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Artistry in Motion earns top honors at 2011 Nationals Competition

Twenty-one dancers, from Artistry in Motion, the in house dance company of the Des Plaines Park District, took home top honors at the 2011 DanceAmerica National Finals, held at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center, July 4-7.

Forty-one studios from 14 states across the country, as well as Canada and Mexico, performed 825 dances, competing for individual and group awards during the four days. Artistry in Motion performed a total of 26 dances and received four first- and six second-place awards.

Earning first place awards in the Junior age group were: the Small Group Lyrical piece, “Time After Time,” choreographed by Anne Gollenberg, and performed by Erika Hahn, Kari Radke, Jackie Rentner, Elizabeth Skorupski, Jenna Specchio, and, Megan Swanson; the Small Group Modern piece, “A Brother to a Sister,” choreographed by Gollenberg, and performed by Sara Centineo, Meghan Hanrahan, Mathew Skorupski, and Specchio; the Duo/Trio Lyrical piece, “Count on Me,” choreographed by Mary Williams, and performed by Hanrahan and Rentner, and Hanrahan's Modern Abstract Solo, “The Secret,” choreographed by Cecilia Ferguson-Bell.

Hanrahan was also named the winner of the Best Presentation of a Solo, in the Primary/Junior category, First runnerup for the Overall High Score for a Female Solo, in the Primary /Junior category, was nominated for Best Technical Execution, in the Primary/Junior Age Group, and was named the Second runnerup of the 117 dancers competing for the title of Junior Dancer of the Year. Also representing the district as Dancer of the Year Semi-finalists were Nicole Burgraff, Kim Diebold, Hahn, Rentner, and Swanson.

Artistry dancers earning a second place award were Diebold, Suzanne Kukec, Hanrahan, and Radke for “Right as Rain,” an Intermediate Small Group Tap piece, choreographed by Company Artistic Director, Laura Chiuve; Diebold and Molly Juneau for their Intermediate Duo/Trio Jazz piece, “Tea Party,” choreographed by Williams; Burgraff and Hanrahan for “Hound Dog,” a Junior Duo/Trio Musical Theater piece, choreographed by Chiuve; Burgraff, Diebold, Hanrahan, and Juneau for “Open Eyes,” an Intermediate Small Group Modern piece, choreographed by Gollenberg; Rose Kurutz, Hailey Suwalski, and Jordin Suwalski for “Mama I'm a Big Girl Now,” a Primary Duo/Trio Musical Theater piece, choreographed by Chiuve; and Nataley Grimmer, Kayla Reeves, and Greta Sorensen for “Sound of Sunshine,” a Junior Duo/Trio Tap piece, choreographed by Williams.

Following the competition, all of the dancers took three days of master classes in jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical, hip-hop, and modern. “Experiences like competing at Nationals and taking part in the workshop classes help our dancers develop stage presence, technique, and self-confidence,” Chiuve said.

“We will be offering a full range of dance classes and holding auditions for our Companies in the Fall. Auditions will be held at the Prairie Lakes Community Center on Sept. 10 and 15. We also invite all dancers who want to express themselves through performance to attend our free Open House on September 10 and see what the Des Plaines School of Dance has to offer,” said Chiuve.

For more information about Artistry in Motion and the Des Plaines School of Dance, call (847) 391-5711 or visit www.DPParks.org. The Fall Spectrum is now online. Fall registration begins Aug. 15.

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