The OnStage Dance Festival saw a strong Melfort showing, with over 100 dancers gracing the Humboldt stage.
Paulette Puetz, the Melfort Dance Centre’s director, said her and her dancers enjoyed their weekend at the festival with four days of performances ending April 9. There were 960 dancers from across the province.
“We still have that same feeling here, everyone unified to enjoy the art of dance.”
Every chance her girls and guys get a chance to perform is a chance for them to gain vital life skills, said Puetz, so she considers that a success for all her dancers.
One unique part of OnStage is a Golden Ticket round, where 10 groups are chosen to compete for cash prizes at the end of the competition.
Melfort Dance had three groups competing in the Golden Ticket with two groups in the under 12 group and one in the 13 and over.
The age 11-12 large jazz group would go on to take the 12 and under category and the $500 prize with their dance, Who’s Bad, with the age 11-12 lyrical group not far behind with their dance, Light will Lead. The age 15-16 large tap group would take second in the 13 and over category for their dance, Telescope.
Puetz said she is proud of all of her dancers for their hard work and wonderful representation on the weekend.
With all the amazing talent on stage, this made for tough decisions for adjudicators Irene Booth, Sarah Baker-Kroll and Abbey Dutton.
Not only were they responsible for choosing the ten Golden Ticket groups but also who was going to receive $5,000 worth of scholarships and 14 different travel opportunities for dance conventions from New York, Vancouver, Toronto and Edmonton.
Sometimes those decisions are easy when something stands out about the dancer or group of dancers.
Dutton said that decision can be made harder when there are multiple dancers who have that X factor.
Many of the golden ticket winners were large groups working on a small stage.
Their ability to work with that small stage and execute their dance with precision was something that caught Baker-Kroll’s eye. Baker-Kroll said another factor was the winners’ ability to entertain the adjudicators so much they get lost in the dance.
Giving out the golden ticket was an amazing feeling because as dance instructors and directors themselves, they know the teamwork and passion that goes into an amazing performance.
