Three Local Girls Are Representing Canada At Dance World Cup in Portugal

Three 11-year-old Peterborough girls Ashlynn Evoy, Sophie McCarthy and Hazel Fuderer are going to take the stage in front of an international audience representing Canada at the Dance World Cup in Braga, Portugal.

Ashlynn Evoy (left), Sophie McCarthy (middle) and Hazel Fuderer (right) all trained at the Premier Studio of Dance to hone their skills. Photo courtesy of Hannah Fuderer.

All three girls are competing in the ‘13 and under’ group of Canada’s World Performers Team and will have roughly 30-35 teammates of the same age performing with them. Roughly 140 dancers are representing Team Canada at the event.

“I’m so excited to travel to Portugal with my world performers, dance team and represent Canada at the dance World Cup,” explained Evoy. “I have made so many new friends across Ontario at different dance studios and we have worked so hard to get here. It’s even more exciting that I get to experience all this with my two best friends.”

The girls qualified for the World Cup after a tryout qualifier in Toronto, making the team last August. Jazz, acro, hip hop and ballet are some of the dance styles the girls are performing for the upcoming event.

“I’m so incredibly proud of Hazel, her two best friends and their team,’ said Hannah Fuderer, Hazel’s mother. “They have been working so hard all year (including every holiday) to perfect their routines for Portugal. The girls are ready and so very excited to hit the stage.”

The Dance World Cup runs from June 30 to July 8 at Altice Forum Braga. The girls and selected family members are catching their flight to Portugal on Wednesday evening.

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Premiere Dance Studio Excels At Move Dance Competition

The Premiere Studio of Dance excelled at the Move Dance competition in Gatineau, Quebec, this past weekend, bringing home a number of trophies and titles in multiple divisions.

Max, Ashlynn, Hazel, Ava, Aislin and Ella (Finals Champions). photo by Sara Connelly.

“We faced a new challenge attending the highest calibre of competition we have in our 23 years of business,” said Premiere’s Jesse Anglesey. “We knew it would be inspiring for our competitive team to witness the level of talent at a competition like this, as the participating studios were among the best in the area.”

Finals Champions:

1st Place Sr Solo - Max Battersby, Bird Gurhl (choreography by Meggie Pound)

1st Place Mini/Jr Solo - Ashlynn Evoy, How to Disappear Completely (choreography by Sara Connelly)

2nd Place Sr Duet/Trio - Max Battersby and Ava Mason, Something to Someone (choreography by Meaghan Sheppard)

3rd Place Intermediate Duet/Trio - Ella Hancock and Aislin Watt, Unholy (choreography by Bizzy Boom)

3rd Place Mini/Jr Duet/Trio - Ashlynn Evoy and Hazel Fuderer, Eye of the Tiger (choreography by Meggie Pound)

Other runner up finals participants included Kaleigh Twiss who competed with her solo Automatic (choreography by Jen Carter), the Jr Competitive Level team who competed with their dance We Are Family (choreography by Meggie Pound), the Int Competitive Level team who competed with their dance A Dream of Water (choreography by Meaghan Sheppard), the Int/Sr Pre-Competitive Level team who competed with their dance Helium (choreography by Miia Korhonen) and the Sr Competitive Level team who competed with their dance HERO (choreography by Robyn Carter).

Premiere was also awarded four student scholarships to Corbin Archibald, Max Battersby, Enrico Emmenegger, and Avery Packman, as well as a teacher scholarship to Sara Connelly.

photo by Sara Connelly.

In addition to last week’s competition, Premiere stated that they are extremely proud of their team’s results from the first competition of the season back in mid-March for being awarded:

1st Place age 12 and over Solo/Duet/Trio - Max Battersby, On Then and Now (choreography by Sara Connelly)

1st place age 11 and under Solo/Duet/Trio - Ashlynn Evoy, Hazel Fuderer, & Sophie McCarthy, New York, New York (choreography by Meggie Pound)

1st Place age 12 and over Group - HERO (choreography by Robyn Carter)

1st Place age 11 and under Group - We Are Family (choreography by Meggie Pound)

As well as several student scholarships.

“Not only was it amazing to be apart of an event like this and see the other talent there, but to come out with the end results that we did makes us beyond proud of our team and inspired to keep pushing further and reaching higher,” concluded Anglesy.

Any questions about Premiere’s recreational or competitive programs can be directed at info@premieredance.ca. Summer programs are now open for registration, and 2023/24 season information is coming soon.

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Local Dance Champion Has Fundraiser Set Up To Perform at Disneyland

It is an opportunity of a lifetime for 17-year-old Rhiannon King as her family set up a GoFundMe to send her to Disneyland in Anaheim, Ca. to dance with the Lightning Elite Disney Performance Team.

Melissa King (left), Rhiannon King (middle) and Jason King (right) gazing at Rhiannon’s first-place medals and scholarship certificates after winning the senior solos at Star Beat Dance Champions in Niagara Falls. Melissa is a paraplegic and Jason is blind. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

King received the opportunity after she placed first at the Star Beat Dance Champions in Niagara Falls in the senior solo division on the May 12-15 weekend. The win also earned her a $1,000 scholarship toward the trip to California.

"I was so shocked," said King. "I was crying, I started jumping up and down and my teammates were really happy for me too.”

The GoFundMe is requesting $7,000 which pays for the flight, insurance, dance equipment and food. It was set up on May 15 shortly after King had received the opportunity.

The seven-day trip allows King the chance to meet with top industry professionals and work with dancers around the world according to the King family.

"It's her foot in the door," said Jason King, Rhiannon's father. "For many dancers, they don't those opportunities and the fact that this opportunity has come virtually at the end of her novice career per se, it's a dream come true for everyone."

Rhiannon has been dancing since she was three and danced competitively roughly when she was six. She has danced in ballet, jazz, hip-hop, contemporary, musical theatre, tap and more throughout her life.

She has aspirations to attend York University for dance. Rhiannon wants to make dance her career by performing in her mid-20s and eventually opening a dance studio.

"I'm really proud of her for what she's accomplished and I know she'll succeed with whatever she decides to do,” said Melissa King, Rhiannon’s mother. “She has a natural talent for dancing I noticed that (in) the first year."

To donate to Rhiannon’s GoFundMe, click here.

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Local Studio Dancing For New Building Despite Pandemic

After a few years of designing, Premiere Studio of Dance will renovate their current facility into a two-storey building.

The upgrades are projected to be done in a year with 20,000 square feet. The studio will be on the second level with prospective tenants on the lower floor. The current facility has 7,000 square feet.

A graphic design of the projected new studio upon its completion with 10,000 square feet. Photo Courtesy of Robyn Carter

Robyn Carter, owner says she wants the timing right to minimize the pandemic’s impact during construction.

“We kind of want to get through COVID bump and then move forward,” she said. “We’re really excited for what the future holds for us.”

Photo Courtesy of Premiere Studio of Dance

The new facility will feature a larger space, more windows for natural light and sprung flooring to ease the dancers’ joint pressure. The current building has wood floors in all three studios.

The studio offers classes in-person and online for competitive and recreational. Jazz, tap, ballet and contemporary are some of the many different dance styles that the studio has to offer. All ages and skill levels are welcomed to register for classes.

Photo Courtesy of Premiere Studio of Dance

“Premiere Dance On Demand” is offered as online classes from uploaded videos and live stream lessons for both recreational and competitive.

“A good thing about the online dance is its dance for introverts (too),” Carter chuckled. “You can turn off your camera and take the class in the privacy in your own home.”

Photo Courtesy of Premiere Studio of Dance

Carter has danced since she was ten. She grew up dancing competitively in Oshawa and taught dance in her early teens.

The owner is a certified instructor through the British Association of Teachers of Dance — including all of her instructors — and offers that program at the studio.

Premiere Studio of Dance is located at 1046 Peterborough County Road 19, just northwest of Portage Place.

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Let's Rock Peterborough!

Welcome to PtboCanada! This is what we're about, this is where you can tip us (emails go to the entire team) with info about anything Peterborough, this is where you can follow us (if you're not already!) on Twitter -- the place where we were born (the website, not the city!). Think of this blog as an extended version of our Twitter (and thanks so much to all those who have been following us there and inspiring us).

It somehow felt appropriate for our first post to include the video below (backstory here) taken at Fleming College last month. Because wild, wacky, funny, great stuff just sort of happens in this fantastic city of ours.

Spread the word, and give this time to grow. It's going to be a fun ride.

[Fleming College Flash Mob]

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