Tag: dancecompetition

Front Page news, Arts News, Newsletter, Young Artists News

Stars Abound at Starbound

March 10, 2023
Front Page News, Young Artists News
Ms. Ginnie Wu, Dance Competition News Specialist Reporter Extraordinaire

Our middle and high school dance conservatory students had another successful weekend at Starbound Talent Competition in Dublin, CA with 5 out of 5 entries receiving Elite Gold, three 1st Place Overalls, and three Judges’ Awards! 

In addition, several of our students have committed to Nationals for KAR and Starbound competitions in the summer.

Full-time middle and high school dance conservatory students received Elite Gold, 1st Place Overall in division, a “Precision” Judges’ Award, and Best Costume for their group dance, “Calligraphy.”

Andy Ispas and Abigail Wong received Elite Gold, 1st Place Overall in division, and a “Dynamic Duo” Judges’ Award for their duet, “Chasing Light.”

Andy Ispas received Elite Gold, 4th Place Overall in the age 11-12 division, and a “Powerhouse” Judges’ Award for his solo, “Courage.”

John Wu and Daphne Ng received Elite Gold and Top Winner in their division for their duet, “Sounds of Snowfall.”

Full-time high school dance conservatory students received Elite Gold for their group dance, “Butterflies.” 

Our young artists lit up the stage this weekend at Starbound Talent Competition in Dublin, CA! We took home five Elite Golds, three 1st Place Overalls, and two Judges’ Awards! In addition, all of our students qualified for Starbound Nationals in Tahoe, NV in July. 

Abigail Wong (10) received Elite Gold, 1st Place Overall in age 9-10 division, and 1st in the Folkloric Dance category for her solo, “Ode to Lotus.” She was also one of two dancers at the awards ceremony to receive a Golden Ticket, which allows her to take part in the opening number at Starbound Nationals in Tahoe, NV!

Abbie Tanabe (13) and Kylie Tang (12) received Elite Gold and 1st Place Overall in the preteen division for their duet, “Together We Stand.”

Isabelle Tseng (9) received Elite Gold, 2nd Place Overall in age 9-10 division, and an “Engaging Performance” Judges’ Award for her solo, “Paper Route.” 

Kylie Tang (12) received Elite Gold, and 6th Place Overall in the age 11-12 division for her solo, “Remembrance.” 

Madeleine Chan (9) received High Gold and 4th Place Overall in the age 9-10 division for her solo, “Teahouse Waiter.” 
Emilie Fu (13) received High Gold for her solo, “Dancing in the Rain.” 

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Young Artists News, Arts News, Newsletter

Young Artists News of the Week

February 24, 2023
Ms. Hanna Zhang, Young Artists Director and Teacher

Another successful competition weekend at Applause Talent Dance Competition! We took home five 1st Place Overall awards and the Highest Score of the Day studio award. Here are a few pictures from the competition. A full award breakdown can be found here!

Abigail Wong (10) from our Young Artists Program received 1st Place Overall and an Elite Platinum award in the First Call Junior division for her solo “Ode to Lotus” and was crowned the Junior Applause title winner!

Emilie Fu (14) from our Young Artists Program received 1st Place Overall and a Double Platinum award in the First Call Teen division for her solo “Dancing in the Rain,” as well as a Special Judges’ Award for her amazing lines.

Abbie Tanabe (13) and Kylie Tang (12) received 1st Place Overall and a Double Platinum award in the First Call Teen division for their duet “Together We Stand.”

Kylie Tang (12) from our Young Artists Program received 3rd Place Overall and Double Platinum in the First Call Junior division for her solo “Remembrance”!

Ms. Hanna received the Best Choreography Award  for her masterpiece “Calligraphy” among 200+ entries from all studios!

HSArts received the Highest Score of the Day award as the dance institution that accumulated the greatest number of points in the First Call competition level!

Next stop on the list — we will be heading to @starboundcomp in March! Stay tuned!

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Front Page news, Newsletter

Message from our Artistic Director

Front Page News
February 24, 2023
Mr. Dongsheng Wei, Artistic Director

Our dancers are so focused in their daily training and practices throughout the school week. We are looking forward to a whole new progress on the artistry and detailed techniques developments in dance!

Congratulations to everyone on winning the first place for five dances and achieving the highest score of the competition in last weekend’s Applause Talent Dance Competition! Congratulations to our choreographer and dance teacher, Ms. Hanna Zhang, for winning the best choreographer award during the competition! Thank you to all of the teachers and students for your team work and hard work!  Go team! Go HSArts!

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Remarks from our Head of School, Newsletter

Remarks from our Head of School

February 24, 2023

Greetings everyone!

It is wonderful to see hard work get rewarded! The sweat and tears from our dancers and our teachers was highly recognized during this past week’s Applause Talent dance competition by winning five of the first place in every single category entered, best Choreography and being the school with the highest points! Go Phoenix! 


– Dr. Sherry Zhang
Head of School
San Francisco High School of the Arts

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Arts News, Arts, Events, Young Artists News

HSArts Sweeps Awards at Applause!

HSArts had another successful competition weekend at Applause Talent Dance Competition @applausetalent! We took home five 1st Place Overall awards ????? and the Highest Score of the Day studio award ?. All award results are listed below!

• Full-time middle and high school students received 1st Place Overall ?and an Elite Platinum award in the Teen division for their small group dance “Calligraphy”!

• Full-time high school students received 1st Place Overall ?and an Elite Platinum award in the Senior division for their small group dance “Butterfly”!

• Abigail Wong (10) from our Young Artists Program received 1st Place Overall ?and an Elite Platinum award in the First Call Junior division for her solo “Ode to Lotus” and was crowned the Junior Applause title winner! ?

• Emilie Fu (14) from our Young Artists Program received 1st Place Overall ?and a Double Platinum award in the First Call Teen division for her solo “Dancing in the Rain,” as well as a Special Judges’ Award for her amazing lines ❤️?

• Abbie Tanabe (13) and Kylie Tang (12) received 1st Place Overall ?and a Double Platinum award in the First Call Teen division for their duet “Together We Stand.” ?‍♀️

• Kylie Tang (12) from our Young Artists Program received 3rd Place Overall ?and Double Platinum in the First Call Junior division for her solo “Remembrance”!

• Andy Ispas (11) from our Middle School Program received 4th Place Overall ?and Double Platinum in the First Call Junior division for his solo “Courage”!

• Ms. Hanna received the Best Choreography Award ?? for her masterpiece “Calligraphy” among 200+ entries from all studios!

• HSArts received the Highest Score of the Day award ?as the dance institution that accumulated the greatest number of points in the First Call competition level!

Next stop on the list — we will be heading to @starboundcomp in March! Stay tuned!

-Ms. Ginnie Wu

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Young Artists News, Newsletter

Young Artists News of the Week

February 10, 2023
Ms. Hanna Zhang, Young Artists Director and Teacher

Hi parents, I’m so excited about the coming competitions during Feb-May, and we have a couple solos and duets. It is challenging but our kids will get more stage experience to build up the confidence. Hope they will have fun there.

We’ll have a Summer Camp Open House on February 25, so come join us and find out more about Summer at HSArts 2023!

If you’d like to know more, please email me at enrollment@hsarts.org.

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Front Page news, Arts News, Newsletter

February is Dance Competition Month

Front Page News
February 10, 2023
Mr. Brian Nieh, Classical Competition Connoisseur

February is Dance Competition Month. So is March, and April, and May. So really, it’s more like Dance Competition Season…

February is (almost) in Spring, and Spring is Dance Competition Season
There we go. Also, still Mr. Brian.

Anyways, we have dancers from our full-time and Young Artist programs competing in several dance competitions this season, including Leap, KAR, Starbound, Headliners, and Applause (dates at the end). Our students are competing in solo and duets, and small and large ensembles.

Dance competitions are a precious opportunity for student dancers. There’s the preparation side, where you work with your teachers to brainstorm and create a choreography that you’re invested in and are willing to perform and present to the world.

There’s also the practice side. Techniques need to be polished, and the dance practiced to the point of muscle memory. It’s commonly a time where dancers really put in the extra work and see significant improvements in both their skills and command of their dancing.

Of course, there’s the competition aspect, where you’ll be on stage, performing for your peers, judges, and dance-familiar audience members. This kind of test may seem daunting, but it’s really more of a testament to the hard work you put in and an opportunity for you to share your passion with the dance community.

Cherish the opportunity. Work hard. Enjoy the experience. I’m excited to see how well everyone does this season!

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