FANTASTIC SUCCESS FOR ACTON BALLET SCHOOL IN 2011

After 2 very competitive auditions LUCA FREUDENBERG (9yrs) won a place with LONDON CHILDREN'S BALLET TOURING COMPANY. Luca will perform in a number of outreach venues including a special needs school, hospitals and centres for the elderly in 2012.

MATHILDE CACALY (10yrs) and SENA HAWKSWORTH (9yrs) were recently accepted by ENGLISH YOUTH BALLET to dance in their forthcoming new production of SWAN LAKE at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford 23 & 24 March 2012. They were chosen from over 200 young hopefuls and this will be an amazing experience for these 2 dancers to experience what life would be like in a real ballet company.

ROYAL ACADEMY OF DANCE examination results – 100% pass rate. Fiona Perkola, Francesca Birri, Olivia Smith Shreya Chaudhuri, Zoe Foster, Amina Bennebri, Aya Jarah, Kirsty M. Nash, Sophia Steblina, Melanie Hill, Joanna Mitchell, Masha Vukosavljevic and Victoria Lennox all passed with MERIT.

Luca Freudenberg, Mathilde Cacaly, Sena Hawksworth, Bronwen Davies and Tashaii Palmer all passed with DISTINCTION the highest honour a student can get.

Tremendous Success For The Irish Dancers At The Recent All England Championships
by Laura Ryan

How They Did!
Jennifer was placed 2nd and 3rd in every competition she entered and then came 3rd in the Cup competition, which was a very high achievement.

Ciara won 1st in two dances and placed very highly in all the others but the highlight for her was coming 2nd in her Cup dance.

Melikah won a dance in the second highest grade, which was her first win at this level and also got 4th in her Cup competition.

Millie and Connie also did exceptionally well either winning a dance, or being placed in a Cup dance and Roisin came 1st in her Cup dance – a really amazing effort from all in the competition.

That was Saturday and on Sunday Ciara, Melikah and Millie all qualified to return to compete at the highest level. Ciara was placed 4th out of 20 in her Reel, Mille 4th and Melikah 6th.

In the championships, which is judged on 2 dances and is the title everyone is after to win – Ciara and Melikah tied for 5th place, which was fantastic as it was their first time to do a championship.

Natalie also danced well and got 4th in everything out of 20 competitors. She came 6th in her Cup dance.

A tribute not only must be made to all these children who have worked so hard and in some cases 3 times a week but also to their teacher LAURA RYAN who is so dedicated to perfecting the technique in Irish dance but also getting the best out of her students.

The next competition 5th & 6th November – the school can't wait!

Anyone reading this and wanting to join the Irish dance classes in Acton please phone Laura on 07772 623876.

Claddagh Feis, Watford, March 12th
by Laura Ryan

I travelled to the Claddagh Feis in Watford on Saturday March 12th 2011 with six eager, excited and well prepared dancers. Jennifer, Melikah and Ciara aged eight and Millie, Connie and Roisin aged ten. My three youngest competitors on the day competed against strong competition in their very difficult grades.

They came away with both trophies and medals as well as big smiles on their faces! Melikah and Ciara competed in the prestigious Confined Cup competition for the first time and Melikah was lucky enough to come away with 3rd place havingmade it onto the podium!

Our success continued into the afternoon when Connie, Roisin and Millie again performed their best and were rewarded numerous prizes including a first prize each and many 2nds and 3rds. We all had a successful day but most importantly an enjoyable day. Well done girls!

Forthcoming IRISH Competitions
April 30/May 1st - Croydon
June 18/19th - Aldershot
July 2/3rd - Chertsey