For the first time in history, Aquinas had a group of of boys compete at the Catholic Performing Arts Festival in the Secondary Dance Category against 21 other schools. The boys put on a tremendous routine with the adjudicators’ comments reinforcing how well the boys did.

“What a flashback! Great musicality and unison work. Love the theatrical commitment and moments of lip sync. Good use of levels and play with time.”

Our amazing instructor Katrina Coopes overcame difficult circumstances of having only 6 weeks to teach the boys the dance, plus she dealt with the impact of COVID and illness taking away boys from rehearsals, making it difficult to finalise formations. Katrina did an amazing job in choreographing the routine and leading the boys and all the boys are thankful for her efforts.

At the end of the competition our performance was awarded a Merit Certificate. To give some context to this achievement, at the end of each section of the festival, the adjudicators reflect on all the performances and whilst it is at their discretion to make the awards, generally the top one or two are awarded an Outstanding, the next 2 an Excellence award, and perhaps the next 2 or 3 (depending on overall numbers) a Merit. Given this is our first Middle School dance group to enter the competition, this is an excellent result.