Last weekend I travelled up to Loughborough
with the University’s advanced ballet, jazz, contemporary, street, tap, bhangra
and novice jazz squad to compete in the annual Loughborough University dance
competition. This is the biggest inter-university dance competition in the UK! It’s
basically what we’ve been working towards all year…
For the past few years it’s been tradition
for the Southampton dance squads to stay at the Hilton Hotel during the
competition weekend and this year was no different! This means that in addition
to indulging in the absolute adrenaline rush you get from performing, and the
pleasure of watching what the other universities have been working on all year,
we also have the opportunity to enjoy a full buffet breakfast (two days in a
row) and the hotel facilities (i.e. Jacuzzi, sauna and swimming pool)! However,
most of the weekend was spent inside the massive competition hall where the
entire competition was filmed and streamed live (no pressure!). We needed to wake up at 6am to get our hair
and makeup ready before eating breakfast at 7am and then arriving at
Loughborough University by 8.15 sharp. The competition began with novice ballet
at 9am. I didn’t get much of an opportunity to watch the novice routines because
Southampton’s advanced ballet squad was first to kick off the advanced ballet
section which meant we all needed to stretch and warm up. I’d be lying if I
said I wasn’t nervous before stepping onto the stage but I think that’s
actually part of the fun of it! It feels really good to get nervous and to
challenge yourself outside of your comfort zone. We trained for months only to
perform in front of the judges for a few crucial minutes. Your chance to
impress the judges is over in a heartbeat! Nevertheless, I’m extremely proud of
what we achieved.
Group huddle before getting changed into
our costumes and warming up for the competition
Finale position of the advanced ballet
routine
And before you know it the dance is over
and all you can do is wait for the results… After performing I was then able to
relax a little and watch the other universities perform. This can be incredibly
intimidating especially seeing as there were a number of truly impressive
routines. Following the ballet section was tap, lunch and then wildcard.
Here’s a photo of the Southampton bhangra
squad competing for the first time in the wildcard category
The final category for the day was advanced
jazz (my favourite routine to perform).
Our advanced jazz squad
After the advanced jazz category everyone
quickly went back to the hotel to shower and change before heading back to
their students’ union where we had dinner and waited for the results of day one…
We placed second with our advanced ballet squad and second with our advanced
jazz squad. The standard was really high and we’re all extremely proud of
placing in those categories. In addition, our advanced jazz dance squad captain
also won a prize for best male! Following the awards was a freestyle battle and
then a night out to celebrate day one.
The following day began with another early
start as we again prepared for a day full of dance. After performing in the
advanced contemporary section I had the rest of the day to relax and enjoy
watching the other routines. During the lunch break they also had a number of
workshops running so I jumped in and took the opportunity to try zumba which I
found super fun. I may even join the Southampton zumba society next year.
Photo from our contemporary performance.
The final category of the competition was
advanced street and then it was time for the results of day two. Southampton
placed third in the advanced street category which was simply phenomenal. The
street squad made history seeing as this was the first year Southampton’s
advanced street squad had ever placed at Loughborough.
Group photo of everyone from Southampton
who competed in the competition.
I had an incredible time and I’m grateful
to have been able to share such a fantastic experience with so many wonderful
dancers. What is more is that in about a week it’ll be time for our annual pure
dance show which includes performances from members of all the dance societies
on campus with routines from beginner to advanced level. It’s basically a
chance for everyone, no matter what level of dance you are at to show off what
you’ve learnt over the past year. The week following the show I’ve organised a
workshop along with the contemporary dance society and then we break for
Easter! During the first week back from our Easter holidays the jazz dance
society will have an AGM and a new committee will be voted in. My time as
president has passed unbelievably fast but I’m excited to embrace what’s to
come.
As the year has progressed I’ve become more
and more confident that a career in research is what I want to pursue. We’ve
started discussing third year projects now, which is a little daunting but also
very exciting – but more on that another time…
Kristin
No comments:
Post a Comment