Prince Rupert may be small, but it is mighty in dancing talent.
The city’s best young dancers put their skills on full display last week in Prince George where they competed in the annual Prince George Dance Festival, returning with a haul of trophies, medals and confidence for the 2018 dance season.
The competition welcomed 10 schools from northern B.C. to showcase their abilities in choreography, dance and performance.
“They did really well,” said Ella Ferland, director of Spectrum City Dance Studio. “These festivals are always a great place to learn and meet other dancers, and they learn a lot about themselves and honing their technique and artistry.”
Sixty-four dancers from Spectrum City Dance Studio and approximately 80 dancers from the Dance Academy of Prince Rupert (DAPR) attended the competition, which ran from March 17-23.
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Ferland said the students had been working on the routines they presented since last summer, and it was good to see them finally showing off the results of that effort.
“There’s always lots of improvement from the time we start practice to the beginning of competition season,” she said. “It’s good to see them all grow.”
Despite the stiff competition, the Prince Rupert contingent was able to place well in a variety of categories.
Spectrum City Dance Studio collected 30 first-place finishes, 23 second-place finishes, 21 third-place finishes and 12 trophies for overall highest marks.
READ MORE: Rupert dancers twirl magic in Prince George
Individually, Gilian Jardim and Anna Nguyen won scholarships for a summer program at Pro Art in Vancouver, Coral Fitzsimmons was awarded a scholarship for her overall stage performance, Nolan Robinson and Libby Ferlaino qualified for provincial competition in the ballet division and the studio’s senior lyrical group won the competition’s choreography award for its performance of “My All”.
DAPR also had a good showing, receiving 13 first-place finishes, 15 second-place finishes and 13 third-place finishes.
The studio’s small acrobatic group received a high mark trophy for its performance of “Atomic”, while the studio’s large acrobatic group received a high mark trophy for its performance of “Salsa Baile” and its large jazz group received a high mark trophy for its performance of “I don’t speak German”.
Individually, Laura Fudger placed first in the lyrical category (10-and-under), Keira Gurszki placed first for modern solo (10-and-under), Georgina Richardson placed first for her variety solo (18-years-old), Bailey Rae placed first for demi-character in addition to a scholarship (18-years-old), Cassidy Kawaguchi placed 1st in hip hop (11-years-old) and Jyllian Lussier placed first in the song and dance category.
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