Arts & Culture News

Vocal Groups Report

by Elodie Bowman

Cantiamo and Bel Suono Choirs

Cantiamo and Bel Suono Choir members have had the privilege of experiencing an all-day vocal workshop led by Dr Karen Grylls. This was our first workshop led by an out-of-school music and vocal expert since Choir Camp earlier this year. As a group, we are extremely grateful for the expertise and experience that Dr Karen Grylls has given us. This has pushed us to grow technically, preparing us well for upcoming competitions later in the year.

The Bel Suono Choir has had a busy few weeks with the workshop and a performance at Dio’s annual Open Day. A performance this early in the year was an invaluable experience, giving (especially some of the newbies) insight into what performing in Bel Suono is like. What a great way to start in such a familiar and encouraging environment.

A massive shoutout must be made to the amazing helpers and seamstresses who are helping prepare Cantiamo’s and Bel Suono’s robes and dresses for the year. It is no easy feat, and we appreciate your help in making us look fabulous in our performances and smart in our services.

Barbershop chorus

We are thrilled to have had a song arranged especially for us and are working towards competing with it at the Regional Young Singers in Harmony competition in June. Also, It's not too late to join! Come along to the chapel on a Tuesday after school, or email arts@wdsg.school.nz

Instrumental Music

by Joy Liao

On the 14 March, Dio’s Jazz band had the pleasure of having a workshop with Grant Mason, a jazz flugelhorn/trumpet player. This was in preparation for Dio’s first appearance at the National Youth Jazz Competition in Tauranga on 28 March. We look forward to performing alongside other Secondary School jazz bands around New Zealand as they converge on Tauranga over Easter.

Our production orchestra has been practising hard over the past few weeks in preparation for the show. The orchestra consists of students and adult players. 

Library

by Alexis Fink

This term has been busy in the library with multiple displays and events. Our latest display was to meet our student Librarians, Matta and Sarina. It is still up, so make sure to check that display out. We had a Kahoot in the library for International Women’s Day, and some of our teachers chose their favourite book about women.

Up and coming events:

Knit a blanket for the Dio production - every Tuesday and Thursday at morning tea

March 13-20 - International Happiness Day - where happiness is spread through the library with students able to decorate a bookmark and hide them in books throughout the library

Drama

by Zack Young and Hazar Yousef

Hello, we’re Zack and Hazar, the 2024 Drama Co-Captains! Our main focus this year is to encourage as many people as possible to get involved in the amazing drama opportunities our school has to offer (e.g., theatre sports, the script writing competition, and, of course, our school’s major production, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe). We also want to potentially bring back some we haven't seen in a while, such as the junior drama club.

Rehearsals for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe continue. The cast has been working hard, and many hands have been beavering behind the scenes to make some magical things happen. Tickets went on sale March 8 for Saturday, 6 April to Wednesday, 10 April, and are selling quickly. There's allocated seating, so get yours quickly to get the seats you want! It’s going to be a whole lot of fun!

The Theatre Sports team competed in their first competition on Monday, March 11, at the Meteor. They had a lot of fun meeting other teams and being judged for their improvising skills, and they are already excited to attend the next competition next term on Monday, June 24.

Dance & Drama Gardens Trip - Monday 11 March 

On Monday, 11 March, 40 Year 10 Dance and Drama students travelled to Hamilton Gardens for their annual Site-Specific assessment day. The Performing Arts Department has been conducting this trip and assessment for over 13 years, and it is always a great day out.

We were lucky with sunny weather, and our Dance and Drama students chose various interesting sites in the enclosed gardens to create dances or devise drama performances. They had the morning to choose their site/garden and create a piece that reflected their surroundings - the shapes, the objects and the feel of the garden. There were a lot of interested tourists this year who were intrigued by what we were doing. Some wanted to join in the dances, performed their own and wanted photographs!

After lunch, the whole group walked from site to site and watched the performances. It was a challenging experience for the students and highlighted the performance aspect of performing arts. The students are to be congratulated on their inspiring pieces and for being brave enough to perform in front of other Dio students and members of the public.

We are already looking forward to next year!

Dance

Thank you to Veronica and Jacob from Footnote New Zealand Dance Company. Our Levels 2 & Level 3 NCEA Dance students participated in a workshop where they had to create their own contemporary dance through movements taught to them. A fantastic learning opportunity for trailblazers within the contemporary dance industry. It was followed by a trip to Meteor Theatre to watch Footnote in action in their show IYKYK.

Visual Arts

On 1 March, Level 1 Visual Art & Textiles and Design students had a unique and stimulating learning opportunity to support their learning and achievement with an Education Outside the Classroom trip to the Waikato Museum, Victoria on the River, and surrounding areas. On this trip, they observed accomplished artists' models, including the renowned figures Sandy Adsett and the Wharenui Harikoa by Lissy and Rudi Robinson-Cole. 

Many thanks to the kaiako/educators at Waikato Museum, Cassandra and Elaine, for taking our students through the insights of these artists and some of the storytelling that came with how they were curated and then telling us a bit more about the carvings around the museum and what they mean.