Dancing up a storm
This term, we welcomed back our old (and new) dance students, watching them all settle back into their dance classes and making friends.
Many different dance genres are offered in the Dance Stream – Contemporary, Tap, Lyrical, Hip-hop, Ballet and Jazz. Each genre has its own technique and style. Our students have the opportunity to become adept in all these dance styles, which will open more doors for them should they wish to pursue dance as a career.
The students started back into these classes with great enthusiasm and dedication, and their teachers are already very impressed with their discipline and focus.
An Industry Day visit
In March, we had our first Industry Day for 2023. Each Performing Art Stream has a leading industry specialist come in to share their knowledge and journey with our students.
The Dance Stream’s Industry Day tutor this term was Mr BJ Rorke. BJ is an ex-McDonald College student and one of Australia’s most respected performers and choreographers.
He has performed in theatre productions, including Fame the musical (Australian tour), CATS the musical (Asian tour), and several productions with Opera Australia.
He was in the Top 6 of the TV competition So You Think You Can Dance and has danced on other TV shows, including The X Factor, The Voice, Australia’s Got Talent, Dance Boss, and Dancing With The Stars.
BJ choreographed the TV series Dance Academy and appeared as a featured dancer in Mao’s Last Dancer and Goddess. He has also performed in Tap Dogs and at events such as the MTV Music Awards and the ARIA Awards.
BJ has created a very successful national dance program called NXTGEN Project, which offers students the chance to work with industry dance professionals, learn choreography and gain experience performing in a theatre.
The Junior and Senior Dance students had a great time with BJ in the studio and were quite sore the day after. We thank him for his excellent guidance and challenging classes.
Heading towards High-Performance Season
Rehearsals have already begun for the Senior Jazz Eisteddfod group, and some choreography has already been started for the 2023 High-Performance Season.
The Choreographic Evening will be held on 26 July in the Conference Centre at 7pm. This is an evening for students to try out their choreography. It is not a competition but an opportunity for them to grow and experiment with movement.
