On Wednesday the 28th of August, I had the pleasure of taking 32 students to the ‘Your Next Step’ Dance Challenge. We submitted three entries into the competition and wow did our students leave a mark on the dance world amongst the schools. 

First of all, I would like to thank Mr McMahon and Ms Foldes for their support in this event and allowing Magdalene to compete in their first dance competition. To the parents, your continued support of your child has reaped the benefits and the results of the day displayed this. Lastly, to Mrs Rusten and her overall support of dance throughout the year, as well as her attendance and help on the day.

To the students, wow! Every single one of you should be proud of what we did. In a matter of 6 weeks, with some disruptions, we managed to learn new choreography that ultimately led us to fantastic results. The students' enthusiasm, commitment and love of dance made this happen. I would personally like to thank student helpers for their contribution to the Jazz and Lyrical/Contemporary dances. I would also like to thank and congratulate Georgia McCann and Jade Peroumal of Year 11 for their work on the Hip Hop. 

The emotions were high and the students had one very emotional teacher when we found out that competitor number 8 had won the lyrical/contemporary section out of 17 performances… that competitor was Magdalene. ‘Stunning costume’, ‘great to see the consistent technique from the whole group’ and ‘great to see you perform with such power and commitment’ were all comments made from the adjudicator on our troupe report. When the announcement was made he stated ‘he always had someone new to watch and was great to see so many students showcasing their talents and not just involving one main dancer to follow’. With a healthy score of 88/100, Magdalene won the section.

In the open entertainment section, we saw the likes of cheerleading, ballet and hip hop. Magdalene entered a hip hop number. ‘Very clever presentation’, ‘Great interpretations of all your music’ and ‘you all created such a great vibe on stage’ were all comments made from the adjudicator on our troupe report. Great work from our choreographers Georgia and Jade. With a healthy score of 89/100, Magdalene won the section.

Along with the places awarded, there were five major awards on the day of the competition. Magdalene received two of these. Most Technical Troupe for the lyrical/contemporary and Highest Scoring Troupe for the Hip Hop.

Results on the day are as follows: Major Awards:

First in Lyrical/Contemporary Most Technical Troupe - Lyrical/Contemporary

First in Open Entertainment - Hip Hop Highest Scoring Troupe - Hip Hop 

Unfortunately, our Jazz dance that was entered did not place on the day. On a positive note, the students were commended on their fantastic energy level and their great flexibility. Well done to the students who committed themselves to the dance and performed to a good standard. 

Well done to the following students:

Overall the participation and the energy on the day was exceptional and I am lucky to have had the opportunity to work with these talented students. Congratulations to all the dancers who performed on the day and thank you to all the parents who attended the competition and supported their child and our Magdalene community, I really appreciate it. Please find images from the day below.