A BEBINGTON-based dance school put numerous setbacks behind them to achieve great success at the Phoenix Festivals competition last weekend.
Complete Works Performance School delivered a range of solo and trio performances, but it was their group dance that earned them a first place.
Hosted by Phoenix School of Dance and Drama, at Pensby High School, the event brought together five North West dance schools for one of the first opportunities to compete in front of an audience since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Complete Works’ principals, Victoria Charlton and Kim Ashwin, spoke of their pride for the talented group of six, with the group dance particularly special to Victoria.
She said: "I found out that my mum had been diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer and this song - ‘How Does A Moment Last Forever’ - just got hold of me.
"A lot of the time you have to work hard to make a dance but this choreography just fell out of my head, a message to keep going and to stick together. It just felt right, it was so special."
This dance was meant to premiere in Complete Works’ annual dance show at the Floral Pavilion on July 19, but unfortunately the school were told at the last minute that an audience could not be permitted due to COVID restrictions.
Instead, the school performed to empty seats, especially devastating after the show had also been cancelled the previous year.
Complete Works’ resilience goes beyond the pandemic. They remain based in the Cornerstone Church, after their studios were destroyed in the 2017 New Ferry gas explosion, but they are planning to secure permanent premises in the near future.
The competition group comprised of Mia Critchley, Ebony Davis, Chloe Slack, Mia Level, George Armstrong and Jasmine Baines. The dancers enjoyed big wins, all placing within the top three.
Mia Level said: "My mum said I looked like I was about to cry waiting for the results."
The group talked about how good it felt to be back performing to an audience and to have their countless rehearsals of hard work pay off.
Mia Critchley said: ’To come first, especially in the group dance, where there was a lot of changes because we went from a group of seven to six to five, was amazing!’
Already with plans to attend their next competition in two weeks time, Complete Works hope to maintain their winning streak.
Kim added: "It’s nice to be back doing something again, not on zoom!"
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