From: Melissa M. Smith [Smith209BH@verizon.net]
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2008 10:02 AM
To: Smith, Melissa
Subject: Release--Arlington Dance Competition

Attachments: dancers6.JPG

Arlington School District

For Immediate Release

 

 

Date: January 9, 2008

Contact:  Melissa Smith, Community Relations

802.375.2589, ext. 147 ~ smithme@bvsu.org (w)

802.375.6070 ~ smith209bh@verizon.net (h)

 

 

 

Dance Competition in Arlington

 

Arlington, Vt.—Fresh off their third place win at the Middlebury regional competition, Arlington Memorial High School will host its First Annual Dance Team Competition for area schools, Saturday, January 19, beginning at 1 p.m. in the gymnasium.  Tickets for admission are $5 for adults and $3 for students.

The schedule for the day will be a busy one as eight area schools compete in the three dance categories, pom, hip hop and jazz.  Each team will be judged on dance technique, group execution, choreography, overall effect, and communication and projection.  Trophies will be presented to the three teams that score the highest in each dance category.  In addition to Arlington, the dance teams scheduled to compete are from Burr and Burton Academy (three teams), Mount Anthony Union High School, Mount Greylock High School, North Country High School and Springfield High School.

Arlington’s Dance Coach Allyson Hoffman is pleased to be hosting a competition in southern Vermont.  “Dance was officially recognized as a sport by the Vermont Principals’ Association just three years ago.  To qualify for the state competition, teams have to participate in at least two regional events, which until now have been held in the Burlington area and other communities further north.  I wanted to offer a competition for schools in the southern part of the state.”

During the event, food will be available for purchase and tee shirts, designed by Hoffman and produced by Real Sports, will be sold.  The Arlington dancers will also host a 50-50 raffle and a basket raffle to benefit the team.  Hoffman is proud of the community’s support for the dance team.  “Arlington’s dance team started competing just last year, and yet the community has embraced them.  We received donations for our basket raffle and our gift baskets for the visiting teams from numerous organizations including Miles Lumber, r.k. Miles, Paulin’s, Homestead Landscaping, Chittenden Bank, Berkshire Bank, Heinel’s Clothiers—the list goes on and on.”

Hoffman, who has coached the Arlington team for the past two years, is overseeing the competition’s schedule with help from parent Anna English and the Arlington school community.  “This is a student-run event, and the team is very excited.  One of our students, Michael Cervini, will serve as announcer, the Culinary Arts students are preparing lunch and snacks, the Video Production class is taping the event to show on Channel 16 and members of SADD are having a bake sale.  It’s going to be a fun day for everyone.” 

For more information about the Dance Competition, contact Hoffman at hoffmana@bvsu.org or 375.6409.  You can visit the AMHS website at www.arlingtonmemorialhs.org.  The Arlington School District mission is to create a safe, caring and respectful environment of academic excellence where students are uniquely challenged to reach their potential at the K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 levels.

 

PHOTO:  Shown here are members of the Arlington Dance Team with their trophy from the Middlebury Regionals.  From left to right are (bottom):  Kelsey McFadden (Co-Captain), Amy Horton and Selene Clark (center): Mia Lentinello, Adrienne Corey and Ariel Grover  (top):  Stephanie Farden, Anna Vasylenko  Coach Hoffman, Brooks English (Co-Captain), Hanna Woodard