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Whistler dancers on top of Dance Power

It was an exhausting six days for coaches, volunteer parents and the group of 57 Whistler Dance Academy members who took part in the Dance Power competition in New Westminster this past week.

It was an exhausting six days for coaches, volunteer parents and the group of 57 Whistler Dance Academy members who took part in the Dance Power competition in New Westminster this past week.

With that many kids involved, you can’t expect everything to go perfectly.

Nikki Sadler back tucked right off the stage during her acro solo performance, but still came away with the gold.

Holly Hetherington ring-leaped so forcefully that she managed to kick herself in the head.

Melissa Manuel, who finished third along with Hetherington, did a back walkover onto her nose.

Juliana Waters wound up on crutches after winning gold with her team in a Can Can routine for the Group Novelty Dance category, and was unable to compete in the solo category.

Various dancers forgot the times for their performances. Another forgot her costume in Whistler, but made do with a last-minute replacement from a nearby Value Village.

It sounds like a disaster, but it was quite the opposite. Every single one of the Whistler girls who took part in Dance Power qualified for the Western Canada Dance Finals in Banff this July.

"It was completely nuts, but the girls did really well," said coach Krista Hoffs.

The medal system is based on scoring, and if no dancer earns a score over 85 points, first place wins a silver medal, and girls in second and third win bronze.

In the Acro Solo categories, Sadler won first gold, Alex Rusimovich took first silver, and Holly Hetherington and Melissa Manuel each won third bronze.

In the Jazz Small Group category, the B-Boys and All That Jazz won second silver, and Just A Kiss and Spain won third bronze.

The Smooth Criminal group won first silver in the Jazz Line category.

In the Jazz Solo category, Megan McSkimming won an award for outstanding performance, Natasha Quinn and Brittany Dossa won second silver, and Rebecca Kleinman won third bronze.

In the Hip Hop Large Group category, Da na na na won and Like I Love You won third bronze.

Brooke Playfair won third bronze in the Lyrical Solo category.

In the Trio Novelty category, Sam De Patie, Stephanie Moody and Christine Brett won third bronze, and the Daft Girlz won second bronze.

Can Can won first gold in the Novelty Large Group category.

The next adventure for the girls is the academy’s dance recital on June 26 at Millennium Place, with shows at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale this week.

Coaches Krista Hoffs and Nanci Potton wish to thanks all of the parents who helped out, and congratulate the dancers on their outstanding performances.

The girls are also holding fundraisers to earn money for the trip to Banff for the Western Canadian Dance Championships in July. They are having bake sales and selling raffle tickets for a free dance class for the fall semester. The girls taking part in one or more of the groups are Emma Baker, Lilli Baker, Alanha Balzarini, Emily Barratt, Becky Berrett, Becky Boese, Christine Brett, Zoe Brair, Jessica Buccholz, Aura Buckman, Abigail Cameron, Jessica Craig, Ashlen Coombs, Makinna Coombs, Ellika Crichton, Carly De Patie, Samantha De Patie, Dakota Der Duyf, Brittany Duggan, Jillian Duggan, Meghan Duggan, Paige Harley, Holly Hetherington, Hillary Illes, Jennifer Just, Jocelyn Kayk, Hannah Kerwyn, Rebecca Kinney, Rebecca Kleinman, Taylor Laidlaw, Meagan Lande, Lizzie Mane, Angelina Manuel, Melissa Manuel, Hayley Matches, Laura McColm, Megan McSkimming, Riley McSkimming, Stephanie Moody, Jesse Morden, Sarah Morden, Julia Murray, Tara Newell, Merritt Patterson, Neve Petersen, Anna Pitoniak, Brooke Playfair, Madeline Podborski, Natasha Quinn, Jordan Robelka, Alexandra Rusimovich, Mila Rusimovich, Nicole Sadler, Asha Spina, Marielle Thompson, Alexa Treleaven, and Juliana Waters.