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Audrey Dahlgren introduced the 3 dance contestants, Jillian Torres, Marie Bartz & Lauren MacLeod (above).  Each student discussed her background and experiences with dance, all starting from a very early age.  Each one described how her experiences related to the Rotary 4-Way Test.  Then each student presented a video of clips from her past and recent recitals, some solo and some in groups, and in some of them the student had done her own choreography.  All of the contestants showed excellent talent and skills, and our Judges Committee had difficulty choosing the winner.

The first presentation was by Marie Bartz, Palos Verdes HS, who started dancing at age 3, participating in ballet, soccer and gymnastics.  Last March she was in an auto accident, resulting in back spasms.  She is now interested in studying orthopedics for dancers in her future college education.

Lauren MacLeod, Peninsula HS, studied ballet in her early years, stopped for 5 years, and then resumed.  She was very shy when younger, but dance has helped her to develop self-esteem and more self-confidence.

Jillian Torres, Palos Verdes HS, described her congenital problem perceiving what people are saying (hearing-perception deficit).  Her parents enrolled her in special classes where she was able to learn visually, but she was able to enter regular school by age 6.  She became serious about dancing in the 8th grade, and was soon asked to help teach dance to younger dancers.  She wants to become an elementary school teacher, and has been accepted to CSU Fullerton.

After the video presentations, the judges announced the winnerLauren MacLeod, who received a $100 prize and will compete at the District level on March 9 at Loyola Marymount.  The 2nd and 3rd place winners received prizes of $50 and $25 respectively.  We extended our appreciation to all of these outstanding students and their parents for their hard work.