This post is all about Dancefest; a board-wide competition for all elementary school dance teams!! My Junior dance team competed along with Miss Whitley's Intermediate dance team. There were lots of other schools there, like Highview, Mary Hopkins, and Seaton to name a few. We were all so excited to get a chance to perform for everyone and then participate in the workshops in the afternoon :)
What an awesome stage!
Go Gatestone, Go!
I'd like to take a quick moment to mention how well-behaved our girls were. They stood out amongst the rest by attentively listening to the MC, applauding other dancers, and being mature overall. Great job, girls :)
My jazz team performed their routine "Black and Gold"; a number we have been working on since last September. The girls were all so excited to go on stage... I think I was more nervous than they were!! Didn't they look great? I loved the makeup and hair. When you're on stage with bright lights, you need lots of makeup to make you look alive ;)
Preparing for Our Performance
We got a chance to practice our routine once more in the cafeteria before going on stage. No music? No problem! These girls can count like pros ;) The jitters were flowing as we prepared to go back stage!!
Performances
Take a look at their performance here!
Growing up in the competitive dance world, I've learned what it takes to make a great group performance. The first thing is showmanship. Confidence and attitude are everything, and our girls owned that stage. They seriously looked like professionals up there. From the moment they stepped on the stage to the moment they left it, they were amazing. The next thing is timing and musicality. Performing in a group is harder than doing a solo because you have to be in sync with everyone else. It should almost look like "1 person is dancing"... and it did. My team spent hours listening to me bark about timing, but man did it pay off! Flawless! The last thing is technique. In my opinion, the best dancers are the ones who can make the simplest of moves look amazing. When choreographing this routine, I wanted to make it very stylized, Bob Fosse-like. I always told the girls, even if it's a wrist roll, it's got to be crisp. So no sloppy kicks for us! Beautiful job, ladies.
I can't even stop watching this video. I am SO proud of you, you have no idea! You blew the competition out of the water, hands down! Your hard work and dedication paid off. You should feel very proud of yourselves :) If you look at the difference between our Arts Night performance and yesterday's performance, what a crazy difference! Thank you for all of your hours, sweat, and dedication!!
Here is the performance of our Intermediate team performing "Remembering the Fallen", choreographed by student Skylar Johnston (below center). Very touching, ladies!
Here are some photos of other dance teams. A couple of schools had team shirts. We have to get some!!
Adjudication
It was time for the "adjudication". Each team went on stage a received a special award. My team won the "Polish and Shine" award for being so so polished and well-rehearsed. Probably the best award, in my opinion!! Check us out winning it below :)
Workshops
Next it was time for our workshops. We had two workshops: Urban Dance and Jazz. Students learned mini combinations from some professionals. Some of that choreography was hard! I was super impressed! Work it ;)
"Home Run" by Misha B is the song used for the Urban Dance workshop (thanks, SoundCloud!) "Share It Off" by T. Swift was the song used for Jazz, of course!
Pictures
Here are some pictures taken from yesterday :) Please e-mail me at mpliura@hwdsb.on.ca if you do not wish to have your child's face shown on my blog.
We will celebrate soon by having a pizza party for all Jr. and Int. dance team members :) Keep up the great work everyone!
~ Miss Pliura
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