Choreography Competition 2018

Our 2018 Choreography Competition was a wonderful celebration of dance!

Only 56 dancers took part, aged from 4-17 years old they showcased a wide variety of solos, duets and group dances in ballet, jazz, tap, musical theatre and acrobatics. They had each choreographed their routines themselves with their own choice of music and costumes. In total there were 98 routines!!! We had 13 dancers trying the competition for the first time, as well as 2 little stars in the demonstration section. 

Little Stars section

A highlight was the 'Little Stars' section for children under 6. Only 2 little dancers entered and performed a demonstration routine for the judges and the audience... They were superb and received the biggest applause of the day! After their performances, they were each presented with a certiicate and medal by Bill Mcdonald, chairman of the Falkirk District Arts and Civic Council. (pictured below) We also enjoyed watching former student Anya Phillips performing a solo as a deminstration while she was there supporting her younger sisters.

Guest judges and prizes

On our judging panel, we had, Ashleigh McGeorge (Stenhouse School of Dance), Meryl Stewart (EDA) and Kelly-Marie Shields (Dollar Dance). They were impressed by the high standard shown throughout the day, the enjoyment and performance across all the age groups. They also commented on how fun and friendly the day was and how many talented young dancers we had take part.

After each genre, Mrs Jacqueline Clark, Director of Central Scotland Ballet School, presented the competitors with a certificate for each routine they had performed. In total, 131 certificates were presented! At the end of the day, the judges presented medals to their winners from each section; 17 second-place medals, 44 first-place medals, including duets and groups, and 3 little stars medals were presented.

Trophy winners

We were very excited to present some new awards this year, including trophies for the highest score in each section. Well done to the winners:

• Highest Score Ballet - Iana Phillips (12)
• Highest Score Acro - Abbie Garmany (12)
• Highest Score Tap - Samantha Niven (17)
• Highest Score Musical Theatre - April Beattie (12)
• Highest Score Jazz - Sarah Firth (15)

We also presented a trophy to the dancers the judges considered the 'Best Newcomer', someone who had not competed in the competition before. It was awarded to Lawrence Bremner (8) who performed a medal winning acro solo, and medal winning jazz duet with his sister, Anna.

Our competition was held as part of the Falkirk Tryst Festival and we thank Falkirk District Arts and Civic Council for the generous donation of two new annual trophies. They will be replacing trophies which were almost 20 years old! Chairman of the FDACC, Bill McDonald, presented the awards onstage.

The Millennium Trophy for the most outstanding performer of the day was awarded to Jill Russell (9) pictured above with CSBS Principal Mrs Clark. Jill won 2 gold medals and 2 silver medals for her routines and will perform a solo in some of our dance displays. The "Spirit of Dance Award" for performance and love of dance was awarded to Abbie Garmany (12) who performed 5 routines on the day and won 3 first place medals as well as the trophy for Highest Score in acrobatics.

You can view a complete list of the prizewinners here, and view a gallery of photos from the Choreography Competition on our CSBS Facebook page.

Thanks to...

Many thanks to everyone who supported the event, including the students, parents, friends and staff who just came along to watch and cheer on their friends and family. Special thanks to: CSBS teacher Hayley for operating the music; Romy and Anya Phillips for manning the tombola which raised £50 and to those who generously donated prizes; Mr Clark for entertaining with balloon modelling; our judges who gave up their full Sunday; CSBS teacher Sammy for running the day and tallying the marks; CSBS teacher Amanda for organising the day including the programme, designing the certificates and medals, photographing and videoing the day; Mrs Clark for presenting the certificates.

We are very impressed by the positive and encouraging atmosphere throughout the day as well as the excellent standard of dancing and the wide range of ideas. Can't wait for next year now!