Awards for Excellence 2021
We were delighted to present awards for excellence in dance exams during the year 2021.
We received our final winter session results in February 2022 and picked out the top marks from the 340 candidates who had all made the incredible achievement of passing exams in 2021 after the disruption of 2020.
Junior and Senior Excellence Shields
We present the 'Vicki Paterson Awards for Excellence' annual awards to students who have gained the highest marks in their ballet exams over the year. The award is named after former CSBS student Vicki Paterson who gained a perfect 100% for her RAD Grade 4 ballet exam as well as consistently scoring over 90% in all her dance examinations. Vicki went on to become a professional ballet dancer after graduating from full-time training and now runs a highly successful dance studio in Norfolk..
The Junior Shield was presented to Heidi Russell (11) who gained 87% for her Grade 2 ballet exam with the Royal Academy of Dance in the summer session. Heidi studies ballet, tap, acro and jazz and has recently joined our Majors programme. She is an accomplished performer and also trains in musical theatre; she has starred as 'Little Cosette' in the UK tour of Les Miserables in Edinburgh.
The Senior Award for Excellence was presented to Ailish Ogilvie (16). Ailish gained an impressive 92% for her Grade 6 ballet exam in the summer session. Ailish is a member of our Majors programme, a Scottish Ballet Senior Associate, and a valued class assitant for preschool ballet. She is also an accomplished performer and has had lead roles in a number of musical productions across the Central Belt.
Katie Deacon Performance Award
The Katie Deacon Performance Award is an annual trophy presented to the student who gains the highest mark for their RAD Solo Performance Award. It is named after former student Katie who was a professional ballerina following her graduation, and is now a musical theatre performer working across the world and in the West End. This year, the award was presented to Jill Russell (13) for her outstanding score of 93% for the Grade 4 Solo Performance Award in the winter session. Jill has now won the award on 3 times! Jill also represented CSBS at the RAD Senior Awards 2019, winning the class trophy for her level. She studies ballet, jazz, tap, and acrobatics and is in our Majors programme. She is also an associate with Scottish Ballet.
New Tap annual awards
Due to having more students sitting tap exams, we have introduced new Junior and Senior shields for the highest marks in our IDTA or ISTD tap examinations. We hope this will encourage students to aim high in their tap training as well as ballet. Many congratulations to the inaugural winners!
The Junior shield was presented jointly to Jill Russell (13) and Georgia Rosenfeld (12) for their excellent score of 93% in their Bronze Tap Award. Both girls also gained 92% for their Grade 2 Tap exam in the same Winter session! What excellent results by them both! Like Jill, Georgia studies ballet, tap, acro and jazz and is a member of our Majors programme. She also trains weekly with S-MB Company.
The Senior shield was presented to April Beattie (16) for an outstanding score of 93% for her ISTD Grade 5 tap exam in the summer session. As well as studying ballet, tap, jazz, acrobatics and cheer, April is an experienced class assistant and a member of both our Majors programme and Elite Dance Team. She also studies musical theatre and has performed on stage and screen across Scotland, including in the Edinburgh Festival.
Acrobatics - Examiners shield for most potential
Our acrobatics exams have written reports and not points so we ask the examiner to choose the students he/she feel have demonstrated the most potential in their examination. We present a Junior and Senior shield, as well as certificates of commendation. Here are the recipients from our only 2021 session:
- Junior Shield: Georgia Ormond (8 - Pre-Bronze)
- Senior Shield: Ruby Grant (13 - Silver)
- (no certificates presented)
Many congratulations to the students for their effort and determination and to all of our 340 dance exam candidates who worked extremely hard to pass their dance exams in 2021. We had around 40% of graded candidates gain Distinction. Please have a look at our exam news and results:
Our 2022 Spring session of exams is only a few weeks away so our students and teachers are still working incredibly hard... especially as we will have nearly 450 candidates in just the one session!