YOUNGSTERS had plenty to sing and dance about in the final of the hotly-contested Cheltenham's Top Talent competition in Beechwood Shopping Centre at the weekend.
Sixteen year old -year-old Mubonki Bulawayo danced his way to victory with a body-popping routine he had choreographed himself.
After being presented with a silver cup and a £50 Pizza Hut voucher, the Balcarras School pupil said: "I think dance is good for young people – it's better to be doing something productive than doing nothing. I would urge other young people to enter these types of competitions. I want to be well-known in competitions in the future."
The Cheltenham teenager dances in a crew called DKS and came second in the street dance section of a world championship contest in Blackpool in April.
Second in the competition organised by the Gloucestershire Echo and Beechwood were Jade Dunkley, 16, and Emily Monahan, 14, who impressed the judges with a modern dance routine.
Third was break dancer Jamie Parekh.
The 25-year-old, who works in retail, said: "I have been dancing for just under 10 years. I like the expressiveness of it. There is no set form so it's totally up to the person, their mood and their attitude towards it."
The judges were Cheltenham mayor Councillor Barbara Driver, Echo editor Kevan Blackadder and Beechwood Shopping Centre Manager Owen Acland who said it was a really difficult task to decide on the eventual winner. He thanked all the contestants in the auditions for making the competition such a success. He congratulated the eight finalists for putting on such a great show for shoppers."
Kevan Blackadder said: "It was a really difficult job but what came through in the end to all the judges was how good the dancers were. They all blew us away.
"I would like to give special mention to Eloise Willetts. At 10 years old she was the youngest contestant by far and she did a fantastic job in front of such a crowd."
Del Boy (Only Fools and Horses) look-a-like Maurice Canham mingled and entertained shoppers throughout the day which helped raise funds for Mrs Driver's chosen charities – Cheltenham YMCA, the National Star College and the St Vincent's and St George's Association.
The amount raised will be announced later.
Wednesday, 21 December 2011 14:35
Cheltenham's Top Talent Final
Read 550 times
Published in
Latest News
Image Gallery
Leave a comment
Make sure you enter the (*) required information where indicated.
Basic HTML code is allowed.
