MONT TREMBLANT, QUE. — Dance Schools from across Canada and the United States gathered for the 25th anniversary of the 5678 Showtime National Dance Championships, held the first week of July in Mont Tremblant, Quebec.
Valley Danceworks (VDI), a dance school from Happy Valley-Goose Bay, were among those who competed over the three days of competition.
In what was an extremely high standard of dancing, the students from VDI once again delivered some outstanding performances.
Apart from the first-place dances, there were 14 performances that were awarded second place and 17 third place medals — that’s a total of 43 medals awarded to the VDI dance school.
Elena Pike was awarded the 5678 National Dance Championships, Under 12 Runner Up Dancer of the Year.
Apart from the long days of competition, the dancers had an opportunity to participate in dance workshops in a variety of genres including street jazz, contemporary, hip hop and musical theatre from acclaimed world recognized dancers Menina Fortunato, Damien Lavergne, Alexa Bender and Jonnis Tannis.
Valley Danceworks president Jenni Walsh told The Labradorian that the National Championships is an amazing experience for the dancers, giving them a chance to showcase what the team has worked so hard for all year.
“It was great to see so many of our group routines do so well at the Nationals considering you are competing against some of the best dance studios in the country,” Walsh said. “I am unbelievably proud of them all.
“It’s not just about competing, it’s also a great opportunity for the girls to receive higher dance training from world renowned choreographers. Some of our dancers were also selected to do workshops at the National Cirque School in Montreal. It’s the first time that’s ever been done and was definitely a highlight.”
A number of the VDI dancers were also selected to compete in the Dance World Cup held after the National Championships. This included dance schools from countries such as Romania, the United States and India competing against dances schools from across Canada.
First place results
In the respective solo dance categories at the 5678 Showtime National Dance Championships, Valley Danceworks earned seven first place medals, a first place for one of the duo/trio categories and four first place finishes in the group section.
Following are the first-place results:
Age 7-8 Variety Arts Solo — Maddyx Aube
Age 14-15 Variety Arts Solo — Kristy Swyer
Age 12 Ballet Demi-Pointe Solo — Emma Edmunds
Age 11 under Improv Solo — Taryn Wallace
Age 9 Contemporary Solo — Chloe Walsh
Age 15 Contemporary Solo — Morgan Janes
Age 9-11 Tap Solo — Taryn Wallace
Age 8-10 Hip Hop Duo/Trio — Chloe Walsh & Elena Pike
Age 11-12 Jazz Groups — ‘Burning Up’
Age 13-14 Jazz Groups — ‘Raining Men’
Age 13-14 Contemporary Groups — ‘Comfortably Numb’
Age 11 Folkloric Group — ‘Ceili’
