Building Futures Vol 6 2012.pdf - Merici College

Cultural AssemblyThe Arts Express ThemselvesYear 11 Dance - AntithesisDancefestThe Ausdance Youth Dance Festivalhas been running since 1985. It is anannual event which takes place at TheCanberra Theatre in September overthree evenings. Many of the secondaryschools and colleges in the Canberraregion participate with some comingfrom as far as Goulburn and Cooma.Dancefest, as it is affectionately knownis not a competition but is designed tobe a celebration of Dance in schools.This year there are 49 entries from 33secondary schools and more than 1250dancers will be performing. Everyyear Ausdance selects a theme andthe schools then choreograph a fiveminute dance based on that theme.The dance can be from any dancegenre or a combination of styles.Merici College have submitted threeentries this year: one from the twoYear 10 Dance classes, one fromthe Year 11 Dance class and onefrom the Year 12 Dance class. Thestudents in the classes have creativecontrol of their Dancefest entry andthey are responsible for choosing thetheme, the choreography, costumes,lighting requirements, props orscenery. Dancefest forms part of theirperformance assessment within theDance curriculum.This experience encourages thestudents to collaborate with oneanother, explore different ideas andmovements and develop their problemsolving skills. The students enjoy theprocess of rehearsing, polishing andperforming in front of an audience.The theme for Dancefest 2012 is‘Heroes’. The two Year 10 classes havechoreographed a dance entitled ‘TheHero Within’ and it is based on thebelief that anyone has the potential tobe a hero and one may never know theimpact you have on another person’slife. The Year 11 class have focusedon the opposite of heroes and haveproduced a dance entitled ‘Antithesis’which explores the darker side ofhuman nature. The Year 12 Danceclass have looked at popular musicheroines who have inspired them asthey were growing up. Their dance isentitled ‘Girl Power’ and focuses onthe music of Tina Turner, The SpiceGirls and Beyonce.The dance students eagerly anticipateDancefest every year and look forwardto performing on a professional stageas well as enjoying the opportunity toview the entries from other schoolsand colleges.CULTURAL ASSEMBLYRecently Merici College celebratedthe fine arts through the CulturalAssembly performances, whichshowcased just some of the projectsand productions the staff and studentshave been working on throughout theyear. The Expressive Arts at MericiCollege, being; Music, Dance, Drama,Photography, Art and Media, givestudents an opportunity to expressthemselves and this was definitelydone at the Cultural Assembly. TheArts have the ability to express thethoughts and feelings we cannotsimply express in words, and throughthe great performances seen at theconcert, the students gathered anappreciation for the Arts.The concert opened with the musicalARCHDIOCESE OF CANBERRAAND GOULBURN1ST CATHOLIC PRIMARYSCHOOLS CHOIR FESTIVALYear 10 Dance - The Hero WithinYear 12 Dance - Girl PowerOn Wednesday 22 August 2012, over300 parents and students packedthe Auditorium at Merici Collegeto enjoy the voice of primary schoolchoirs from 7 schools around theArchdiocese. The choirs came from10