Gurnee's Above the Barre Dance earns gold honors at competition
Submitted by the Gurnee Park District
Gurnee Park District's Above the Barre dance team received many awards at the recent Wilmette Stars fifth annual competition held at Wilmette Park District's Center for the Arts including highest score, sensational smiles and best overall performance.
"We are beyond proud of our dancers. They represented the community and Park District well by showing sportsmanship and teamwork throughout the entire competition as well as winning a variety of awards," said Kris Norwood, dance coordinator with Gurnee Park District.
The Junior ATB team received two high gold awards for their jazz and lyrical dance pieces. The dancers on this team include: Olivia Brunson, Josephine Byers, Mollie Gibbons, Sara Kachurik, Anna Kircher, Emma Kunz, Julia Reakes, Melina Reimer, Janae Vaughn and Katherine Wolf.
The Senior ATB team received one high gold for their jazz piece and a platinum award for their contemporary piece. The dancers on this team include: Emily Cretors, Ella Doig, Jenifer Granata, Megan Kampf, Ariana Reimer, Maia Russell, Rachel Syverud and Sarah Syverud.
The structure of this competition is unique compared to most. Platinum is equivalent to first place, high gold would be considered second place in other competitions.
This level of competition is for intermediate dancers with two to three years of competition experience and at least two to three hours of dance class or rehearsal practice each week.
"We saw a lot of really great competition at this event and are very pleased with our dancers' performances," Norwood said. "We are beyond thrilled that our senior team received best overall performance in addition to all the other great awards. Our youngest dancers really showed their maturity, passion and skill through this competition. We could not be more proud of both our junior and senior teams."
"Without the hard work, dedication and leadership of our choreographer, Sam Murphy, the dances would not have ranked so high. We are very lucky to have her be a part of our talented team of dance teachers. We are also looking forward to our newest addition to our ATB team, Amy Cole, to future assist our dancers with her expertise moving forward."
Gurnee Park District is continuously proud of the time, dedication and spirit the Above the Barre dance team brings to competitions.
"It takes a lot of practice to be competition ready, but our dancers were up for the challenge. We could not be more proud of all of them," Norwood said.
For more information on Gurnee Park District Studio Dance programs and the award winning Above the Barre dance team, visit www.GurneeParkDistrict.com.
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