It was billed as the event of the year and so expectations were running high, particularly after the success of last year. Therefore, we were all a little apprehensive beforehand but we need not have worried, it turned out to be a fantastic evening which I am sure was enjoyed by the capacity audience. The comments we have had so far all seem to suggest that it was better than last year.
Alongside the new contestants of eight students and four members of staff were a number of our dancers who were also having their first “Strictly” experience: Molly, Grace P, Allison and Craig.
Craig was one of the contestants last year and having enjoyed dancing so much decided to come along to class and also have lessons. He has made remarkable progress in that short time having done a number of competitions and also the ISTD Grand Finals. Now was a further milestone in being able to partner, as one of the experienced dancers, and he did superbly well, as did all our other dancers.
The standard of dancing on the evening was terrific, with all contestants performing better than they had during rehearsals. The Judges (Claire Hall, Andrew Field and Julia Gillard) had the unenviable task of selecting six couples to dance in the final. This must have been a difficult task and I am sure that any of the twelve could have been chosen. Nevertheless, the six couples who were chosen to dance again were: Liam and Hannah, Alex and Jack P, Lydia and Jack S, Paul and Rebecca, Andy and Debbie and Molly and Jack H. Having overcome the nerves all six gave better performances than in the first round and all received great ovations from the appreciative audience.
Whilst the judges scored the finalists, the ultimate winners were selected by the audience and they chose Molly and Jack H (who had also received a perfect 30 from the judges). They both danced really well and the win was thoroughly deserved.
We must therefore record a huge thank you to all of our team for your dedication and willingness to give up your time (and even take time off work) to come along to rehearsals and training sessions: Luke, Liam, Alex, Allison, Lydia, Emily S, Grace P, Molly, Paul, Neil, Andy and Craig. We would also like to thank those parents who bring their children to rehearsals and support in many other ways. We could not possibly do it without you all.
Finally a massive thank you to Chris Haggett who puts in a tremendous amount of work to help make this event the success that it is. I think he has already had some applications for next year’s event so make sure you have the date in your diary as you won’t want to miss it!!!
