Festival Picture Gallery
Festival 2009 Pictures
Do not delete cell

2009 Hertfordshire Schools' County Dance Festival

The Hertfordshire Schools’ County Dance Festival is a major dance event in our county calendar. More than 700 pupils from all over Hertfordshire stepped into the spotlight and experienced performing in a professional venue.

On this occasion we proudly presented two completely different programmes over two days with a record 50 Primary, Secondary and Special Schools participating at the St Albans Arena on 3rd and 4th March 2009.

Responding to this year’s theme “Media & Technology”, audiences saw dance items that explored ideas such as “Identity Theft”, “The Underground” and “Computer Software”. The standard of the performances was outstanding and is testimony to the power of dance as an art form and to its value within the curriculum.

A special feature of the event was performances given by two of our Hertfordshire County Youth Dance Companies ‘In Pulse’–14-19 years and the newly formed ‘Shift East’–8-11 years. They presented pieces choreographed by the company’s Artistic Director, Michael Joseph and physical theatre dance company “New Art Club”.

This biennial festival is an entirely non-competitive event which is the result of collaboration between Clare Mellish, County Adviser for Dance and Hertfordshire’s County Dance Teachers’ Association.

Participating Schools

3rd March
St Vincent de Paul RC Primary, Hemel Hempstead, Southfield, Beaumont, St John the Baptist VA CE Primary, Monks Walk, Queens, Oakmere Primary, Nobel, The Leys Primary & Nursery, Chauncy, Ponsbourne St Mary’s JMI, St Albans Girls, Graveley JMI, Sir Frederic Osborn, Watling View with St Adrian RC Primary, Westfield Community Technology College, St Teresa Catholic Primary, John Henry Newman RC, Trotts Hill Primary & Nursery, Sandringham, St Paul’s Walden Primary, Astley Cooper

Plus Shift East: Junior Dance Company for the east of the county (8-11 years)

4th March
The William Ransom Primary, Barnwell Business and Enterprise, The Collett, St Mary’s Catholic, Fearnhill, Codicote CE Primary, Turnford, The Grove Infant & Nursery, Amwell View, Fleetville Junior, Longdean, Chancellor’s, Bishop’s Hatfield Girls’, Whitehill Junior, Hitchin Girls’, Colnbrook, Stapleford Primary, Thomas Alleyne, All Saints CE Datchworth, Sheredes Secondary, Aycliffe Drive Primary, St Thomas More Catholic Primary, Stanborough

Plus InPulse: County Youth Dance Company (14-19 years)