The third annual Choreography Project Competition was a great success! The choreographies presented continued to expand and evolve and senior judges Mahmoud Reda and Elena Lentini were impressed and delighted.


  Elena has agreed to return in 2008 and with her we have Z-Helene, Desdemona and Isis as guest instuctors. Mahmoud Reda has a large event scheduled in Alexandria, Egypt on our weekend and sends his best wishes. We look forward to seeing him again!

   Another big plus was our new performing venue. This year the competition will be held in the Scottish Rite Temple in their theater. We hope you enjoy the professional look the theater and technical staff impart to the dancers!

 
   While awards are important in acknowledging excellence and helping to delineate the many directions in which our dance form can go it's equally important that we create a supportive and honoring environment for the many dancers who have put so much time and energy into this wonderful dance!

 

   All categories are based on size alone. There is the Duet class with two dancers, Small troupe with 3 to 4 dancers, Medium troupe with 5 to 7 dancers and Large troupe with 8 and above. Along with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize in each category there is also the Innovator Award given to the most creative troupe, and the Grand Prize winners who have the highest scores overall.

   The judges base their scores on three different criteria: Choreographic concepts, technical execution and overall stage presence.

  All choregraphies must be original- that is to say created by someone in the troupe or connected to the troupe. Don't use one you learned at a workshop or off of a video or DVD.

  Duets and small troupes have 5-7 minutes, medium and large troupes have 7-9 minutes. However these are simply guidelines and if you need more time let us know.

   The overall winners receive an instructional dvd of their winning choreography. Click Here for examples of past winners DVDs.

  We decided this year to recomend motels near our home. They will be less expensive than staying downtown and the traffic is much less conjested and easier to find. Our zip code is 78723 and if you do a Yahoo search you will find there are a number of motels to choose from.

   The Radison Hotel Austin North is one of the nicer ones and costs $99 per night. Less expensive but still nice is the Baymont Inn Austin Highland Mall for $61 a night. There are other nice ones so check them out.

   These hotels are all within a very short distance of each other and close to our home for the ritual Friday night get together!

2007 winners:  First place in the duet category went to Star Dancers Ahava and Mahsati. Second place duet went to Gail and Molly Hollar. Third place duet went to Anwar Araks de Chanson de Vie.

   First place, small troupe goes to Tribal Glitter. Second place small troupe goes to Adum Araks de Chanson de Vie.

   First place medium troupe goes to Solange.

   First Place large troupe goes to Qantara. Second place large troupe goes to Khazana. Third place large troupe goes to the Johara Dance Ensemble.
  
   First place in the student category went to the Angels. Second place went to the Desert Flowers. Third place went to the ACC student troupe.

   The Innovation Award went to the Hip Bellyettes.

   The grand prize winners were the Angels.

   The Isis Performing Company and Z-Helene and Rick gave guest performances. Elena closed the show with a wonderful, evocative choreography.