Following nine weeks of dedication and hard work, the Dance Unites competition has been fierce with thousands of students from 10 schools across the Nord Anglia Education family competing for first place.
Following nine weeks of dedication and hard work, the Dance Unites competition has been fierce with thousands of students from 10 schools across the Nord Anglia Education family competing for first place.
The British International School Shanghai, Puxi Win First Place in Dances Unites! Thursday 13 December 2012 - Following nine weeks of dedication and hard work, the Global Classroom Dance Unites winner has been chosen.
Following nine weeks of dedication and hard work, the Dance Unites competition has been fierce with thousands of students from 10 schools across the Nord Anglia Education family competing for first place.
The winner of Dance Unites 2012 was announced yesterday, with The British International School Shanghai, Puxi winning first place with their dance titled, 老上海，时尚海 (lǎoshànghǎi, shíshànghǎi). The British International School Bratislava came a close second, with The British International School Shanghai, Pudong and The British School Warsaw coming joint third.
Students at The British International School Shanghai, Puxi chose three locations around Shanghai to perform their dance, which complemented their movements and showcased the city in which they live. Highlighting Shanghai as a modern city but one still rich in culture and tradition, students performed their dance in Fuxing Park, at Hongqiao Station and on the Bund.
It was clear that each School had really thought about their performance locations, dance theme and written submission. It was fascinating to see The British School of Beijing dancing on the Great Wall of China, The English International School Prague dancing in front of the Dancing House and Collège Champittet dancing by Lake Geneva. It was also extremely powerful to watch how The British International School Bratislava illustrated the struggle for liberation throughout their dance and how The British International School Budapest portrayed the subject of bullying.
The Dance Unites competition has been a fantastic opportunity for all Nord Anglia Education students to take part in a unique student-led initiative, coming together to learn and develop valuable qualities such as collaboration, creativity and perseverance. Students have shown a tremendous ability to work in large groups, be creative and original with their choreography, music and costumes, and produce a final performance that is totally unique to their school.
Maria Yacoob, Choreographer and Dance Teacher of Pineapple, says: "Overall I was very impressed with the level of the entries for Dance Unites. It’s not easy to choreograph and it’s not easy to dance. Throughout the entries I saw fantastic examples of both, and a level of energy and participation that made me so proud of everyone. If the future of dance is in their hands, it’s going to be an exciting time ahead!”
Commenting on the winners themselves, Maria Yacoob added: “I honestly can’t praise students at The British International School Shanghai, Puxi highly enough. The idea of old and new Shanghai was a perfect starting place, the section on the metro was incredibly sophisticated choreography that worked brilliantly and the last section made the whole performance end on an emotional high that perfectly encapsulated how their school embraced the wider Chinese culture, and vice versa. Truly excellent.”
Following the judging, Professor Deborah Eyre, Education Director of Nord Anglia Education, said: "The Global Classroom offers lots of possibilities for our students, but Dance Unites is probably one of the most exciting things we’ve done so far. I was so impressed with how it was the students themselves who took the lead on the choreography, music and videos; how students worked together in large inclusive groups; and it was great seeing all that collaboration and creativity. Having the chance to judge has been a true privilege."
The judging panel included representatives from Nord Anglia Education (Professor Deborah Eyre, Education Director) and Pineapple Dance Studios (Maria Yacoob, Choreographer and Dance Teacher) and the winning school will be awarded £1,000 to spend on a dance experience of their choice.
The performances
Each of the School’s performances can be seen by clicking on the School name below:
The British International School Shanghai, Puxi
The British International School Shanghai, Pudong
The British School of Beijing
The Regent’s School Pattaya
Collège Champittet
The British International School Bratislava
The British International School Budapest
The British School Warsaw
The English International School Prague
La Côte International School
