In the first week of term 4 one of our Dance Academy teams took on the most prestigious Performing Arts competition in NZ.

They were lucky enough to receive a coveted nomination to attend the 'National Young Performer of the Year' in Palmerston North, representing Burnside High in a large line up of 85 of this country's best and most elite dance troupes. We were one of only three High school teams, taking on the studios from around New Zealand. 

The incredible news is that Burnside High made FINALS (the first high school to ever do this) and we felt so honored to be a part of this insanely talented finals group. Not only to mention, we were also the ONLY team out of the 18 in finals, to represent the South Island. Oh and should we mention again that we are a HIGH SCHOOL? And then overall we placed 8th in the country out of 85 outstanding teams. Incredible!!! This is just such a massive achievement for a school team to do and the students were enthralled.

Another special congratulations goes to Molly Brown who made semi finals of the modern soloists and Annelise Tan who made top 6 finals in the solo division. These two represented their studios and this is also an incredible achievement for them to do so well out of a large pool of 91 dancers across the country. 

These 12 dancers in our Open Dance Academy team representing Burnside High, are some of the funniest, kind, determined, and creative kids you will ever meet. They simply do not realize how truly talented they are and we are so blessed to have them all at one SCHOOL. The girls spend most of their limited rehearsal time in fun and laughter, but they sure can bring the fire on stage. Our team has become a little family and they genuinely love each other all sooo much despite their differing backgrounds and studios. It certainly has been a year we will not forget in the Dance department!