School students hope to dance their way to success

11:35am Thursday 25th February 2010

By Amie Mulderrig

Students from a school in Kings Langley are to showcase their drama and dance skills by taking part in a national competition this afternoon.

Pupils from Kings Langley Secondary School in Love Lane, will compete in “Rock Challenge”, a contest created by organisation Be Your Best Foundation which aims at tackling and raising awareness of issues including tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse.

The event also aims to capture the imagination of teenagers by providing them with an exciting and unique opportunity to experience the buzz of performing in a professional venue in front of their peers, families and friends.

Alex Manser, 17, of Royce Grove, Watford, said: “We’ve been rehearsing since October last year and nearly everyone at the school has got involved – the youngest taking part in the show is aged 11 and the oldest performing is 17.

“We’ve created a dance and drama piece which uses lots of different music including modern day songs and older, more classical ones.

“Our piece tells the story of a couple during World War Two and a couple today.

"The boyfriend from the war story is being sent to the frontline and his girlfriend doesn’t want him to go. This is echoed in the modern story, with the boyfriend joining a gang and his girlfriend trying to stop him.

“It’s a really great story, with fantastic street and jazz dance routines that we’ve choreographed ourselves.

"Although we’ve got strong competition this year, I like to think we’ve got a good chance of winning.”

Having won the overall competition for the past two years, students will be hoping to defend their title as their dance routines and acting are pitted against a number of schools across the county including Rickmansworth School at the regional heats.

Pupils will perform at Stevenage Leisure Centre and three judges from the foundation will award a number of prizes for best choreography, drama, originality, make-up, concept and scenery.

Drama teacher Gemma Dolan, who has helped organise the show, said: “Everyone at school has got involved with the Rock Challenge, whether it be working on scenery, costume, acting, dancing or even media, by filming rehearsals.

“It’s a really fantastic scheme and the students have worked incredibly hard – even with the heavy snow which hindered practices, they ensured they took time out of their own busy schedules to rehearse.

“A couple of months ago, a 1940s day was held and over £1000 was raised, which has paid for the costumes and make-up for this show.

“I hope we win again this year, but there are a lot of strong routines and although we don’t encourage the kids to be too competitive, a dose of healthy competition certainly doesn’t hurt.”