News

June 16, 2010

CHARLES WEBSTER LEADS THE WAY!

At the end of a brilliant evening of dance and joyous celebration, Charles Webster Jr. P.S. stepped it up and stepped away with the stunning Palais Royale Trophy.  The Nine finalist schools wowed their audience throughout two hours plus of exceptional showmanship.   The historic ballroom of the Palais was filled to capacity. It rocked not only with the exuberance of the dance but also with the unprecedented jubilation of the competitors and their respective supporters.  The elegance of the Foxtrot, the panache of the Tango, the “shake what your momma gave you” of the Merengue and Rhumba were to be outdone only by the brilliant Swing steps that had the audience on their feet in every round.  

To add to the amazing evening, we had the pleasure of two very special showcases. The first was a presentation by Grade 8 dancers from Fisherville Jr. High and Parkdale JMS which featured a fabulous Salsa.  The Grade 8 program was generously supported by the Rotary Club of Toronto and their Foundation.  Later in the evening, six of our 2008 graduates of  Winchester’s Dancing Classrooms now pursuing competitive ballroom dance at the Joy of Dance Studio through special scholarships  wowed us with their execution of a beautiful Rhumba and then an intricate Swing number. 
Our Nine Finalist schools secured the following placements:

BRONZE MEDALLISTS: Sts. Cosmas & Damian, Valleyfield Jr. P.S. and Bala Jr. P.S.
SILVER MEDALLISTS: Brookhaven Jr. P.S., St. Fidelis and St. John Bosco
GOLD MEDALLISTS: (Trophy Winner) Charles Webster Jr. P.S., Pope Paul, St. Benedict

We thank our judges Helen Leask, Joan Glean and Anthony Plut who declared this their most challenging effort ever as the standard of dance was incredible. We also thank Edgar Hernandez, renowned ballroom & dance instructor of Dance Maxx Studio who was our Guest Judge at the Spring Term Quarter Finals at Winchester Public School. 

It was Edgar’s first “live” experience with Dancing Classrooms although well acquainted with Pierre Dulaine’s extra-ordinary Character Development concept through the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom, and the reputation of Pierre’s work through the professional dance arena.  He and his wife Michelle were absolutely blown away with the performances of our dancers. Edgar congratulated our schools and boards on bringing such an amazing opportunity to their students through Join the Dance.

P.S. Amazing photo images of our events will be available shortly on our site courtesy of Graham Heron, our volunteer photographer. So, please keep checking!