RE: Portobello: Porty Does Strictly Review 2014

After a hands down success last year, Porty Does Strictly was back for another year with a new line-up, but just as much of the energy and excitement which made the show a rousing success last year.

The event was hosted together by Porty’s very own Craig Swinney (S6) and Mrs Philip (History teacher) who combined effortlessly to provide us with some awkwardly hilarious humour. Our four judges also all had plenty to say. Mr Forrest looked someone tough to please, PC Ferry was desperate to sneak in as many puns related to her job as possible and Miss Todd only had eyes for Mr Roy. However none of them compared to Miss Gallagher who provided us with a superb Gollum impression and had us doubling over in laughter.

The following individuals took part in this year’s rendition of Porty Does Strictly:

Students

· Eilis Bruce & Kieran Thomson

· Laura Foster & Jack Thayers

· Ella Braidwood & Jamie Kinnear

· Georgia Boyle & Stuart Graham

· Maisy Murphy & Thomas Kinnear

· Ella Waddell & Orin Annand

· Alex Lauder & Hugh Brown

Teachers

· Mrs Ritchie & Mr McKenzie

· Miss Kirkwood & Mr Reid

· Mrs Pendleton & Mr Matthews

· Ms Taylor & Mr Roy

· Miss Airlie & Mr Christie

· Miss Bigg & Mr Hayes

· Miss Urquhart & Mr Clark

Following some scintillatingly sumptuous performances, there were several stand-out performances from pupils and teachers. It was very clear that Mr Reid was no stranger to dancing… and had visited his Samba dance before! He even made sure Miss Kirkwood was practising non-stop using every free period they had to hold a training session.

A particularly high-energy performance was from Alex and Hugh with the latter using all his charisma to keep his title of “king of Porty”. A feel-good performance was from Ella and Orin, the former already having a passion for dancing but you would have said the same about Orin that night as he looked completely at ease with his routine and couldn’t stop smiling. Laura and Jack had their Jazz hands on, dancing to ‘The Cabaret’ which put a smile on everyone’s face!

An alternate performance was from Mrs Pendleton and Mr Matthews who treated us to an intense Argentine Tango, while Mrs Bigg and Mr Hayes danced to a slightly more humours – romantic Charleston. A special mention has to go to Maisy and Thomas, with Mr Kinnear strutting about the dance floor like he owned the place, but forcing you to have a look at the lease.

However, a cut above the rest, dancing to ‘Can’t Touch This’ by MC Hammer were Stuart Graham and Georgia Boyle. Both Stuart and Georgia looked extremely shocked when they were announced as ‘Porty Does Strictly 2015 Champions,’ and that proved exactly the case when we spoke to the winning couple.

“We’re both very thankful for the votes we received, but certainly weren’t expecting to win it! The standard of the dancing on show was tremendous and it was a very special evening to be part off,” the couple said.