Photo: Supplied.
FROM WYNNUM MANLY EISTEDDFOD
An eisteddfod is a Welsh festival at which competitions are held in music, poetry, drama, art and dance.
The Wynnum Manly Eisteddfod (WME) has bought this tradition to our local area for the past 51 years. This year we appointed a new dance convenor, Michele Thompson, and together with the committee’s support, we embraced a great deal of change for 2022!
This year saw the WME successfully move its Dance Group events to the beautifully appointed Star Theatre at Wynnum State High School, seamlessly transitioning to a computerised music playing and voice critics system. Our Group Weekend was held over the Labour Day long weekend, where 350 dances were performed, with six sold-out sessions attended by studios across Southeast Queensland.
We expanded our events to become a more inclusive eisteddfod with a new All Abilities Section for Dancers with Disabilities. We also had our first all-male entry, comprising of dance dads from Barrick Dance, who took out first place in the Mature & Motivated section. Our overall Grand Champions were local Wynnum Manly dance studio Annette Roselli Dance Academy, with runner-up being Kick Dance from Morningside.
We continued our long partnership with the Waterloo Bay Leisure Centre hosting our solo events in Dance, Music and Speech & Drama with over 1,585 entries performed by competitors from Brisbane, Gold Coast, Ipswich and the Sunshine Coast throughout May.
We have primarily funded our events for the past 51 years without any major sponsors, relying on donations from entries and benefactors such as the Raymond family, Rotary Club of Wynnum and Manly, Scope, Cr Peter Cumming, Joan Pease MP, and Ross Vasta MP.
Most importantly, we would not have been able to do all of this without the hard work of our 12 committee members, supported by a small band of volunteers from Quota and the parents of our entrants.
If you would like to talk to us about sponsorship or volunteering, please reach out via our website, www.wmeisteddfod.com.au.
