A street dance crew from a specialist college in Shropshire, earned medals and trophies galore at a dance competition in Wolverhampton against 19 other dance schools.
Derwen Dance Crew (DDC), made up of talented students from Derwen College, near Oswestry, entered the Audacity dance competition in Cannock.
The team performed as a group and with individual performances, impressing a sold-out audience who were all on their feet enjoying the show.
The competition at Chase Leisure Centre, Cannock, on Sunday saw students Anna Redding, George Weston, Megan Probyn, Georgia Bennett-Lockey, Tom Newton-French and Nicole Williams receive individual and group trophies. Derwen Dance Crew came second in the SEN Street Dance Crew, and the crew won many individual awards.
Megan, who was competing in her first DDC competition came first in the 18+ Contemporary Beginners and second in Freestyle Street Dance. Nicole won first in Contemporary Intermediate, Tom was first in the Street Solo Beginners and Anna was first in Street Solo Intermediate.They have now qualified for the Championship 2023.
Performing Arts teacher Opal Trevor said:
“I am incredibly proud of all of them. The comments from other dance schools and parents were phenomenal. This is what dance is all about; celebrating, equality and diversity.
“This was an excellent opportunity to compete in a competitive event, showcasing some brilliant performance skills!
“On the morning of competition they were told that team member Amy had Covid so couldn’t compete. As superstars, DDC changed their whole set including transitions and remembered everything when performing on stage this is pure professionalism. It was wonderful to be part of a such an inspirational event.
“Unfortunately this was DDC’s last time competing together as many of the dancers are now in their final year at college and will be moving on to their next chapters in life which is very exciting!”
Megan, from Stoke, loved being part of her first dance competition with DCC, supported by family who came to watch.
She said: “Since I’ve been part of DCC, I’ve built confidence, so I didn’t feel nervous. I made my parents cry. They were so proud!”
Megan’s mum, Sarah Probyn, said: “We had the most amazing day, and words cannot come close to describing how proud we are. The whole group was amazing and every student is an absolute inspiration to everyone who was in that room and lucky enough to see their performance.”
Anna, from Shropshire, who will be going on to start a supported internship at College, in September, said:
“I was mostly surprised when I got first place, and a bit starstruck! It was nice when saw the crowd were on their feet, and cheering! It was brilliant. My mum and stepdad came to watch, and were really proud. They were cheering really loudly.”
A spokesperson for Audacity said: “Wow, what a day! 19 schools and a whole lot of talent on that floor. It was our biggest event to date. What a beautiful set of routines and costumes we got to see, you really all went full out!
On Sunday, the crew will be visiting West Midlands Showground, in Shrewsbury, to perform at and enjoy a Charity Fun Day and Car Boot in aid of Little Rascals Foundation Charity.
Performing Arts is one of the pathways available to students, aged 16-25, at Derwen College.
Visit the website at www.derwen.ac.uk for further details.