Community Dance Fest is off and running.
The Trents Community Centre in St James exploded with youthful excitement on Monday evening as seven groups took part in preliminary auditions under the watchful eyes of a panel of judges, coaches and choreographers.
The preliminaries for groups from the northern parishes brought out varied genres. But the packed audience warmed to the presentations that ranged from the hip hop of Mod Squad to the contemporary dance from Alexandra School and OLOS, the mix of passa passa and break-dance from Supa Crazy, an entertaining lindy hop piece from L&B Prodigy Dancers and the very modern style and music of Youth Uprising Dancers, many of them 12-year-olds from Coleridge and Parry, Alexandra and St James Secondary schools.
Community Dance Fest is organised by the Community Development Department. Â
The preliminaries were due to continue on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week, leading to zone finals in December, at which the groups to reach the finals will be determined. All groups taking part in the preliminaries benefit from advice from the judges at the end of the sessions.
More than 30 groups are registered for this year’s Community Dance Fest. This is an increase on participation last year. The Community Development Department is also organising two workshops to further assist groups with their development and preparation for the popular festival.