Golden moments for Bay dancers

THE Port Elizabeth Dance Festival ended its ballet and national dance section on a high note this weekend, with adjudicator Wendy Reinhardt bestowing gold (the highest award attainable at the festival) on 90% of the entrants.

Reinhardt praised the standard of dance in the city and encouraged dancers to continue their training.

The highlight of the week of dancing, which started last Tuesday, was Thursday night’s battle for junior and senior ballet champion status.

Festival organiser Monica Hewitson said to be eligible for the championship sections, dancers had to have obtained gold for their age-group section dances, comprising a classical and a demi-character item in the previous year’s festival. In addition, only those dancers who achieved the top 10% in the gold award category could enter this section.

Krystal Coetzee, of Knysna, won the junior champion title while the Bay’s Shayne Greene and Claire Glover were namedsenior male champion and senior champion (girls) respectively.

Anneke Claassen (Port Elizabeth) and Hannah Micklewood (Knysna) shared the junior runner-up position while the senior champion runner-up was Stephanie Kirsten (PE).

Hewitson is now preparing for the modern, hip-hop and tap section of the festival to be held at the Savoy Theatre from September 4 to 6.

Local dance teachers Ellen Bunting, Candice Johnstone, Tanya Tait, Dominique Teppler and Kareen Breytenbach, along with Rene Ferreira from Cradock, are some of the teachers who will be entering pupils in the modern section of the festival.

Brigitte Reeve Taylor, a former professional dancer with the Pace Dance Theatre Company who has conducted master classes in Canada, Australia, the US and UK, will adjudicate.

For more information, contact Monica Hewitson on 083-471-8893.