Dancers dazzle at eisteddfod

LEONGATHA was buzzing for three days when more than 700 dancers converged on the town for the South Gippsland Dance Eisteddfod’s 9th annual event.
As the only dance eisteddfod in the South Gippsland and Bass Coast Shires, the South Gippsland Dance Eisteddfod is a mainstay for the competitive dancer’s calendar.
South Gippsland Dance Eisteddfod committee president Shelley Williams said the event, staged from Friday, August 3 to Sunday, August 5 was once again “completely overwhelming.”
“I’ve received so many messages of support, particularly from first time parents; they all had a fabulous time.”
“This is the first year we have re-branded as the South Gippsland Dance Eisteddfod and it went fabulously,” she said.
From under six years classical solos to 13 years and over national solos or dance troupes for a range of styles, dancers were rehearsing in earnest in whatever space they could find in the packed out Mesley Hall in Leongatha.
Eisteddfod committee secretary Beck Stoops who has two daughters competing said there was huge demand for entry places this year.
“We could run it for a week. There is a lot of demand but at the moment we are limited by resources,” she said.
“This event gives local youth a chance to perform locally in front of family and friends, because there are not a lot of performance opportunities in the area.
“All the committee are volunteers and we have had some amazing support from local businesses that we are very grateful to.”
The event brings entrants from dance studios all over Victoria including from Morwell, Moe and Melbourne and is regarded as a significant boost to the Leongatha economy.
Raffle winners were first Rita Keen, second Maureen Benson, third Joy Morgan and fourth, Rita Keen.

Perfect duo: Lisa Pellin Dance students Maya Williams and Taya Cameron looked the part in the duo dance at the South Gippsland Dance Eisteddfod in Leongatha on Saturday.

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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Aug 7 2018. Filed under Arts & Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry