by Rebecca Hannant
Students from Hornsea School and Language College have won first place at a national dance competition.
On Tuesday, April 22, a team of year seven to year 13 students travelled to Portsmouth to compete in the national finals of Dance Live, a performance-based competition that brings together schools and colleges from across the country.
Teams were asked to create a dance piece – inspired by a narrative, theme or concept – lasting up to seven minutes. Performances were enhanced with video content projected on to a 12m LED screen, combining choreography with technical theatre.
Earlier in the year, the Hornsea team – made up of dancers, lighting assistants, video editors and backstage crew – travelled to Blackpool to compete in the northern heat with their piece The Last Look, inspired by the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.
At the heats, they won awards for costume and video, as well as first place overall, securing a spot in the national finals.
At the finals, the team once again performed The Last Look – and claimed the top prize.
Amy Wood, head of dance, said: “After a bank holiday Monday rehearsal, the team travelled the seven-hour journey to Portsmouth Guildhall to compete in the finals against other schools who had also won their regional heats. The standard across all the schools was incredible.
“After a day of rehearsals, dancing and getting ready for the show, the team performed the same piece. They are incredibly proud to have won first place at the national finals – a result they never believed possible.
“The performing arts department and the whole school community are so proud of every single member of the team for their hard work and dedication.”