Artistry in Motion takes top honors at DanceAmerica 2012
Artistry in Motion, the in house dance company of the Des Plaines Park District, took home top honors at the DanceAmerica competition, held Feb. 17-18 at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora.
The company dancers earned eight first place, six second place, three third place, and two Merit Awards, out of the 14 participating studios and the 217 dances entered.
Studios and dancers from Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Indiana participated in the two-day event. Nineteen of the 21 Artistry in Motion performances also qualified for the DanceAmerica 2012 National Championships scheduled for July 1-7 in Orlando, Fla.
Earning first place awards were: Meghan Hanrahan for her solos: “Uprising,” choreography by Mary Williams, and “Invisible,” choreography by Cecilia Ferguson-Bell; Jordin Suwalski and Rosie Kurutz for “Work,” a jazz duo, choreography by Williams; Kim Diebold for “Sigh No More,” an Intermediate modern/abstract solo, choreography by Ferguson-Bell; Diebold and Hanrahan for their modern/abstract duo, “Machine,” choreography by Ferguson-Bell; Kari Radke and Jackie Rentner for “Unpretty,” choreography by Artistic Director, Laura Chiuve; Mathew Skorupski for his hip-hop solo, “Beggin',” choreography by Karlo Familara; and the Small Group Lyrical piece, “Not Over You,” choreography by Anne Gollenberg.
Second-place awards included: Diebold for “Someone Like You;” a solo lyrical piece choreographed by Williams; the junior small group hip-hop piece, “Girls, Boys & Hip-Hop,” choreography by Williams, the group modern, “Neighborhoods,” choreography by Ferguson-Bell; the small group jazz “Without You,” choreography by Gollenberg; Mathew and Elizabeth Skorupski for “Rain,” choreography by Williams; and Erika Hahn and Rentner for “Remain Nameless,” choreography by Ferguson-Bell.
Six dancers qualified for the Dancer of the Year semi-finals including Diebold, Hahn, Hanrahan, Megan Swanson, Mathew Skorupski, and Jenna Specchio.
They will compete for the Junior Dancer of the Year title at the DanceAmerica Nationals this July.
Diebold also was selected to be a VIP for the Dance Olympus Summer Tour.
“In preparation for this event, the dancers really challenged themselves to push beyond their boundaries. The level of execution, technique, and performance has been raised from last year, and we could not be more proud,” said Chiuve.
Artistry in Motion will perform in their annual Spring into Motion Dance Showcase on April 13-14 at the Prairie Lakes Theatre. Tickets are available by calling (847) 391-5711.