Orchestra - Ella Hodgson

Orchestra has been busy practicing this term. The orchestra this year is small, with only 7 members but we haven’t let that get in the way of making music. We’ve been working on a total of 4 pieces this term, Hallelujah, Beachfront Skyrim and Mack the Knife, in the hope of sharing these with the school community later in the year. We're currently preparing Skyrim which was included in the St Hilda’s Showquest performance in Week 8, which we were all excited to be contributing to. Overall it’s been a great Term 2 for Orchestra and we look forward to sharing our music over the coming terms.

Music - Chloe Wu

Hello everyone. It’s Year 13 Music Liaison Representative Chloe Wu and we have completed various internals and performances during these two terms. In Term 1, we had our first solo performance in front of the camera and the music students. It is definitely a precious experience, since it allows us to develop our performing genres and get feedback from the students and teachers. We also completed our first composition. All of the music students love this internal so much as we get access to professional recording devices and an app called soundtrap to create our originals. 

In May, we are so honored to be invited to Music Toitu Month. We had a chance to share music with the audience outside of school in the Toitu Museum. Right now, we are working towards group performances. It is a challenge for Year 13 to perform two songs in a row but with plenty of practice, our band will perform well!

Hip Hop - Connie Bennington

Hip Hop at St Hilda's this year is looking a wee bit different. This year we aren’t competing in the annual NZ Schools Hip Hop Crew Competition, but instead a new initiative called Showquest. Showquest is a 8-10 minute performance from a school group, which follows a theme/story that involves numerous arts items such as singing, kapa haka, acting and dance! We are incorporating our Hip Hop into Showquest this year and are really excited to see how it goes. We also had online Hip Hop classes earlier in the year due to Covid and taught various different sets to our keen dancers!

Dance - Lulu Grimmond

Over the course of this year, dance has been very present and popular at St Hilda's. The Year 12 and 13 dance class have been exploring different styles of dancing from different cultures globally. One Year 13 dance student mentioned "How fascinating it is being able to compare and contrast the different movements from different countries and how each culture interprets them". From Cook Island dancing to Arabic Belly Dancing, the class has been learning a lot. Mrs Geary has taught the Year 11 and Year 12 and13 dance classes, a Cook Island piece inspired by Moana the Musical and choreographed herself. 

Belly dancing is most definitely something out of all the girl's comfort zones, however, the amazing instructor Lisa has supported the dancers along the way of learning a choreographed piece by her. They have felt more loose and confident through her assistance and encouragement. Exploring and educating ourselves on different cultures around the world through dance is a very interactive and enjoyable way to learn. Each dancer has appreciated this experience immensely and wish to show off their new learnings to the rest of the school through the end of term Arts Assembly coming up.

The Year 12 & 13 dancers have been preparing for their next internal through many choreographic workshops. The Atamira Dance Company (a Maori contemporary dance company based in Auckland) ran a workshop which helped with our choreography, making the dancers feel more comfortable in freestyling and experimenting. They also taught the class ways to bring your ideas on paper into physical movements. They were very supportive instructors and the class was very effective for all the year 12 and 13 dancers.

Another current dance initiative this year is the Showquest. The Arts Leadership team gathered a large group of Musicians, Singers, Script Writers and Dancers throughout St Hilda's and brought them together to make our Showquest team for 2022! The dancers ranged from Year 7s all the way to Year 13s. It was exciting to have a vast age range involved to make everyone feel included, no matter the level of ability. The students have been learning a few hip hop and contemporary sets from our dance committee which was performed in our show. Through these pieces, we explored the theme of The Earth Mother, Papatūānuku (the first female entity in New Zealand). Each set represented conflict, peace and so on.

This year is extremely exciting for our dancers of St Hilda's. Everyone was very excited for the Showquest performance and our senior dance classes are enjoying the different styles of dancing and the choreography workshops that have been taking place!

Debating - Anika Texley

The debating teams at St Hilda's have been debating over zoom for the course of this year, which has presented its challenges. Despite the difficulties of online debating, both teams have continued to achieve and compete at a high standard. Lily Knox, in SHCS 1, was selected for the Otago Regional Debating Squad. Later in the year, she will compete in the National Debating Competition and has already debated against a Japanese team in preparation.

Madrigali Rouge - Madi Kaan

This term Madrigali Rouge has been busy practicing for the Big Sing. Initially this term we struggled with attendance numbers and had a few absences due to illness, but thankfully it improved as the Big Sing was approaching. We mostly focussed on our 2 songs for the Big Sing, You Will Be Found, and Hine e Hine. And recently we had the opportunity to record Hine e Hine for the Showquest in Week 8 - which all the girls were excited to contribute to. Overall it has been a good term for Madrigali Rouge and we are looking forward to the  upcoming opportunities throughout the rest of the year.

Photography - Hannah Lawrence

At St Hilda’s we are lucky to have such an amazing space and resources for photography as a subject. It is great that students are able to use things such as professional cameras and have access to a studio to let their creativity flourish. So far this year it has been great to see all the photographs of students and staff at the arches for certain events such as chalk art, Pride Day and Pink Shirt Day. Mrs Pickering, the photography teacher, has been very supportive (although no issues or queries have occurred so I have not had to go to her many times for my liaison role). For the photography subject, all students that I have spoken to are really enjoying and finding it a great environment and are getting lots out of it!

Kapa Haka - Summer Cooper

This year the Kapa Haka has grown, and we are now a wonderfully large group of 27 wāhine. We were busy preparing for the Boarder's Open Day this term. For this event, we performed two pieces from our repertoire Hareruia and the School Haka.

We also performed for the Showquest and enjoyed contributing and representing the school in this way by showcasing the story of Papatūānuku.

Some more exciting news for our group is having our new tutor from Manawa enterprises, Danya, coming in this week to start working with the group. There is a lot of excitement amongst the girls, as there is anticipation for learning the poi! We look forward to what this term holds for us as a group and I look forward to seeing each and every wāhine grow in confidence and community within our group. Ngā mihi nui

Performing Arts - Lucie Holtz

There is quite a bit going on in the performing arts area at St Hilda's. This includes the Theatre Sports and Shakespeare groups starting up again this term. Two great clubs that get students involved in improvisation and Shakespearean acting. St Hilda's old girl Eve Scott is also back for another year of running the Theatre Sports Club. This performance will be the classes second internal for the year.

The Year 13 drama class is currently working on a play called ‘Talk’ and getting really creative in the space, by having the audience in the middle of the stage to create a visual experience, immersing the audience in the performance. The Year 12 drama class are also working on a play. The play is called ‘Eating the Wolf’ originally directed by Sarah Delahunty. This play is a twisted fairy tale version of story ‘Little Red Riding Hood’.

Since our school productions happen every second year, and last year we performed Footloose, this year the school took part in Showquest. This is a student lead performance involving telling a story in 10 minutes by using the mediums of dance, singing, acting, lights, costuming and much more. This year our theme for the performance was based on Papatūānuku, the earth mother in Māori mythology. It focused on how she breathes life into us all and her qualities. The story was created by our Showquest Leadership Team, which is run by Year 13 and 12 students, and the script/stage-play was written by Year 12 student Tunmise Adebowale, as well as a poem for the performance. This event was a great opportunity for students to get involved in the arts in multiple ways, including acting in the performance.

Overall there is a lot going on in the performance arts area of the school currently and a lot to come!