SWINDON COMPETITION DECEMEBER 2024!

Written by HDDS Director- Harriet Dyke

Excel Dance Events Competition was our first event of the 24/25 season, and wow what an event it was!

This was our first competition as a school where we took a team and multiple dances as we begin the competition season.

The HDDS Comp team is made up of a variety of ages and dance styles, who all put in a huge amount of effort to rehearse, compete and celebrate others.

I am still not quite over the magical day we had and how I am so lucky to have such a well mannered and supportive team.

The day started off with the Tots and Mini Ballet Section. And on went Sofia. Sofia is 2 years old and was the bravest dancer on that stage yesterday. Myself and Sofia went for a little dance around the stage, using our sparkly wand to cast spells and to wave at all of our friends. Sofia had a lovely cuddle with Excels judge Eloise who was so sweet and kind as she encouraged Sofia to dance across the stage to myself. Topping the morning of with a 1st place trophy and has qualified for the Excel Finals! I am so so proud of you Sofia. I can not wait to watch you at the next one!

My next dancer has only ever been to one other dance competition but you could not tell that yesterday. Imogen was cool, calm and collected as she chatted away back stage to the other amazing competitors. Immy (7) graced the stage with her brand new solo Enchanted Forrest, Her turnout in her plies were beautiful and Immy smiled throughout, enjoying performing again. Imogen came 2nd in her division and also qualified for the Grand Finals! Well done Immy, I am so proud of you and how far you have come in such a short period of time.

Next up was Bea with her Lyrical Solo. Bea was determined and full of power and she danced across the stage using emotion to enhance her performance, making it look easy. Bea is such a joy to work with during rehearsals and her hard work was reflected yesterday. I am so proud of you Bea and look forward to working with you in the future.

My next two dancers Jess and Safiya graced the stage with their Jazz Solos. Both working hard with their turns and leaps, it was so lovely to watch their hard work pay off. The girls later performed their duet which looked fantastic! The use of the skirt and sharp dynamics put on a good performance earning themselves 3rd place! I am so proud of you girls and can not wait to add a vocal in for you Jess!

Peri and Imogen. No nerves were required as you danced your first competition together. We went from “no I am not doing it” in rehearsals, to gracing the stage with such courage and elegance. No words can describe how proud I am of you both and of the beautiful friendship that is being created. A friendship that will last forever. You look after each other and bring out the best of each other! On to the next one!

My Senior team. All the comments I had yesterday were “your girls are so lovely and polite.” Yes, Yes they are. You are so much fun to have in rehearsal and in the training room, you work so hard together and always there to help each other out. I was already very proud of you and yesterday confirmed that. The talent and determination you girls have as a team is so lovely to witness. The Seniors duet has a strong focus on mental health, it is a tricky one to watch let alone dance. We have many conversations in class regarding Mental Health and why it is so important to speak to someone if you are unsure on any emotions you may be feeling. Mental Health is dance is something we do not often discuss and I could be here for a very long time but we shall leave that for another day. The girls used their emotion and projected that into their dance, which placed them 2nd meaning they are also headed to the Grand Finals. Looks like we better look at hotels!

I would like to take this moment to shout out Bea and Ruby. With a touch of persuasion they took on the dance challenge, terrified it was going to be Street or Hip-Hop, luckily for them it was a lyrical style song. For anybody who is unaware of what a dance challenge is, it is an opportunity for dancers to go head to head with free style movement. All entered dancers are put on stage and are given one chance to listen to the music. Then they must embrace their instincts and go for it. That they certainly did. I did not watch anyone else on stage. The musicality hit and you shone like two stars. The judges then choose their 3 favourites and bring them back on to another song. Well they called the number 16 out and Bea was shocked to the core. Bea rose to the challenge and in my eyes was the best on the stage. Bea I can not wait to watch you grow as a dancer and continue to shine. You and Ruby made me so proud to be your dance teacher. Thank you.

I was just about to relax into my chair, extremely proud of all the awards and how hard my team had worked throughout the day, when suddenly screams surrounded me. HD DANCE STUDIOS had just been given the EXCEL DANCE AWARD for being the most supportive dance school. Well I was too busy making bets with Josie about who it could be, that I did not even think it would be us. We were the smallest school there that day, but clearly not the quietest. There is a few people that made this award possible and for them we would not have received it. Jack (Co-Owner) and Sonia ( HDDS Original Dance Mum) Sat their all day, we are talking 10 hours. Marking of dances, cheering on all competitors and looking after team HDDS. Thank you to you both for your continued support, you both have made many sacrifices for this school that nobody knows about, but I do and I appreciate you both so incredibly much. Georgia you have my back always and I am so grateful for the way you have stepped up and helped me with this dream, I appreciate you more than you will ever know, lets get Darcey on that Stage! Josie, we started off as dance partners a long time ago now. You are a constant and yesterday you showed up. Supporting the dancers on and off the stage, I am so grateful for you, thankyou. Dancers you are so polite, caring and such a joy to be around. Thank you for being the legends you are.

To the HDDS parents who allow me to teach their students, thank you. Thank you for showing up yesterday and thank you for being so lovely to me, Eleanor for asking me if I am okay and constantly thanking me. Leah for wearing the team colours and bringing your entire family to support us, thank you. Jazz and Carl for allowing me to create a solo for your little one, I promise we will see it one day and thank you for always having my back. Tash for being an excellent chaperone and for always throwing food in my direction and wiping my tears away. Lucy you are an incredible hardworking person but you always have time to support me, Thank you. Ali, you have been on this journey from the start, I have no words to say how grateful I am for your support and for all you have done for HDDS in our first year of being open. I actually do not think anyone was more please than you were for that award yesterday, thank you Ali.

Emma and your entire team, what a wonderful event you have. Thank you for allowing us to be apart of it.

Dancers lets go dance!

CONGRATULATIONS TEAM HDDS!!!!!!

Miss Harriet

HDDS DIRECTOR