Dancers decked the Paeroa War Memorial Hall on October 4 for three days of rhythm, choreography and expression. The En Pointe Dance Competition, run by En Pointe Dance Studio Whitianga, hosted dancers from across the North Island competing in the following sections – jazz, tap, and ballet.
Competition organiser and En Pointe Dance Studio owner Lisa Gifford told The Profile there were around 140 dancers aged four to 18 years. The competition judge was Angela Westerby McKellar from Wellington, who choreographed the We Will Rock You musical held in Wellington across August and September.
On day one of the dance comp, jazz dancers 10 years old and over competed, Lisa said. Day two consisted of the under 10 year old jazz, and all the tap dance categories, she said.
The champs were also held in the evening for both sections, she said, while Sunday was filled with ballet competitors and ended with ballet variations instead of champs.
Lisa said the weekend had run very smoothly with “very happy” competitors. To top it all off, En Pointe Dance Studio walked away with a few senior awards. Most Promising award went to Tahlia Osbourne in the jazz section, and third place in the senior ballet variation section was snapped up by Indaria Bainbridge-Davies.
