We have had a wonderful and exciting start to the year in Dance, with lots of inspiring opportunities for our small but committed junior and senior dance troupe (crew)!
We meet for dance workshops each week after school, to practise our dance technique, improve our flexibility and physical acumen, try new cultural and modern dance styles, create dance, and learn dance repertoire.
We also attend professional dance shows, and host visiting dance tutors from NZ Dance Companies like Footnote Dance, NZ Dance Company, and Royal NZ Ballet. When dance tutors visit us at KHS or we go to public theatres like Isaac Theatre Royal, Papa Hou Black Box, and The Piano, we represent KHS as Dance Ambassadors with pride.
In Term 1…
In March, we attended the Footnote Dance Company’s performance at Papa Hou’s Black Box Theatre, where they presented the original show, Modern God, choreographed by New Zealander Jeremy Beck. An exciting and interactive work that delves into the web of global internet culture and the compulsion to live online. Our small group sat right in the middle of the front row and was treated to a quirky and chaotic series of dances exploring how we “see” each other (or don’t) and lose ourselves online. The dancers took turns holding a cell phone (using the ‘selfie’ camera) the entire time they were dancing, so we could see the ‘real’ dancers onstage and the ‘online’ version projected above the stage. At one point, a dancer approached us, handed the cell phone/camera to Daisy Neave, and said “Can you film us please?” making her the camera operator for a few minutes. Each dancer also took turns to ‘break out’ to “post on their channel”, where they happily, then furiously, then desperately advertise themselves to add to their followers.
New Zealand Dance Company presented ‘100 Winds Taupō Hau Rau’ in collaboration with the NZ String Quartet, again at Papa Hou’s Black Box Theatre in April. I was very excited to have them back as they have only been to the South Island once since COVID. Choreographed by Moss Te Ururangi Patterson, 100 winds “draws from the Māori concept of the wind, representing the diverse and often turbulent forces that shape our lives and how individuals and society can remain centred and hold onto core values during times of significant change. The stage was set with four chairs and spotlights as the four string musicians took their places in black clothing and bare feet. We were treated to the musicians’ fingers dancing across their instruments for 15 minutes before the dancers appeared, moving in and out of the lights, in front and past the musicians, showing our struggles to “navigate the winds of change”.
In Term 2…
UNITEC Dance company HOD Katie Burton visited Kaiapoi High in May to teach our dance troupe a fun and challenging contemporary dance exploring movement quality, called ‘Paint The Town Red’. Junior and senior dancers worked together to learn the short piece and then create duets that used contact and weight-bearing to show flow and connection.
Royal NZ Ballet dancer and educator, Lauren Byrne, joined us in June to work on ballet technique with our dance troupe, and to teach them repertoire from their touring show, The Firebird!!!
We then attended the double-bill, ‘My Brilliant Career’ by …, and ‘The Firebird’ by… What an awe-inspiring show!!! The lighting and costumes alone were worth the ticket and trip. We were very impressed with the ‘BIG’ ending where the Firebird was thrown high in the air by the other dancers, then disappeared!
In Term 3…
DanceNZmade Competition (solos, duos & trios) held on Sunday 20th July at Cashmere High.
Yr9 Ballet Solo – Zoe Berkenshaw, Yr9 Jazz Duo – Hana Hampton & Keava McPhail, Open (Yr9+13) Hip Hop Duo – Chloe and Talula Green (awarded 1st Runner Up!), Yr13 Hip Hop Solo – Talula Green
Royal NZ Ballet AND NZ Dance Company COMBINED!!! – Home, Land and Sea tour at Isaac Theatre Royal, Friday 8th August!!!
KHS Dance Showcase (+ Fashion Show) – Thursday 21st August, 6.30pm, KHS Auditorium. Koha entry. All welcome.
Kate Hamilton, Dance Teacher
