"I'm Like a Bird"

A couple of weeks ago, Courtney's dance team had their second competition, Thunderstruck, held at Tualatin High School. There are four girls: Eliza Payne (7), Erica Johnson (13), Audrey Pattishall (10), & Courtney (11). Courtney has competed before, but the rest of the performing company has not. They have all really improved and come a long way this year under the direction of their Artistic Director Kimberly Harris. They do three competitions per season and the first one was held in Oregon City called Spotlight Events in February. Most of the competitions run on an adjudicated points system so each group is assigned a points score that falls within first, second, third, fourth place range. Then within those groups, there are overall winners with the highest scores within each category. At Spotlight, the team received a Ruby award, which is the equivalent of the first place award placement. This was very good for their first time out, especially considering all the girls were nervous and not sure what to expect. Aside from the parents, it was the first time they had performed this group number in front of an audience. The judges at that competition also awarded them a "Joy of Dance" special recognition award. These awards are given to dance numbers that really stand out in a particular way and each of the three judges only awards two or three special awards for each division. At the most recent competition, Thunderstruck, the girls improved even more. They received a Thunderstruck Gold which also is the equivalent of first place. In addition, they were rated #5 overall out of 18 routines in their division of junior novice small groups. Way to go girls! All of us are very proud of you!