For the past two weeks I have been in an intense Dance bubble as we race to the end of the academic year already. With our show, AGM and awards in that time, it has been a stressy, busy and ridiculously proud couple of weeks and I’m exhausted but so happy and wanted to take a second to reflect on some of the amazingness of this year (in case you missed it, I already raved about how incredible dance has been this year after our Awards Ball).
The show is obviously the biggest part of our year and it was incredible to see 53 of our members all over that stage – the majority of whom were in multiple dances (hard to organise, but inspiring to see so many dedicated people/talented dancers). Our show was bigger and better than it has ever been with a whopping 30 numbers from our dance classes, competition teams, workshops, soloists and performances from our pals at Edinburgh Napier Pop Choir. It was an incredibly long day and my body and brain were aching by the time the curtain fell but I was also so fiercly proud of everything we managed to organise, rehearse and perform with the hard work and creativity of so many people. Blog post coming soon with videos of some of the performances but for now check out these stunning shots by the mega talented Roosa Päivänsalo and Calum Rafferty and Roksana Rychlik of Ardview Photography.
I am particularly proud of my Jazz class and my Contemporary team’s performances, thanks for making my ideas come to life! Although at times this year I’ve been hella stressed with choreography, it has been an absolute pleasure to teach you all. No matter how much is going on in my life and how little time/space I have to plan for you I have loved teaching this year. I thank you for putting up with the hyper little dork of a teacher that I am and indulging me in my theme weeks in that first semester of Jazz, I found it lots of fun and think you guys did too (hopefully!) I have heard so many good comments about our show routine it makes me cheese a lot but that is fully down to how sassy y’all performed it! I think it was a Supermassive success so thank you all for being amazing! As for contemp team, we might not have the trophies to prove it this year but goddamn you are all incredible. Safe to say we created two very distinct but gorgeous dances and I appreciate you trusting me to make my crazy ideas happen as your captain. I bloody love both of those routines but Wait For It is something special and nothing beats those goosebumps I get by the time we’re at the circle. I love you all.
Then after a few days of recovering from the physical and mental exhaustion of that marathon show, we then had our AGM. This is a huge meeting at the end of the year where we get feedback from all our members on the year and what they’d like to see us do in the future and then the people who are applying for next year’s committee make speeches to pitch themselves. Hearing so many incredible and engaged members not only talk about how much they love Dance but also how determined they are to continue making it better was so inspiring and really just filled my heart to know how much it means to everyone.
In the evening we had our Awards Night so along with a three course meal and hanging out with my favourite people we got to give out lots of lovely awards to appreciate the dancers such as Most Dedicated, Best Fresher and Team Spirit which the members vote for but we, the committee, also got to give out some awards of appreciation to people we see being super dedicated, helpful and deserving of some recognition. We also announced next year’s committee and I am so excited and thankful to have been elected as next year’s President! 😀 With Hanna Olsson as Vice President, Louise Gregory as Treasurer, Cat Richardson as our Competition Coordinator, Emily Divine as Social Secretary, Amy Mooney as Marketing Officer and Chloe Steele as Fundraiser. I think we’re gonna make a really great team and cannot wait to get started on next year already because these gals have so many great ideas!
This past year has been the best time of my life and I’m so grateful to have Napier Dance, my uni experience would not be the same without my Dance family who make Edinburgh really feel like home. I am so proud of everything we’ve achieved as a team and I can’t wait to lead the team to even more growth, love and success after the summer. When you go to uni, get involved – it’ll make everything so much better.
Now I’m just gonna leave you with these artsy shots by the amazing Roksana of Ardview because they are gorgeous.
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