Broome ballroom stars blitz competition
Kara Kelso's young ballroom stars capped off a stellar year of professional excellence after emerging from the latest round of the elite Dance Masters International Association competitions in Perth.
Eva Masi, Taj Piaggi, Kiara Ramsey, Brayden Heal, Tilda Finnigan, James Bardill, Kiara Malcolm, Laura Hook and Curtis Hankinson took part in the third competition held on December 1.
The previous day, the group visited Kelso's old dance studio to meet and train with her former instructor Daele Fraser, a Dancesport world judge and the DMIA president.
The group trained for a few hours before sitting their grade-three ballroom exam.
Kelso said all pupils received a highly commended pass, earning high scores.
On the day of the competition, the young dancers impressed judges with their skills and professionalism and clinched 45 medals, including 18 for first place.
During the events, Kiara Ramsay and Brayden Heal defended their open juvenile jive title for a second consecutive year, Eva Masi and Taj Piaggi took out second place, followed by Tilda Finnigan and James Bardill.
In the junior division, Kiara Malcolm and Curtis Hankinson beat other junior participants and scored first place in their open jive and tri-style event.
The group was crowned the winner in the team match event.
A surprise twist in the competition came when parents also took to the dance floor with their children.
Kiara, Curtis, Brayden and James and their mothers bowled over judges and took out the top four positions.
Kelso said she was extremely proud of her students and said there was plenty in store for them in 2014.
"We are very excited as we have another three comps this year with the big one, the Australian Dancesport championships held in Melbourne in December," she said.
