Competition season is underway, and we are adding successes all the time!!

Another competition, another haul of awards, placings and achievement!! The latest competition entered by our Competition teams, soloists and duets was the MANCHESTER PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL. We had a long but enjoyable day and a number of successes (plus one where, in our very biased opinion, we were robbed!!!).

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TEAM ENTRIES

The one where we were 'robbed' (no sour grapes here, just feelings!) was our whole team Dancing Fool routine... This was up against our Seniors with 'Home' in the same category, and Home placed a wonderful 2nd place, pushing Dancing Fool off the podium (we presume!). Nevertheless, we couldn't be more proud of our whole team, as Dancing Fool was danced so beautifully and we were genuinely disappointed for the team not to place, because we think they deserved a reward for such a clean and engaging performance!

There were fewer group categories than we are used to, so we had to leave some of our routines out from our programme this time; we did have plenty of solo and duet entries to cheer along for though!

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SOLO AND DUET ENTRIES

We are always proud of our competitors, but a special mention to our lovely Katie W - Katie has been in and out of hospital lately and remains unwell, but still came away with a 1st Place award for the soloist improvisation category! The resilience she has shown to ensure her teammates weren't missing a team member has been brilliant, and to win a solo award is a real reward for her perseverance

Click the > to see the rest of the gallery

Another winner of her section was Madeleine, with fabulous 2nd place awards for Esmè and Avannah in their solo sections too!!

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We are always so proud of our competition entrants, and they were a credit to our school on Sunday - dancing beautifully and behaving impeccably. Not every dancer came away with an award this time, but the team morale was as strong as ever! A strong part of our competition training is to emphasise the importance of teamwork, and to be supportive of each other, even if we are briefly rivals on the stage! We are looking forward to our next outing; watch this space to see what comes next for the competition teams of 2024-25!!!

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Does your dancer fancy putting themselves forward to be a member of the competition team? Auditions are held annually at the end of the school year for places in the team next year. Auditions are strict and competitive, with a focus on dedication, commitment to working hard and teamwork.

All current team members are required to reaudition each year; no place is guaranteed!! There are also minimum technique and performance class requirements to qualify as a member of the team. This may seem strict, and that is because it is! Miss Kate, over the years, has really honed her methods to help the dancers to achieve competition success!

Speak to one our teachers if your dancer wants to expand their dance classes to make themselves eligible for the competition auditions in July. The earlier the better, so skills can be built up and technique improved in preparation for the auditions.