Dancers End Dream Year by Holding Their Own on Stage

By Rachael McNaught

Esther Juon Veitch from the Waipawa Dance Centre is very proud of her students and with good reason.

In September Juon Veitch’s students achieved grades well above the national and global averages in the British Ballet Organisation (BBO) exams, with 20 out of the 34 students presented for the exams achieving a grade of Honours.

While four of the awards went to young Grade 4 dancers, upcoming young star Anja Hardy also achieved Honours at the Intermediate Foundation level. But what makes these statistics even more astounding is that ten of the Honour students are from the adult ballet classes offered by Esther.

To achieve an Honours grade a student must have gained a mark of 88 percent or above for their exam. This is a result that is notoriously difficult to gain with this ballet syllabus, particularly in the higher grades and the Waipawa Dance Centre is the only school in New Zealand to present adult students for the BBO exams.

“I am so fortunate to have this group of dedicated ladies” says Juon Veitch of her adults, some of whom travel quite a distance to get to the Waipawa Dance Centre for class each week “the Grade 2 and 4 classes were very special this year and they just worked so hard. To get this result is absolutely fantastic”.

As a consequence of these exam results adult students Jackie Scannell, Kate Trusler, Sonia Harrison, Sasha Watt and Emma Evans helped to create history and open the door for a new generation of dancers when they joined other Waipawa Dance Centre members on stage for the open class with the Royal New Zealand Ballet on Sunday, much to the delight of tutor Vivencio Samblaceno Jnr, RNZB program co-ordinators and spectators.

Although incredibly nervous before heading on stage, all the dancers did a superb job, easily coping with the class, impressing their teacher and proving that age is certainly no obstacle when it comes to dance.

After a short break for Christmas Esther’s students are looking forward to starting 2012 with a special summer workshop featuring international contemporary dancer, choreographer and teacher Natalie Ayton.

Dancers End Year on High Note

By Rachael McNaught

Students at Esther Juon Veitch’s Waipawa Dance Centre had a wonderful end to their year when they were offered the opportunity to have lessons with key members of the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

The first lesson was taken by the charismatic former principal dancer and long serving member of the RNZB Vivencio Samblaceno Jnr and was open to students between ballet Grades 3 and Intermediate Foundation.

Around 30 students from Hawkes Bay attended this class and this was the first time that adult ballet students have ever participated in it.

Jackie Scannell, Kate Trusler, Sonia Harrison, Sasha Watt and Emma Evans helped to create history and open the door for a new generation of dancers when they joined their younger Waipawa Dance Centre cohorts, Olivia Hadley, James Bailey, Connor Harrison and Danielle Le Bon on stage, much to the delight of the tutor and the RNZB program co-ordinators.

Although incredibly nervous before heading on stage, all the dancers did a superb job, easily coping with the class, impressing their teacher and proving that age is certainly no obstacle when it comes to dance.

The tutor for the second session was legendary RNZB Ballet Master Greg Horsman.

11 students attended this advanced class with 13 year old Intermediate dancer Anja Hardy being the youngest and least experienced dancer on the stage by a number of years.

Despite this, Anja did a sterling job, quickly picking up the new movements and combinations taught over the intense 90 minute lesson. Although exhausted by the end, Anja felt that she had gained a lot from the experience and was honoured to have been dancing with the advanced dancers, some of whom were on the verge of starting full-time ballet training.

This last class was followed by an opportunity to watch the members of the Royal New Zealand Ballet being put through their paces before their matinee performance of ‘The Sleeping Beauty’.

After such a successful year Esther’s dancers are now gearing up for a special summer workshop with international contemporary dancer, choreographer and teacher Natalie Ayton. There are very limited places available for this workshop so anyone interested can contact Esther at the Waipawa Dance Centre.

Dancers Excel in Ballet Exams
By Rachael McNaught

Esther Juon Veitch from the Waipawa Dance Centre is very proud of her students and with good reason.

Forget the national average; at the recent British Ballet Organisation (BBO) exams Juon Veitch’s students achieved grades well above the global average.

Out of the 34 students presented for the exams 20 achieved the highest possible grade of Honours, 9 attained Highly Commended and 5 were awarded a grade of Commended.

To achieve an Honours grade a student must have gained a pass mark of 88 or above out of 100 for their exam. This is a result that is notoriously difficult to gain with this ballet syllabus.

Of the students who were awarded Honours, four were Grade 3 dancers, who earlier in the year had elected to sit the Grade 4 exams. For all four to achieve Honours at this level after completing two years work in just one year, is a tribute to their persistence and dedication.

Another special story is that of Anja Hardy, a 13 year old student who has been dancing with Esther since November 2010.

Before joining Esther, Anja’s training had been through a different ballet curriculum, which meant that she had to start at a Grade 1 level on the BBO syllabus. Amazingly she did the equivalent of 6 years work to pass the Intermediate/Foundation grade exam with Honours.

Sadly at the end of this year Anja leaves Ether’s guidance to attend Wanganui Collegiate, where she will continue with her ballet training.

The adult students were also extremely well represented with 10 students achieving Honours in their Grade 2 and 4 exams. This outcome has resulted in them being invited to train with instructors from the Royal New Zealand Ballet when the company visits Napier later this month.

When asked what the secret was for the success of the school Esther lays the credit firmly with her students. “They are incredible, they are just so dedicated and so enthusiastic. They love what they do and are a joy to teach. I am so fortunate to have such a great ballet school to work with”