COMPETITIONS CONCERT

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 805, 28 October 1929, Page 11

COMPETITIONS CONCERT

WINNERS AND MEDALLISTS JUDGES’ SUGGESTIONS That the competitions movement, which has just been revived in Auckland, has come to stay this time is the opinion of Mr. J. W. Bailey, of Wanganui, judge of the elocution sections, who spoke during the interval at the concert given on Saturday evening at ITis Majesty’s Theatre, by winners and medallists of the recent Auckland Competitions Society’s festival. He considered it necessary for the benefit of th© rising generation that the competitions should go on. A well-filled house welcomed the excellent fare provided. The programme included dancing, singing, elocution and instrumental music. A further party of winners will give a concert at the theatre this evening. The instrumental classes at the festival had really merited further prizes in most cases, said Madame Grace Griffiths, of Wanganui, judge of this class, who also spoke. The standard of work had been high and her task had been a difficult one on several occasions. Miss Audrey Hughes-Johnson, judge of the dancing section, had returned to Wanganui, but made some remarks before leaving. She regretted that she could not commend the dancing section as a whole, as the majority of the competitors were unfinished and their technique far below standard. “Many competitors attempted too much for their ability,” she said. “It is of no use doing 20 consecutive pirouettes round the stage when not even one is done correctly, nor is it wise to attempt ‘Pavlova’ steps when th© competitor does not know her A B C of dancing. The majority of the children showed an entire lack of side and centre practice. Many people think it an easy matter to go on the stage and do a little dance. If they could watch a class conducted by a competent teacher they would see how much work there is in one simple step executed correctly. "In the character classes, with one or two exceptions, there was little originality and too much Russian ground work. This is detrimental to other dancing. A competitor dressed as a girl should not do boy’s steps. In the Eastern and Spanish dances, the atmosphere was not created. I would suggest to the committee to eliminate the toe class under nine. It is not good for children of tender years to do point work.”-