Ever wanted to know more about your favorite dance comps and the hosts behind them? Our “5 questions?” feature digs a bit deeper to discover more about the people that put in the hard work.
First up, we learn about So You Want To Dance and the talented sisters that started the ball rolling….
Who are the people behind So You Want To Dance and what has been their experience in the events/ dance industry?
“So You Want To Dance was created by Jodie-Anne and Gaynor, two sisters originally from Leeds that started dancing at the age of two! Both girls completed their dance training up north and started dancing professionally at the age of 17. Between them they have done dance contracts all over the world ranging from cruise ships, cabaret review shows in Paris, backing dancers for pop stars, corporate events, touring shows and Gaynor became a dance agent and went on to secure many dance contracts all over the UK with famous variety acts. Both girls have been dance captains and choreographed numerous shows so have a wide knowledge about the professional dance world!
When they both decided to hang up their dancing shoes the sisters both completed their teacher training with the IDTA and have built a dance school in Kent that has been running for the past 16 years. The School has gone from strength to strength with dancers going on to professional dance colleges to complete their dance training! The School offers professional training in all genres of dance and the children have 100% success rate in all their exams.”
When did SYWTD start – and has it lived up to your expectations?
“So You Want To Dance started in 2012 with just one local event in Folkestone at The Leas Cliff Hall. Following the success of this event and the clear gap in the market for this style of competition they grew the events year on year adding new theatre venues each year.
We are extremely proud of the events they have created and considering how popular they are with so many returning schools and loyal followers I would say they have definitely lived up to our expectations!”
What aspects did you consider as particularly important when you started out – what did you want to achieve?
“When we started out we both wanted to give children the opportunities we didn’t get from regular dance festivals when we were growing up. We hoped to provide an enriching experience at each event that could provide the children with a little insight into the professional dance world.
So we hand picked our judges that had expertise in different genres of dance to give more rounded and balanced results for the children that compete in SYWTD. Our judges are all industry professionals that are currently working in the dance world whether it be on a Westend stage or teaching in professional dance colleges or agencies. We provided dance workshops that you can generally only get if you travel to London and the judges have also performed live at our events so the competitors can see what it takes to make it within the industry.”
We love reading about the background of judges when we’re at a competition – who are your favourite go to judges?
“We have two incredible sponsors at So You Want To Dance;
The Brighton Academy and The Centre Pac. Both of these professional colleges sponsor prizes at the competitions such as taster weeks, Westend workshop’s, dance intensive courses so we always have one judge from The Brighton Academy and a judge from The Centre Pac.
There are four Principal’s at The Brighton Academy so they rotate themselves at each event so we get a new perspective on the judging panel at each event. So of course we love having these at SYWTD.
Also, from The Centre Pac we have our fabulous international show girl Georgie Bishop who also teaches at The Centre.“
Tell us about anything else that makes your events special, what can we really look forward to?
“We believe what makes our events special are the opportunities we provide for the dancers! The SYWTD Grand Final event is offering a full three year Scholarship to a lucky competitor from The Brighton Academy worth over £30,000! Not to mention all of the scholarships and dance programs over the 16 heats we have that help children see what it is like to train at one of these colleges and make educated decisions about their future!
Plus we give away in access of £10,000 across the year in cash prizes so dance schools can continue to improve their training and invest money back into their Schools and children to save those loyal dance families a little money! We love giving back to the people who support So You Want To Dance and provide as many varied experiences as we can!”
Next Up For So You Want To Dance….
SYWTD? – Colchester
October 5, 2019
SYWTD? Group Challenge – Dartford
To see a full list of comps check out our SYWTD events page or head to soyouwantodance.co.uk
