Term 1
Student Success:
Eve Condon (Year 11 in 2017) – accepted into New Zealand School of Dance as a Year 12 (Level 2) starting in 2018
Matt Cornere (Year 13 in 2017)– accepted and attending the University of Auckland to study Dance and also earned Dance Scholarship
Sasha Schofield (Year 12 in 2017) - placed third in the senior international category at the Coops Cup for rhythmic gymnastics in Toronto, Canada.
Seniors:
Year 11 Dance started the year off with their whole class dance internal. The dance was in preparation for a collaborative show with the Drama Department in Term 2 called ‘And the Winner is…’ Students worked in groups to choreograph a section of the dance. They chose music from a movie that won an Oscar for Best Picture. Titanic, Forrest Gump and Gladiator featured in the piece. The dances were learned by other students in the class and the piece was finished off with an introduction choreographed by Mrs Hannan. Students also began their choreography standard with a Site Specific Dance piece, creating dances to be performed in specific places around the school.
Year 12 Dance learnt the ‘Mambo’ dance from West Side Story for their performance in Term 2. They did a thorough research on the features of Latin American dances and West Side Story. Meanwhile, they learned their first repertoire dance sequence for the year, and they had the choice of learning either a Hip Hop routine or a Contemporary dance. Their repertoire dances all explored the theme of the #TimesUp movement, about ending discrimination.
Year 13 Dance started with student choreography pieces. Some of these student choreograpies would later go on to be submitted for Dance Scholarship, of which we had three students submit for this year. In the second half of term one students choreographed dances to music from Chicago, in preparation for the Term 2 Show ‘And the Winner Is…’
Juniors:
The Year 9 Dance Students learned a fusion dance (Jazz and Hip-Hop) and worked in groups to recreate K-pop dances. The learned about ensemble skills, performance techniques and the elements of dance. To end off the term they had a choice of learning a Contemporary Dance from their teacher or choreographing their own in Duets and studied the features of the style.
All Year 10 students explored the origins of the Jazz dance style and performed a choreography which was taught by their teachers for their final assessment. They completed the term by choreographing their own Lyrical dance to a song of their choice. The main theme of this Term was to explore reasons why people dance.
Term 2
Student Success:
Sammi van den Broek (Year 13 Dance Student) - was accepted, as part of the Highland Dance Company of New Zealand, to travel to America with 31 other dancers in the April school holidays to participate in the Virginia International Tattoo exhibition, an international festival of military bands, massed pipes and drums, military drill teams, Celtic dancers, and choirs.
Lachlan Inwood - performed in the New Zealand premier of Wicked as an ensemble dance member. The show ran for three weeks at the Isaac Theatre Royal. He will also be performing in Christchurch’s annual Christmas in the park
Big Events:
The Oscars ‘And the Winner Is…’ Collaborative Show between the Dance and Drama departments.
Whole Department Trip to see Lumina by New Zealand Dance Company at the Isaac Theatre Royal
Seniors:
Year 11 Dance had two guest Dance tutors in: Jeffy Hu to teach a Hip-Hop sequence and Lana Panfilow, from Flow Academy of Dance, to teach them a Jazz sequence for their performance internal.
Year 12 Dance spent this Term working in groups and creating dances that signify positive and negative aspects of the overuse of social media and technology in general. Meanwhile, they also learned and performed their second Contemporary or Hip Hop dance sequence for their repertoire internal. Both choreographies were taught by teachers. The Hip Hop choreography was taught by guest tutor and ex student Ciara McGinn.
Year 13 Dance continued with their student choreographies. The also completed their second repertoire dance, a whole class dance created around the film ‘Moonlight’ for the ‘And The Winner Is…’ show.
Juniors:
Year 9’’s began the term with Musical Theatre dance, a whole class performance to a High School Musical song. They then had a Hip-Hop tutor come in, ex student Sarah Tsai in the first semester.
Year 10 Dance explored the genre of Hip Hop. They learned the background history of the style and then performed a choreography taught to them by either a guest tutor or their teacher. They finished the term by focusing on the benefits of Dance in general and realising it for themselves by creating their ‘Happy Dance,’ using dance for health and well being. They choreographed their own solos, duets, or trio dances according to the music and the style that truly gives them confidence and satisfaction.
Term 3 -
Student Success:
Azalea Keegan (Year 13 Student): Crusaders cheerleader danced at all the home games in Christchurch. Also choreographed for the Rams Canterbury basketball team and performed in it for each home game. Next year she has been accepted to The Next Step in Sydney for full time dancing.
Seniors:
Year 11’s prepared for the Dance Showcase at the start of Term 3. They then completed their third repertoire performance dance in the style of Salsa. Preparation for external exams commenced and students studied the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s show titled ‘Anatomy of a Passing Cloud’ choreographed by Javier de Frutos.
Year 12 students completed their repertoire assessment by learning and performing their final Contemporary or Hip Hop choreography taught to them by guest tutors and ex students Ciara McGinn, Zion Dance Studio and Claudia Morris-Levings, from Levings School of Dance. Then it was time to focus solely on their exam revision studying the dance ‘Rotunda - Tawhirimatea’ performed by New Zealand Dance Company and choreographed by Shona McCullagh. Lastly, they were given the option to be assessed on a solo choreography for extra credits, based on the idea of ‘Never Giving Up’.
Year 13’s prepared for their final dance showcase. They really stepped up and helped with the poster for the Dance showcases and montage video, a reel of highlight videos from their five years in Dance at BHS. This year students saw the dance they would write about for the exam live, Brouhaha choreographed by Malia Johnson and performed by the New Zealand Dance Company.
Juniors:
This term Year 10 students completed their Showcase performance, then all worked in groups to create a dance that communicates a Global Issue, either Social or Environmental. The final products were beautiful and shared some positive and strong messages. Some issues that were explored were plastic in the oceans, deforestation, air pollution, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and homelessness/poverty. They all had their personalised slides of images projected behind them as they danced.
Term 4-
Top Dance Students:
Level 1 Dance - Bridie Thompson
Level 2 Dance - Emily Ayas
Level 3 Dance - Rachel Coldicott