Term 3 Round-Up

We had a packed Term 3 this year, with our students working on their annual exams for ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop and contemporary and lots of performance opportunities.

The most students we've ever had volunteered to dance at the Special Needs Extravaganza - you were all stunning. A big thank you to Briar, Zelmari, Ruby, Elly, Maria, Abby, Lily, Jessica, Poppy, Clementine, Kaida, Edie, and Viriato, and their whanau. We've been dancing at the Extravaganza for years and we love watching our students dance for such an awesome crowd.

It was a pleasure to host Miss Jeffares from NZAMD for our jazz exams in Week 3. Everyone worked extra hard to prepare and we are very proud with our pass rate of 100% with all students gaining marks of 80 and above for the entire studio. Extra congratulations to Briar who received a nomination for her Intermediate Jazz and will represent the studio at the annual NZAMD workshop.

We then went straight into preparations for ballet grades and medal tests with the lovely Mrs Croad. All students danced really well and Mrs Croad thoroughly enjoyed everyone's performances. Extra congratulations to Sophia who sat her Advanced I Ballet exam. Not many students who start at the age of 5 progress thru to achieve this high level. Shoutout to the lovely Mo from Theory Food who catered for our examiners in both exam sessions, your food is stunning. Well done everyone!

We rounded off the term with our competition students dancing at Hawera Dance Competitions. It was an awesome opportunity for our dancers to perform in a beautiful old theatre, and everyone danced beautifully. Extra kudos to Liliana for her first time on stage; to Isobelle, Viriato, Wenxue, Edie, Jessica, Clementine, and Maria for winning their sections; Clementine for winning her first championship class and being awarded the Junior Ballet Scholarship; and to Viriato and Poppy for receiving special awards. We have been attending Hawera Dance Competitions for over thirty five years, and can't wait for next year.

Finally, congratulations to Viriato who successfully auditioned for a child extra role in Royal New Zealand Ballet's The Sleeping Beauty in December - a fantastic achievement and an experience he will never forget.

Next stop is our annual concert, a Centre City performance, and a very special surprise featuring some of our senior students. Stay tuned!

Alison and Selene