Jessica Houten
Ballroom Troupe
For the past two terms, the School Dance Troupes have been practicing every week to learn and perfect their dances. This year we had Dance troupes that included Ballroom, Jazz, KPop and Lyrical. Our troupes are student led and also choreographed by the student leaders.
As a Choreographer for the Ballroom Troupe (pictued top and left), I put in a lot of work over the past few months sorting out music, costumes and the dance. This is my third year and it’s been a fun environment where I have met new dancers every year who come from different studios, where we can do what we love and perform in school visits and in competitions. Fortunately we got to compete in the National Dance Competition on Friday 11 June, where we danced in front of an audience for the first time this year.
In the two weeks leading up to the competition, we had extra practices making sure we had lots of preparation and everyone felt confident in what they were doing. It was amazing to see all of the School Troupes at the Competition on Friday and the variety of dance styles there was. Everyone was so excited to get on the stage. Unfortunately, about five minutes before we went on stage I was told our music was not working and we had a last minute rush to organise and send another copy of the music – which to my relief worked. After this stress we went on stage and had a great time where we placed first in the Variety category that included seven teams. This was an amazing experience and I am so thankful to the Ballroom Team for doing their absolute best and Ms Hape and Ms Dodds for helping us out on the night!
Sarah Penny
Lyrical Troupe
Lyrical Troupe is one of the Westlake Girls Dance Troupes that rehearses Wednesday mornings and is made up of 9 students who have a passion and talent for dance. For the last term we have been working on learning and rehearsing a dance choreographed by myself a.k.a Sarah Penny and my fellow Troupe Leader Tiffany Fong to the song Dog Days are Over by Florence + the Machine.
After a lot of hard work from our troupe, on Friday 11 June we attended the National Dance Competition at Kristin School, competing in the School Troupe Division in the Lyrical category in full costume (which included some lovely flower crowns).
It was a great night and we got to perform alongside many amazing dancers, and showcase how far we’ve come as a troupe – and have a lot of fun (and pizza) along the way. Our work paid off as we came 2nd in our category, something we’re very proud of and that is a testament to the dedication and can-do attitude of our fabulous troupe.