Passion and energy were just a few of the words thrown around after four days of the 21st annual OnStage dance competition from April 19-22.
Over 800 dancers from 20 different Saskatchewan dance companies competed in 10 dance disciplines with dancers performing solo, duo, trio, or group dances. This included local Humboldt companies A-List Dance and Acrobatics and Impact Dance Company.
The competition wrapped up April 22 with the Golden Ticket round with four 12 and under groups competing for a $500 grand prize and six 13 and over competing for the $1,000 grand prize.
Lanigan School was the big winner, taking first and second place for the 13 and over category for both their Lyrical small group and Contemporary small group performances.
Bold Dance out of Prince Albert took the grand prize in the 12 and under category for their Song and Dance small group.
OnStage adjudicators, Nola Antony, Heather Davies, and Bruno original, Marcel Tremel, had the difficult job of selecting the Golden Ticket participants throughout the four day competition.
While they would like to award a golden ticket right away, they were taking their time and making sure they gave it to the most deserving group in each discipline of dance, says Antony.
If the adjudicators wanted to get up on stage with the dancers, that was a big selling point, says Antony.
All three adjudicators were impressed with the level of skill on the OnStage stage.
Dancers were well rehearsed and excited to perform which is great to watch, says Davies.
While all three adjudicators are of a ballet background and look favourably on strong technique, they are also looking at entertainment value, says Antony.
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Dancing with their heart and projecting energy out towards the audience is something that draws Tremel in, he says.
That is always a sell out for him, says Tremel.
Tremel teaches a lot around the Vancouver B.C. area, he says, and competitions play an important role in developing, inspiring, and challenging the dancers. The competition part comes secondary to that development, he says.
With such a long haul ahead of them, incoming OnStage Chair, Cory Reineke, was impressed with the adjudicators themselves for their tireless work judging all the dancers.
They brought their own enthusiasm and positivity to the competition and gave great feedback to the performers throughout the competition.
April 22 also finished the competition with just over 80 scholarships awarded to dancers and choreographers for their hard work throughout the competition. Awards were based on marks received throughout the competition.
