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Creation
Choreographic Competition
Held on Sunday 5th October 2008 at the Harlequin
Theatre in Redhill, Surrey
The
competition was comprised of three sections, Junior,
Senior and Premier, which was dictated by the ages of
the choreographers; Juniors 10 – 12 years, Seniors
13 – 15 years and Premiers 16 – 17 years.
This was the second year of this event, which is held
in the memory of Doreen Bird who was an excellent teacher
and choreographer.
Above:
Carrie-Anne’s masterclass
Cathy Stevens organised the entire day and her calm
and efficient approach helped to make the event a great
success for the competitors and audience alike.
The day began with the arrival of the choreographers
and their dancers, who were greeted by young members
of the Modern Theatre Faculty Examining Board and were
escorted to their dressing rooms.
Teresa Theodoulou compèred the event with clarity
and confidence and she began by introducing the Junior
groups who were immediately followed by the Seniors
and finally the Premiers.
Every group showed creativity and versatility and this
was most encouraging to all. It became obvious that
these young stars of tomorrow were musical and inventive
in many ways. Costumes were bright and suitable for
the chosen pieces. All the groups had been very well
rehearsed.
Above
top: Alice Rodger, senior winner
Above: Kathryn Davies, senior section
All Photos by Philip Johnson
The judging panel of Luis De Abreu, Karen King and Simon
Adkins had a very difficult task due to the high standard
and diversity of ideas.
After a short lunch break the contestants were all invited
to take Hip Hop classes on stage, which were both entertaining
for the audience and great fun for the dancers. Carrie-Anne
Ingrouille, who took the classes, showed humour and
great enthusiasm for her subject and the balance of
her work was carefully prepared to enable the younger
participants to grasp the movements whilst challenging
the older dancers to perform a different style.
The climax of the day was the presentation of the awards
by Luis De Abreu.
I am sure Doreen Bird would have been very proud of
the budding young dancers and their excellent talent.
Gaynor Owen
Chairman, Modern Theatre Faculty
Bird College International Summer
School
Alanna Kajdi, the Premier winner of Creation
2007, writes about her prize.
Having had a fantastic time creating my piece, Ophelia,
as well as thoroughly enjoying taking part in the ISTD
Creation competition, I was amazed and extremely grateful
to be awarded the Luis De Abreu award in the Premier
section.
After half a year of eagerly anticipating my prize,
a scholarship to the prestigious Doreen Bird international
summer school, I was finally on my way. With a 6:30am
wake-up call, I set off for my first day completely
ecstatic not even noticing my early departure.
Feeling
obviously nervous, I found it easy to settle into the
relaxed and welcoming atmosphere of the summer school,
making firm friends with many of my fellow dancers.
The week was scheduled as if we were real students of
the Bird College itself, with a packed timetable full
of exciting classes. We took lessons in a variety of
dance styles including: Ballet and Rep. American Tap,
Commercial Jazz and Rep. Fosse and Rep. and Musical
Theatre Rep.
A
class that I particularly enjoyed was the Musical Theatre
Rep. in which we were lucky enough to do West Side Story!
We were also lucky enough to be doing the Ballroom scene
with the famous Sharks and Jets dance-off and were split
half and half to make the rivalry complete. Doing hip
swinging movements and shouting “Mambo!”
as a shark girl was definitely a highlight and the class
seemed to bond even more. I also loved the Ballet classes
and, when learning the signet section of Swan Lake,
found that I had to use muscles I didn’t even
know existed!
The final performance in front of family and friends
on the Friday was extremely nerve-wracking and everyone
backstage, hyped after a day of rehearsals, chatted
and practiced energetically in time for the performance.
It’s safe to say the performance was a great success
and was the perfect way to end an amazing week. I was
fortunate enough to receive the class prize, for which
I was extremely grateful. I look forward to watching
the next Creation competition and good luck to everyone.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone
involved with Creation, the Panel, Mr De Abreu and my
dance school the Betty Wivell Academy for an incredible
opportunity and an inspiring insight into the career
I am hoping to pursue.
Alanna Kajdi
Creation
Results 2008
Junior Section
Winner
Jenna Miles and Zoe Partridge
Janet Marshall Dance Studios
Runners-Up
Georgina Ashworth-Kwasnik
Alexandra Pearson and Emma Hollister
Centre Pointe
Mary Archbutt Award
Jenna Miles and Zoe Partridge
Janet Marshall Dance Studios
Senior Section
Winner
Alice Rodger
Corraine Collins Dance Studios
Runner-Up
Finn Smith
Corraine Collins Dance Studios
Tereza Theodoulou Award
Courtney Mortimer – Grayes Theatre School
Premier Section
Winner
Isobel Powell
Janet Marshall Dance Studios
Runner-Up
Anna Koon
Centre Pointe
Christina Ballard Award
Anna Koon
Centre Pointe
Susan Passmore Award
(to the school of the Premier Winner)
Janet Marshall Dance Studios
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