Friday Headlines

18 February 2022

Wednesday was a day full of Dance, beginning in Senior School with a Dance assembly and followed by 120 Prep and Senior students going to perform at The Alexandra Theatre.

The morning started with two fantastic performances. The first, a group from Year 8 who performed the dance they have been working on in class. This combines professional repertoire from Emancipation of Expressionism and choreography created by the students themselves. For some, this was their first time performing and they did an outstanding job. 

The second performance was introduced by Head Girl and past GCSE Dance student, Fareedat. The performance was based on the Aberfan disaster. Fareedat thoroughly researched the tragedy that happened in 1966, sharing information and personal stories to highlight to the school the importance of remembering an event. To quote Fareedat, “Doing Dance GCSE made me learn about how Dance is a form of expression and a valid one at that. Movement is storytelling. It is a visually engaging thing, with infused emotion and passion; and the relationship between audience and performer is so important.”

Almost 50 students from Year 7 through to Year 12 performed this highly emotive piece. 

It was then Year 4's turn to step on to the stage. Miss Lawrence and Miss Dawes had arranged for the girls to compete in The Great Big Dance Off competition. So, at lunch time, the girls were taken to The Alexandra Theatre to get a chance to rehearse on stage and practice their performance. Their excitement shone and staff on site were impressed by their enthusiasm. After enjoying watching other performances, it was now their time to perform. They opened the whole competition with their version of 'When I Grow Up' from Matilda! The Musical. They finished to rapturous applause and made us very proud. 

Next up to represent the school was our Junior Dance Club, made up of Year 7 and 8 students. Although students were looking wild in their costumes for 'Revolting Children' also from Matilda! The Musical, they were anything but! Their performance was full of energy and their loud yells and synchronised clapping had the audience cheering and clapping along with them.

Our final performance was 'Aberfan' from Senior Dance Club. They had their rehearsal in assembly and now it was time to show the audience what they could do! The audience were captured by the emotion of the piece, impressed by the fantastic technique and expressive skills they used to communicate the meaning of the dance. 

After a fantastic street performance by the judges themselves, we waited in eager anticipation for the results. We were thrilled to be announced in 2nd place in the Key Stage 4/Key Stage 5 category with the Aberfan performance and will be competing in the National Finals of The Great Big Dance Off in Cheltenham in June. 

A big thank you also must go to the staff and parents who accompanied, watched and supported our girls which made the moment just that little more special. 

We are extremely proud of each and every single dancer who performed as they showed poise, energy and the true spirit of what being a dancer at EHS means.

Miss Lawrence