Joel Morris Dance Academy (JMDA) is celebrating a wave of recent successes, including major wins at the Isle of Wight Dance Festival and multiple student acceptances to top UK performing arts colleges.
JMDA was awarded the coveted Teachers Award for the most first-place gold medals – the third time the academy has claimed the title. Students also won the most total ballet solo medals, earning the Emma Hamilton Trophy and the Valerie Marsek Award.
Highlights included:
- Lottie Paine and Lianna Murray earning highest marks in Classical Ballet (senior and junior)
- Ava Cowan topping Character Solos
- Tom Thorn and Lottie Paine scoring 93 in Musical Theatre – an exceptional result
Choreography awards went to Joe Alabaster (Best Lyrical Group) and Joel Morris (Best Classical Choreography for Lianna Murray’s solo).
Students have once again secured places at top institutions, including Italia Conti, Urdang Academy, Laine Theatre Arts, Emil Dale, and Bird College. Lottie Paine was offered a total of 6 college places – 2 of which were ‘on the day offers’.
JMDA also staged its annual production The Sleeping Beauty at Shanklin Theatre to strong reviews. The academy has now introduced the Royal Ballet School’s Assessment Programme alongside its RAD and ISTD syllabuses.
Joel Morris, Principal, has said:
“All these medals and awards are great but what I love most is how much the Joel Morris Dance Academy students love their dancing and that many of them decide to take it further.”
