Gold Hip Hop/SLS Jazz - Dance The Night. Photo / Dave Murdoch
Dannevirke’s Town Hall was almost full to capacity as the public settled down to Origin Studios’ 12th Spring Showcase.
The show was staged in honour of iconic dance teacher Joan Irvine who made such an impact in the classical dance world of both Dannevirke and New Zealand for over 50 years.
The programme of dance was initiated decades ago by the late teacher as a means for her ballet pupils to perform for family and friends after their examinations.
This tradition has been carried on by Amy Macdonald-Te Huki in Miss Irvine’s name.
Nowadays the pupils showcase not only their ballet but also jazz, hip hop, tap and contemporary dance.
The audience was once again this year treated to a dazzling display of dance.
The varied programme saw every pupil on stage – many for the first time - mixing group items displaying every dance genre with individual items learnt for the Royal School of Dance examinations which took place only last week.
It was a huge challenge for Amy and her team of teachers and parents to put on a show so close to the examinations. Numbers on stage were estimated to be 150-200, all from Tararua District.
The pre-primary tiny tots were the winners of the “cute award” but the audience was thrilled with every item, its colourful costumes, mood lighting, varied musical selections and precision dancing which locals have come to expect, fully entertaining for the three hours. Amy is a top dance judge for a very good reason!
An interesting addition to the show was three short drama presentations to highlight another aspect of Origin Studios’ contribution to the arts. These were entertaining, the young actors competent and confident presenters of their lines, a lot in rhyming verse.
Scholarships were presented at the end of the evening with the Friend Family’s Tap Award presented on stage to Charlotte Gibbs, two other monetary scholarships to Riley Prenter and Gemma Ereece, while Charlotte Hawkins was awarded the prestigious Joan Irvine Memorial Award.
Dave Murdoch is a part-time photo-journalist working for the Bush Telegraph and based at Dannevirke. He has covered any community story telling good news about the district for the last ten years.
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