dupont) 'Pyrrhic Warrior'
2nd Jack Allen (Emjay) 'Chasing Shadows'
3rd Jacob Manning (Emjay) 'Hermes'
Junior
Girls Solo, 10 years & Under
1st
Chloe Tubbs (Emjay) 'Dancing in the Waves'
2nd Lottie Smith (Buckingham Dance Studios) 'Seaspray'
3rd Chelsea Hogg (Cathy Carroll/Dupont) 'Joyous Music'
Intermediate
Girls Solo, 11-14 years
1st
Jennifer Stone (Louisa Hicks) 'Drifting Free'
2nd Annabel Sarrafan (Cathy Carroll/Dupont) 'Friday's Child'
2nd Vanessa Forte (Cathy Carroll/Dupont) 'At the Spartan Gymnopaedia'
3rd Alice Butcher (Redhurst) 'A Maenad Steals Pans Pipes'
3rd Katia Digirolamo (Cathy Carroll/Dupont) 'Persephones Safe Return'
Senior
Girls Solo, 15 years & Over
1st
Claire Campion (Academy) 'I am not there, I did not die'
2nd Katie Bestwick (Castle) 'Antigone'
2nd Lisa Rowley (Cathy Carroll/Dupont) 'Medusa is slain by Perseusˇ'
3rd Becky Allen (Emjay) 'Dance & Music, a Perfect Harmony'
3rd Emma-Louise Earl (Mayhew) 'Hippolyta'
Duets, 10 years & Under
1st
Sarah-Jane Earl & Eleanor Tallan (Mayhew) 'In a Woodland Glade'
2nd Jordan Evans & Chloe Tubbs (Emjay) 'Spirits of the Water'
3rd Rebecca Dart & Amy Lane (Castle) 'Jack Frost & the Flower Fairy'
Duets,
11-14 years
1st
Alexandra Sarrafan & Chelsea Hogg (Cathy Carroll/Dupont) 'Little Wind
Blow on the Hill Top'
2nd Chanelle Sadie Paul & Anna Mair (Kilburn) 'Love & Beauty'
3rd Laura Raynor & Bryony Tompson (Academy) 'Homage to Autumn'
Trios/Quartets,
10 years & Under
1st
Zoe Anderson, Georgia Hicks & Francesca Horne (Cythnia Carr/Kathleen
West) 'Dryads at Play in the Moonlight'
Trios
& Quartets, 11-14 years
1st
Zoe Davies, Megan Dowell & Annis Pittman (Castle) 'The Inter Qualities
of Grade, Beauty & Love'
2nd
Carly Shatford, Chloe Nutt & Natasha Campanaro (Mayhew) 'Passing Interlude'
3rd Katia Digirolamo, Faye Hawkins & Alexandra Sarrafan (Cathy Carroll/
Dupont) 'The Song of the Woodthrush'
Duets,
15 years & Over
1st
Francesca Hitch & Nicola Horne (Carr/West) 'Artemis Teaches her Young
Follower to Hunt'
2nd Rebecca Larkin & Kate Plass (Sussex) 'Rendezvous'
3rd Sarah Henry & Lauren Hall (Kilburn) 'Ode to a Grecian Urn
Trios/Quartets,
15 years & Over
1st
Gabriella Digirolamo, Lisa Heath & Lilli Sarrafan (Cathy Carroll/Dupont)
'A Gift of Peace'
2nd Claire Campion, Vicki Todd & Samantha Randle (Academy) 'The Fates'
3rd Rebecca Harrison, Alice Halliday & Sarah Fletcher (Mavis Berry)
'The Enchanted Garden'
Junior
Groups, 11 years & Under
1st Dupont School 'Hocus Pocus'
2nd Castle School 'Artemis'
3rd Buckhurst Hill & Woodford School 'Spellbound'
Intermediate
Groups, 12-15 years
1st
Mayhew School 'The Lure of the Marshes'
2nd Dupont School 'Hera Gives Charge to the Winds of Aeolus'
3rd Castle School 'Exhilaration'
Senior
Groups, 16 years & Over
1st
Dupont School 'Thanksgiving to Apollo'
2nd Lorna Clarke School 'The Nymph's Curse'
3rd Emjay School 'Chaos'
3rd
Academy Dance 'The Bayeux Tapestry'
Choreography
Section
1st
Stretton School 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull'
2nd Sussex School 'Reflections of Earth'
3rd Buckhurst Hill & Woodford School 'Planets'
Special
Awards
Doris
McBride Cup - Classical Greek Ideals
Stretton
School, Choreography Group
Nancy
Sherwood Trophy
Christine Petrou (16+), Buckhurst Hill & Woodford School
Freda
Crockett Costume Trophy
Castle School Junior Group
Irene
Mawer Trophy
Mayhew School 15 years & Under Group
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