Wednesday Addams inspires Lynn dancers

Dancers of all ages will be showcasing their talents – and competing against one another – when a Lynn school holds its annual dance event next month.

Springwood High School’s Dance Show 2024: House of Horrors will take place on Friday 3 May, with tickets currently on sale at £3 each.

The evening features original choreography from the school’s dance students, with 150 performers from Years 7 to 13 taking part in the production.

“Part of the evening is a competition between our five school houses: Oxburgh, Holkham, Sandringham, Felbrigg, and Blickling,” explained Dawn Paulo, Head of Dance at Springwood, which is a member of the West Norfolk Academies Trust.

“Ten older students are selected – two to lead each house. They are chosen based on their performance and choreography skills, in addition to showing they have the qualities of a leader, such as patience, understanding and problem solving.

“The leaders are then given four weeks to choreograph a dance for their house. All students from Years 7 to 13 are invited to dance for their house. Each house has one day a week to rehearse at lunch time and after school – a very difficult challenge.”

In keeping with the spooky theme, pieces choreographed for the event have drawn inspiration from sources such as Hocus Pocus, spiders, Wednesday Addams, ‘Thriller’, clowns, and Bird Box. 

Other pieces have been pre-choreographed for this year’s BTEC Level 2 and Diploma qualifications. 

Competition dances are judged by a panel chaired by Mrs Paulo and comprising Springwood staff members and former Springwood dance students, with points calculated at the end of the evening.

“They will judge each house based on their performance, choreography, originality and the ‘wow’ factor,” continued Mrs Paulo. “Scores are then added up and, at the end of the night, the runner up and winning house are announced. A trophy then goes to the two leaders of that house.

“It is a large undertaking for our students, and a huge honour – not only are they in charge of the choreography, but they also have to be inclusive of every student and dance ability. The time limitations are tight, and they are responsible for editing their own music, deciding costumes, and their lighting.” 

“Many of our students aspire to be a dance leader when they are an older member of the school,” she added.

“What is also lovely is that many of our ex-students and dance leaders often return to be judges. Several of them have gained places at prestigious dance schools, and so it also provides a brilliant opportunity for our aspiring dancers to ask them questions about their courses and the audition process.”

This year’s returning alumni include Olivia King, currently at Performers College, Mia Aston, now at ShockOut Arts, and former Springwood Dance Leaders Mia Sutherland, Sophia Collins and Ellise Navarro.

Springwood Dance Show: House of Horrors takes place at 7pm on 3 May in the Peter Hopkins Hall. For tickets, go to: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/kings-lynn/peter-hopkins-hall/springwood-dance-2024-house-of-horrors/2024-05-03/19:00/t-gaekdkk