PORT McNEILL—Fourteen young dancers from Portside Academy of Performing Arts earned a second-place finish for their contemporary group performance to Hallelujah at the North Island Festival of Performing Arts earlier this month in Courtenay.
The festival, which included competition in dance, drama and music, drew clubs from throughout the North and Central Island regions to the Sid Williams theatre for three days of activities.
“Our dancers train one to nine hours a week, and were up against other studios with dancers training 15-25 hours a week,” said Alana Collins, owner and instructor of the local studio.
“All our dancers worked hard and were rewarded.”
The lowest mark the group received from a panel of judges was 82 per cent.
The dancers, who hail from Port McNeill, Port Hardy and Port Alice, included Dawn Briscoe, Tasha Cadwallader, Estella Collins, Natasha Estlin, Leah Holmes, Claire Jones, Jennifer McKenzie, Rebecca Miller, Dayna Moore, Aija Nelson, Asia Prest, Maia Rardon and Meghan Trevor.
North Island dance fans can see this performance and many others when Portside Academy holds its annual spring dance recital, Stars of Tomorrow, at Sunset Elementary School in May.