Performers' notable end to festival

The 79th Springboard Festival closed yesterday with a final day of singing and dancing and a prize-giving ceremony at Roedean Theatre, Roedean School in Brighton.

It marked the end of five weeks of music, drama, singing, speaking and dancing competitions.

The main event in the dancing section - and one of the highlights of the whole festival - was a day of group dancing at The Dome on Sunday.

More than 500 children in 40 dance groups performed in front of an audience.

Glendale Theatre Arts School stole the show with their modern ballet dance to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.

Other highlights were the senior piano championship, chamber music class, string section and the coral speaking competition, won by Deepdene School in Hove.

Springboard was founded in 1924 and is one of the major arts festivals in the South-East, giving children and adults from Sussex and the surrounding counties the chance to perform in front of an audience and be assessed by adjudicators.

Penny Charteris, vice-chairwoman of the festival, said the performers benefited from this year's event.

She said: "They have had the experience of performing and most importantly the added confidence it has given them. They are not all going to go on to a career in the performing arts but every one of them has grown in confidence."

Next year the festival hopes to mark its 80th anniversary with a special celebratory concert.

Miss Charteris, an actress and examiner and adjudicator in drama, competed in the festival in 1944 when she was a child. She has been running it since 1972.

She said: "All the adjudicators have been commenting on the very high standard of work this year. It has been lovely."

THE RESULTS Thursday April 3 National Solo - 7 years: 1. Elle Locke; 2. Victoria Smart; 3. Aimee Hyam.

National Solo - 8 years: 1. Daisy Honeywell; 2. Daisy Blake; joint 3. Eleanor Vince, Georgia Linfield.

Classical Ballet - solo - 7 years: 1. Melissa Mallory; joint 2. Aimee Hyam, Elle Locke; 3. Emily Johnson.

Classical Ballet - solo - 8 years: 1. Georgia Linfield; 2. Eleanor Vince; 3. Bethany Highsted.

Greek or Natural Movement - solo - 7 years: 1. Emily Johnson, joint 2. Elle Locke, Emily Blackwell.

Demi-Character/character - Solo - 8 years: 1. Alice Ballantyne; 2. Charlotte Webster; joint 3. Jade Mitchell, Verity Hill, Eleanor Vince.

Demi-Character/Character - Solo - 7 years: 1. Elle Locke; 2. Melissa Mallory; 3. Millie Hood.

Greek or Natural Movement - solo - 8 years: 1. Eleanor Vince; 2. Bethany Highsted; 3. Charlotte Webster.

Modern Musical - solo - 7 years: 1. Elle Locke; 2. Emily Johnson; joint 3. Millie Hood, Aimee Hyam.

Modern Musical - solo - 8 years: 1. Alice Ballantyne; 2. Eleanor Vince; joint 3. Hannah Burfield, Charlotte Webster.

Tap - solo - 7 years: 1. Elle Locke; joint 2. Isabelle Henton, Emily Johnson; 3. Kieran Brooks.

Tap -solo - 8 years: 1. Daisy Honeywell; joint 2. Eleanor Vince, Hannah Burfield; 3. Jacob Chapman.

Friday April 4.

National -solo 9 years: 1 Ellen Dunkley; 2 Beatrix Waggott; 3 Roxanne Page.

National - solo 11 years: 1 Katherine Dumbrell; 2 Ashleigh Woods; joint 3 Kirsty Bruce; Hannah Coultrup, Rosanna High.

Classical Ballet - solo 9 years: 1 Claire Turner; 2 Sophie Bonnel; 3 Phoebe Standing.

Classical Ballet - solo 11 years: 1 Ashleigh Woods, 2 Kirsty Bruce; joint 3 Daisy Hankin, Katherine Dumbrell.

Demi-character/character - solo 9 years: 1 Clara Wynn-Davies; 2 Roxanne Page; joint 3 Phoebe Standing, Faye Ralph.

Demi-character/character - solo 11 years: 1 Elisa Stoner, 2 Daisy Hankin; 3 Charlotte Green.

Greek or natural movement - solo 9 years: 1 Clara Wynne-Davies; 2 Claire Turner; joint 3 Charlotte Soffe, Ellen Dunkley.

Green or natural movement - solo 11 years: 1 Daisy Hankin; 2 Charlotte Green; joint 3 Yasmin Cox, Ashleigh Woods.

Modern musical - solo 9 years: 1 Georgina Grispino; joint 2 Ellen Dunkley, Beatrix Waggott; joint 3 Mairead Newman, Phoebe Standing.

Tap - solo 9 years: 1 Eloise Short; 2 Faye Ralph; 3 Denica Wanwick.

Saturday, April 5 Festival Trophy Class - 9-12 years: 1 Jessica Weston; runner-up Danielle Turner; special commendations Jessica Spiers and Charlotte Green.

Festival Trophy Class 13-20 years: 1 Lucy Harrison; runner-up Frances Button; commendations Coral Dawes, Bonnie Assig.

Classical - Group 9 years and under: 1 Nicola Miles Theatre Studios; 2 Jean Butterworth School; 3 WMCS Dance.

Troupe - Group 9 years and under: 1 Glendale Theatre Arts School; 2 Jean Butterworth School.

Classical - Duet 13 years and over: 1 Victoria Hampson and Lucy Harrison; joint 2 Grace Hampson and Coral Dawes, Rachel Goodwin and Angela Middall; 3 Lucky Goodwin and Sophie Whittle.

Song and Dance - Duet 13 years and over: 1 Amy White and Suzanne Ring; 2 Victoria Hampson and Lucy Harrison; joint 3 Bonnie Assig and Rosa Grispino, Kate Bennett and Carla Smith.

Sunday, April 6.

Classical - group 12 years and under: 1 Nicola Miles Theatre Studios A; 2 Jean Butterworth School; 3 Drusilla Duffill Theatre School.

Classical - group any age: 1 Glendale Theatre Arts School; 2 Adele Academy of Dance B; joint 3 Adele Academy of Dance A, WMCS Dance, Nicola Miles Theatre Studio B.

Troupe - Group 12 years and under: 1 Glendale Theatre Arts School C; joint 2 Jean Butterworth School, Nicola Miles Theatre Studios C; 3 Glendale Theatre Arts School A.

Troupe -Group any age: 1 Glendale Theatre Arts School; 2 Jean Butterworth School A; joint 3 Glendale Theatre Arts School A, Jean Butterworth School B.