Hagley Dance were fortunate to have a pool of amazingly talented dancers join the courses this year who demonstrate a bright future in Dance.

Congratulations to Jessica May-Smith for being accepted into the New Zealand School of Dance full-time Contemporary Dance Course. This is quite a huge achievement as not many New Zealanders are usually accepted. Jessica studied Year 12 NCEA Dance this year, gaining the subject achievement award. She is also a winner at a national level, where she was the overall winner of the Impact Dance Competition. Wow! We wish her all the best with her Dance career.

Shannon Gilmore gave up a career as a Scientist to pursue her passion for Dance, joining the Hagley Dance Project as an adult student this year. Shannon can be congratulated for successfully auditioning for both the Unitec Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts, Major in Contemporary Dance and the Auckland University Dance Studies courses. Shannon is the successful applicant for the Sheryl Robinson* Scholarship and will receive $1500 to go towards her transition towards her chosen tertiary pathway.

*The Sheryl Robinson Scholarship was set up to honour the legacy of Sheryl who passed away in 2010. Sheryl was the founder of the Hagley Dance Company over 21 years ago.

Muika Dodd and Rawhiti Welch received joint awards for their commitment, determination, artistry, beautiful dance skills, and positive work ethics for the Hagley Dance Project. Muika can be congratulated for gaining both Level 2 and 3 Dance this year at Merit and Excellence, alongside completing the Hagley Dance Project course, and she is only 15 years old, what a fantastic achievement!

Aleisha Bouma and Hope Takle-Smith can be congratulated for receiving the joint subject award for Year 13 Dance, and Nicola Sutherland-Smith was awarded the Level 1 Dance subject award.

On Wednesday 26th October, Hagley Dance celebrated the accomplishments of the year at the annual show “In Motion.” This year we were fortunate to perform at The Phillip Carter Family Concert Hall, The Piano – such a gorgeous and professional venue.

As in other years it was a community show featuring Hagley Dance Project, Senior NCEA Dance students, the After 3 community dance group, The Hagley Theatre Company and, for the first time, the up-and-coming Junior Advanced Dancers, combining Year 9 and 10 dancers who have only been dancing together in the Kete Wana “Dance Your Heart Out” option since August. What a great achievement!

The show featured guest choreography from Fleur de Their, Donna Frost (Latin Fire), Julia McKerrow (Soma Studios), Lana Panfilow (Flow Dance Academy), and Jobelle Nunez (Euphoria Dance Studio) and Naressa Gamble (Head of Dance Studies Te Puna Wai O Waipapa). The dancers faced many challenges this year with many interruptions due to it being another Covid year right from the start. Congratulations to everyone involved. Beautiful demonstrations of technical dance skills, teamwork, artistry, and expressiveness. It was a fabulous show, and we wish the dancers all the best with their future dancing endeavours.

Applications are OPEN for Hagley Dance Project 2023 – Please come and see Naressa at the Hagley Enrolment Day on Tuesday 22nd November. Or apply here: www.hagleydance.nz or email Naressa.Gamble@staff.hagley.school.nz to set up a time for an interview.

Students can join Dance at Hagley from Year 9 to Year 13. At Junior level we offer 12-week option blocks, and at Senior level we have a brand new “Beginners Dance” on offer and “Intermediate/Advanced Dance” for Senior NCEA Dance students. Level 3 (Year 13 Dance) is a University Approved subject and you can gain UE Literacy credits. Come and find out more at the Hagley Enrolment Day on Tuesday 22nd November.