YOUNG dancers from all over the country met recently at a Wokingham independent school to showcase their skills.
Reddam House Berkshire’s performing arts centre was the venue for the Independent Schools Association’s (ISA) National Dance Competition Final, with the school welcoming more than 180 dancers from 21 educational establishments.
Students aged 10 to 18 performed a variety of dance styles, including contemporary, ballet, hip-hop, tap and lyrical when they took to the stage at the end of January, with many stand-out performances at all levels.
New Hall School, Essex has a longstanding pedigree in dance performance .
Its students impressed the judges with a couple of performances at senior level.
Loom on the Horizon was an interpretative piece that worked both literally and metaphorically, showing how people can find themselves lost in a storm.
Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate, York were particularly thrilled with their performance of Peak 9.
This was about strong, independent women, something that earned them the runners-up prize at senior level, in a discipline at which the school has not traditionally shone.
Darcy H from Scarisbrick Hall School, Lancashire lived up to her classical near-namesake Darcey Bussell with a solo ballet performance that clinched her the junior individual title.
Rose K from The King’s School, Witney kept things modern with a piece called Retro Funk, which won the vote of the judges in the middle group.
And local student, Evelyn W from Luckley House School, Wokingham came second in the Middle Solo category with her Spirit of the Snowbird.
Marie-Ange Moncuy, ISA’s national arts officer, said: “The event highlighted the transformational power of dance to interpret human emotions in a graceful and physical medium.”
For information, visit: isaschools.org.uk and reddamhouse.org.uk
