5 November 2024
Wow! What a fantastic day had by all at this year’s ISTD Dancesport Bursary Awards at the London offices.
The Set Dance Grand Finals 2024 winners came together to compete for the bursary awards and the standard was absolutely phenomenal from every single competitor.
A huge round of applause must go to not only the competitors for their hard work, determination, and dedication, but also, to all their fantastic teachers who work tirelessly all year round to create such technical dancers.
I was in charge of the running during the bursaries and what I found so beautiful to watch was friendships being made from the different schools whilst they were waiting to go in and then for the results.
Personally, having danced since I was 18 months old, I treasure the memories of events similar to this that I was involved in and I really hope after seeing the smiles the students had on their faces last week, it will be a memory they will always treasure and remember.
As we soon move into 2025, I would like to take this opportunity to wish next year‘s competitors the best of luck and we really look forward to seeing you come together again for another fantastic year.
Written by Anna Knowles-Hibbert, DFR Committee member - L.I.S.T.D & D.D.E Diploma in Dance Education
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the bursaries as follows:
Juvenile section:
Winner: U10 Social Dance Test - Faith Rayner
Runner-Up: U12 Pre-Bronze - Sienna-Rose Bowler
Junior section:
Winner: Under 14 Gold & Above - Hattie Bevan
Runner-Up: Over 14 Bronze - Mia Evans
Teacher details
Juvenile Winner - Jean Cantell Award
Under 10 SDT
Katie Gooch - Boogie Shoes Dance Academy
Juvenile Runner-up
Under 12 PB
Katie Gooch - Boogie Shoes Dance Academy
Junior Winner - Janet Clark Award
Under 14 Gold / above
Joanna Bevan - JBSD
Junior Runner-up
Over 14 Bonze
Joanna Bevan - JBSD
Below are a few short quotes from the adjudicators on their experience of this years awards:
Michelle Arnell:
“Another wonderful day of DFR success! Such a high standard and a tough decision for the adjudicators.”
Laura Rampton:
“I was absolutely blown away by the sky high talent performed by all dancers. A huge congratulations to all participants, you were all truly amazing and I hope you feel incredibly proud.”
Joanna Beaven:
“It was a honour to see such a high standard of dancing from all the competitors at the Bursary. The dancers performed beautifully and did themselves and their teachers proud. It was also lovely seeing new friendships being formed with dancers from different schools, as they came together to enjoy the special day. Congratulations to everyone who took part - you made the adjudicator’s job very tricky.”
Gail Henry:
“A huge well done to all the dancers who attended the bursary awards, I was blown away by the high standard and it was a difficult job for all the adjudicators.
It was a pleasure to watch you all perform so beautifully and you should all be very proud of your achievement, you are a credit to your teachers.
It was lovely to see the support you had for each other and the sportsmanship shown.”
Stacey Taylor:
“It was an absolute honour and pleasure to be asked by the DFR committee to join the bursary awards adjudicating panel for the junior section, from video submissions to in person performances the standard of dancing was outstanding, and each dancer was presented beautifully, they all deserved to win and were a real credit to themselves and their teachers.”
Lisa Harrison-Jones:
"It was such an honour to be asked to be part of the adjudicating team for the DFR Bursary day. The teachers had prepared all the dancers beautifully, both technically and artistically, right from the under 6s to the over 14s, and it was a joy to see so much passion and talent on display. Sincere congratulations to all the dancers, teachers, and the winners!”
