Trio twirl way to nationals

Three students will be representing their Manjimup dance studio at the 2021 Revolution of Dance West Coast Nationals in Perth this week. Twelve-year-old Isabella Proudfoot, 11-year-old Amber Gannaway, and 10-year-old Isla Pardini all dance together at the Studio of Classical & Contemporary Dance South West in Manjimup and have been invited to compete at the nationals after scoring highly in an online competition. Studio of Classical & Contemporary Dance South West principal Tianna Webb has been teaching the girls for the past few years and said the opportunity came about because of last year’s global pandemic. “Due to COVID all of our face-to-face competitions last year were cancelled so we entered an online competition called Revolution of Dance,” she said. “All of the girls competed in that and these three were lucky enough to score over 75 and be invited to nationals.” Miss Webb said she was thrilled with the girls’ efforts. “Very, very proud of them,” she said. “I think as country kids, and it’s all their first competition, to be able to go to nationals and compete with all the city kids I think is pretty special for them.” The competition will be held at the Crown Towers Ballroom in Perth from January 15-17 with a wide range of dance styles on display. Each of the three girls will perform a solo in their categories with Isabella performing a lyrical piece, and Amber and Isla performing neoclassical pieces. Isla said she was feeling a mixture of emotions leading up to the competition. “I’m nervous and excited at the same time,” she said.