Woodham Academy’s Dance Academy have been practising for many performances and competitions this spring. The first major competition was in Warrington at the Pyramid Parr Hall, a venue that is new to the students. The Great Big Dance Off is a competition that the Dance Academy enter each year and thoroughly enjoy. It is a national competition where smaller regional heats show off local talents that compete for a place in the national final.
Dance Academy practise on a Wednesday after school where their PE teacher, Miss Kent, and local dance teacher, Kay Clarey, of Joanne Banks Dancers, teaches them dances. They are extremely dedicated and rehearse all of their dances both in school and out of school. The styles of dance differ for each group and as a school we try to keep them up beat and fun.
Thursday 9th March, 23 students from Woodham Dance Academy set off at 7:30am and made the two and a half hour journey across the country to Warrington. They arrived at the Pyramid Parr Hall as one of the first schools ready to rehearse. The rehearsal performance showed how hard the girls had worked as the performance was near perfect. After minor alterations and a lot of team talks, the students were taken to the dressing rooms where they prepared for the evening show.
During the competition there were 16 performances from a range of schools that varied from primary students to KS5 students. Woodham performed the KS3 piece first, a fun lively Latin American style jive to the music Runaway Baby by Bruno Mars. This was a dance that received an extremely positive welcome from the audience and left the students with a huge sense of achievement after a fabulous performance .
The penultimate perfor-mance saw Woodham’s Dance Academy KS4 performance. A piece choreographed by Kay Clarey from Joanne Banks Dancers. This 90’s inspired dance raised the roof and saw the students finish in second place.
This has left the students even more determined to practice for Woodham Academy’s Dance Showcase, which is held at Woodham on Thursday 30th March. Both pieces that were performed at the Great Big Dance Off will be performed in the Dance Showcase. Tickets are available from Woodham Academy (01325 300328).