FOUR WOKINGHAM teens took home silver and bronze at the national Cecchetti Children’s Choreographic Competition earlier this month.
On Sunday, March 8, Madeline Box and Poppy Holman performed their first senior duet, and Mark Crawley and Emily Munier competed solo — all were awarded top places.
Madeline (15) and Poppy (14) danced a combination of ballet and contemporary to impress the judges.
The contest invites young dancers to try the Cecchetti form of ballet, or tackle any other style, as a solo performer, duet, or group.
Madeline and Poppy have been training for 11 years at The Lewis Academy of Dancing in Wokingham, and were ranked bronze.
Emily (14) performed also travelled a solo piece was about climate change, and Mark (18) performed a solo, slapstick, contemporary dance, which won silver.
Madeline said: “Winning bronze gave me a lot of confidence in my choreography, and helped me realise that you don’t have to be the most incredible dancer to win a competition – some big ideas and dreams are good enough”.
Madeline’s father, James Box, added: “As parents we put in a lot of time taking the girls to lessons three times a week, and both of them are also helpers in the classes for younger girls”.
Mark said: “All four of us hope to continue dancing and choreographing in the future, and hopefully our time spent in social isolation will lead to more creative exploration”.