Latest news with #McKelvie
Otago Daily Times
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
‘Happy Days' for choreographer
Happy Days will be Nikoia McKelvie's 14th time choreographing for Gore Musical Theatre and she is showing no signs of slowing down. As a hip-hop dance teacher, Ms McKelvie was not as well versed in the rock'n'roll style of dancing in the upcoming musical, but she said she threw herself into it. "I was like, 'I don't know if I can pull this off', but hopefully I've done it justice." Happy Days is a musical ode to the well-loved '50s-set sitcom that ran 10 years from 1974 and the dance moves in the show included rock'n'roll and tap. Ms McKelvie said the cast had a special session in Invercargill last week at the Invercargill Rock and Roll Club to help master the more complicated moves. But, it was the dance's signature lifts, from a health and safety perspective, that more help was needed for. She said the cast had come a long way. Her 15-year-old daughter Ellie played Joanie in the production and she said there had been some "eye-rolling" at the beginning of rehearsals, but now she was teaching her with ease. Her favourite number to choreograph was Message in the Music which reveals the musical's overall theme — through music and dancing, you can find joy. Southland theatre mainstay Kayla Wilcox and the show's director Craig Waddell choreographed the one tap routine, as tap was not in Ms McKelvie's wheelhouse. For every production she has choreographed for Gore Musical Theatre, Ms McKelvie has been nominated for an Otago Southland Theatre Award. She faced similar challenges in choreographing the theatre company's 2021 production of Chicago , as its jazz-style was also not her forte. She won the award for that production, so she was fairly confident she could do anything she set her mind to. "I think when I get shows like this, I really throw myself into it and just study it, just so that I can do it justice," she said. Ms McKelvie studied many videos to help inspire her for Chicago , which had its famous Bob Fosse influence, but she studied burlesque too. For Happy Days , running August 8-16 at the St James Theatre, she had mainly used her video studying to help with formation. At the production's rehearsal on the weekend, the cast had their steps down and Ms McKelvie said they were just in the process of cleaning things up in time for curtain call. Tickets are available at the St James or on iTicket.
STV News
06-06-2025
- Politics
- STV News
Labour wins crucial Hamilton by-election
Scottish Labour candidate Davy Russell has been elected MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall, and Stonehouse. Turnout was announced as 44.2%, with a total of 27,155 votes cast on Thursday out of a possible electorate of 61,485. Labour have managed to take the seat from the SNP despite the First Minister calling it a 'straight contest' between SNP and Reform UK on the campaign trail – dismissing Russell from the running. Russell was previously accused of running a 'car crash campaign' after refusing to participate in an STV debate. Lambie subsequently accused his opponent of being the 'invisible man' and 'running scared'. But Reform's Scottish breakthrough in Hamilton failed to materialise, and voters in the region turned against the SNP. In 2021, the region cast 36,394 votes and ultimately re-elected long-standing SNP MSP Christina McKelvie for the third time. She comfortably won the seat with 14,924 votes, making up 41% of the vote. McKelvie's Scottish Labour opponent was the runner up, with 25% of the vote (9,187). Reform UK, which until recently was considered a fringe political party, scored only 58 votes for its candidate in 2021. The seat in South Lanarkshire was vacated following McKelvie's death in April. McKelvie announced in August last year that she would be taking medical leave due to treatment for secondary breast cancer. She died at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary on March 27, aged 57. More to follow. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
STV News
05-06-2025
- Politics
- STV News
Polls close in crucial Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election
Polls have closed in the crucial Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election. The votes are now being manually counted and verified at South Lanarkshire Council's headquarters in Hamilton. A result is expected in the early hours of Friday morning. The seat in South Lanarkshire was vacated following the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie. McKelvie announced in August last year that she would be taking medical leave due to treatment for secondary breast cancer. She died at Glasgow Royal Infirmary in March, aged 57. Her successor to represent the seat in the Scottish Parliament will be announced on Friday after all votes are counted. Polling stations opened at 7am on Thursday and closed at 10pm. Candidate name Party Collette Bradley Scottish Socialist Party Andy Brady Scottish Family Party Ross Alexander Lambie Reform UK Katy Loudon Scottish National Party (SNP) Janice Elizabeth Mackay UK Independence Party (UKIP) Ann McGuinness Scottish Green Party Aisha Jawaid Mir Scottish Liberal Democrats Richard Nelson Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Davy Russell Scottish Labour Party Marc Wilkinson Independent Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
STV News
05-06-2025
- Politics
- STV News
Voters go to the polls in crucial Hamilton by-election
Voters are going to the polls in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election. The seat in South Lanarkshire was vacated following the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie. McKelvie announced in August last year that she would be taking medical leave due to treatment for secondary breast cancer. She died at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary on March 27, aged 57. Her successor to represent the seat at the Scottish Parliament will be announced on Friday after votes are counted. Polling stations opened at 7am on Thursday and will remain open until 10pm. To be eligible to vote in the election, you must be aged 16 or over and have registered to vote before midnight on Monday, May 19. You will not need to bring photo identification to vote in the Scottish Parliamentary by-election on Thursday. Information about polling stations should be included on your polling card, but can be found online on the Electoral Commission's website here by typing in your postcode. The votes will be verified and manually counted at the close of the poll on Thursday at the South Lanarkshire Council Headquarters in Hamilton. Candidate name Party Collette Bradley Scottish Socialist Party Andy Brady Scottish Family Party Ross Alexander Lambie Reform UK Katy Loudon Scottish National Party (SNP) Janice Elizabeth Mackay UK Independence Party (UKIP) Ann McGuinness Scottish Green Party Aisha Jawaid Mir Scottish Liberal Democrats Richard Nelson Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Davy Russell Scottish Labour Party Marc Wilkinson Independent Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
STV News
04-06-2025
- General
- STV News
Hamilton by-election: What was the result last time voters went to the polls?
Candidates from SNP, Scottish Labour, Tories, and Reform are battling it out on the last day of campaigning before the Hamilton, Larkhall, and Stonehouse by-election on Thursday. Both SNP and Reform UK have said it's a 'straight contest' between their candidates, with both dismissing Scottish Labour candidate Davy Russell from the running. But if these predictions are true, it would represent a massive change since the last Holyrood election in 2021, when Reform UK scored just 0.2% of votes in the region. In 2021, the region cast 36,394 votes and ultimately re-elected long-standing SNP MSP Christina McKelvie for the third time. She comfortably won the seat with 14,924 votes, making up 41% of the vote. McKelvie's Scottish Labour opponent was the runner up, with 25% of the vote (9,187). The Tory party scored 22% of votes (7,925). Reform UK, which until recently was considered a fringe political party, scored only 58 votes for its candidate in 2021. However, those political allegiances could all change this week. Voters in Hamilton, Larkhall, and Stonehouse will head to the polls on Thursday to cast their votes for a new MSP at Holyrood. It follows the death of McKelvie in March, which triggered the by-election. SNP candidate Katy Loudon will be fighting to hold the seat for the party. Loudon will go head to head with Scottish Labour candidate Davy Russell, Reform UK candidate Ross Lambie, Tory candidate Richard Nelson, and others. McKelvie's successor to represent the seat at the Scottish Parliament will be announced in the early hours of Friday morning after votes are counted. The vote will take place on Thursday, June 5 with polling stations open between 7am and 10pm. Candidate name Party Collette Bradley Scottish Socialist Party Andy Brady Scottish Family Party Ross Alexander Lambie Reform UK Katy Loudon Scottish National Party (SNP) Janice Elizabeth Mackay UK Independence Party (UKIP) Ann McGuinness Scottish Green Party Aisha Jawaid Mir Scottish Liberal Democrats Richard Nelson Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Davy Russell Scottish Labour Party Marc Wilkinson Independent Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
