The Muskoka Dance Academy’s competitive dance team celebrated a successful competition season recently after attending four prestigious dance competitions in Woodbridge, Niagara Falls and two here in Huntsville.
Top awards at all competitions were given to musical theatre production The Spelling Bee, receiving marks in the 90s, an overall production award and an adjudicators’ choice award.
Intermediate tap line You Can’t Stop the Beat won an overall intermediate group award, a judges’ choice award and marks also in the 90s.
Contemporary duet Hide and Seek by Kayla and Kelsey Harvey picked up four awards, top scoring duet award, second highest mark overall award, most distinguished creative routine award and outstanding technique award.
Lyrical soloist Ryan Robinson-Hatton received outstanding awards for his performance, Hallelujah, highest scoring dance routine, top scoring soloist, most distinguished jazz routine and most potential soloist for 13 years and over.
Kayla Harvey also received recognition for her lyrical solo The Letter as a judges’ favourite. Both Ryan and Kayla were awarded $500 scholarships to a summer dance intensive workshop in L.A. as well as were selected by judges for a chance to receive tuition to the prestigious Tremaine Jazz Workshop in Texas this summer.
Overall novice awards went to Nicola Deroode and Emily Gates for their jazz duet, as well as Hannah Pollard, Emily Chang, Lila Jorgenson and Celine Butcher for their musical theatre quartet.
Special judges’ choice awards for outstanding performances were also given to Talia Keay, Emily Hill, Allyson Kreps and Sierra Neudorf for a jazz quartet, Andrea Moore and Charlotte O’Brien for a hip hop duet, Ryan Robinson-Hatton and Alyssia Martin for a jazz duet, and Alannah Hobbs for her jazz solo.
Teachers/choreographers Carrie Oke, Lynn Hill and Sue Kirwin-Campbell couldn’t be prouder of the tremendous efforts put forth by all 36 dancers. These routines and the rest of the Muskoka Dance Academy dancers will be showcased in a spectacular 25th anniversary year-end show entitled A Little Mermaid on June 14 at the Algonquin Theatre.