OnStage Dance Studio takes home top studio of the competition for second time

It was with great pride that the OnStage Dance studio was awarded Top Studio of the Competition in London at the Dream to Dance competition.

Competition season has come to an end with the final two events in Toronto and London. In North York, the En Pointe and Just Dance competition was held the weekend of April 10-12. It is a special event because ballet is separated and adjudicated separately from the other categories.

“The Meridian Arts Centre in Toronto is a beautiful venue with a professional stage and seating area for the parents, it was just gorgeous. We had a great showing, it’s been one of our best seasons so far,” said Meghan Seamen, owner and artistic director of OnStage Dance Studio.

There were many overall top scores including highest score for senior solo awarded to Nathan Hodgson and highest score for senior small group and senior large group. In the junior solo category, ages 11 and under, dancers took home top scores placing first, second and third in the category. Two groups were awarded adjudicator’s choice for style. One was in the tap category for Rock and Rolling choreographed by Michelle Good. The other was in modern dance for Contents May Shift choreographed by Danielle Mascolo.

“What was interesting about this was there was a whole separate division for ballet dancers so all the ballet routines, whether a solo or duet or a trio, are competing in a separate division which is kind of nice. Ballet is a very specific detail-oriented style of dance and at a general competition sometimes you can find judges that don’t have the same depth of expertise that the judges of this competition have. At OnStage we have a very robust program and our ballet dancers take it seriously. It’s really nice for them to have that chance to be in front of ballet specific judges and compete against some stronger ballet students as well. It attracts more of the serious ballet studios,” said Seamen.

April 17 to 19 was the final competition of the season at Centennial Hall in London for Dream to Dance where the studio as a whole was again very successful taking home the award for Top Studio for the second time this season. Additionally, for a perfect run where in every competition this season, Shaina Wood has been recognized, this event was awarded top choreography of the competition for In Pergatory. Scholarships were awarded to Leah Monteith, Nathan Hodgson, Kayla Winter and Emma DeVries. Awards for most potential for their age divisions went to Avalynn Duff, Alena Trotter and Madison H. Finally, Yeva Goad was awarded top novice mark.

“If you look at our routines from our showcase back in February compared to how the routines were performed at our final competition you can see a big difference. Everybody is feeling not just more comfortable with their routines and performing, but they have really dialled into the details and fixed everything we can,” said Seamen. “It’s exciting for the kids to know that overall as a studio, our routines scored highest.”

Now that the season is over there will be a year end recital to look forward to. The dancers will again perform their award-winning routines as well as a new dance number featuring 120 kids at one time, a feat worth watching. The recital is scheduled for May 9 at Stratford District Secondary School.

For more information about OnStage Dance Studio or for registration information, visit www.onstagestratford.dance.