DANCE

Message from Dance

Our focus during Term One has been to capitalise on the return to onsite classes. Fitness, strength, flexibility and control, underpin artistry and technical advancement in dance and all require daily development. We are proud of how well our students have been building these skills over this term and that they were able to show them in the Open classes in weeks 10 and 11.  

The joy and inspiration of being back on site, reminds me how successful our world-class training program is. The philosophy and guidance our students receive, provides expert preparation for their pathways and careers in dance. Our graduates are evidence of that, and are to be seen on stages and behind the scenes of theatres all around the world.

As part of our connection to the arts industry, we regularly connect with current professionals and have been able to engage the following guests to deliver our Senior Ballet and Senior Jazz Elective classes.  Guest teachers provide new perspectives on the industry and prepare our dancers for the experiences of further training and employment. The electives also extend students in an area of their choice and inspire both their technical and artistic growth.

Ballet Elective - Years 10 -12 

Yuiko Masukawa has been a principal dancer with Melbourne City Ballet and an international guest teacher and choreographer of ballet and contemporary dance. Yuiko choreographed on Year 12s last year and currently teaches and choreographs from her base here in Melbourne. 

Jazz Elective - Years 10 -12

Jack May is an established performer, teacher and choreographer of hip-hap and commercial dance based in Melbourne. His exciting, challenging and upbeat classes are highly sought after in the industry and provide extension and diversity for Jazz Elective dancers. 

Contemporary Year 12

Chimene Steele-Prior, a graduate of New Zealand School of Dance, worked as both performer and teacher for major contemporary dance companies and choreographers across Australia. Her teaching includes approaches from Release and Countertechnique and Pilates knowledge, tailored to vocational students and professional dancers alike. Chimene will be with us for the remainder of Term One.

As we continue to prepare our busy year of training and events, a reminder to all families about the exclusive nature of participating in our program. Please avail yourself of the policies and procedures on our website, in particular please note that participation in any external activities must go through an approval and permission process. 

Next term we are excited to perform Curtain Up and to rehearse for our Major Season in Term Three. Transferring knowledge between training and rehearsals is where some of the most powerful learning and exciting opportunities for improvement happen.  We can’t wait to share this experience with you and encourage our students to use the holiday time to rest, revive and enjoy themselves in preparation.

Feature - Dance Repertoire 

As many of you may know, this year’s Semester One Workshop performance will be a presentation of repertory pieces from existing classical and contemporary works. This means that each level will perform short excerpts in those two selected styles.  Rehearsals have begun and it’s exciting to watch the dancers adapt to such an eclectic mix of choreography and expression. 

Learning repertoire gives each student the opportunity to utilise their developing skills in real-world artistic performances. While some adaptation might be necessary for our younger dancers, all the students are essentially performing the same choreography as the professional dancers they watch up on stage. 

Much of the work has been performed by the staff teaching it and their insight into the ‘why’ of the choreography brings an additional artistic layer to the students’ experience. 

This year, the contemporary repertoire spans more than 50 years – from Alvin Ailey’s iconic 1960 work Revelations to Sydney Dance Company’s 2 One Another made in 2012. The ballet repertoire spans even more – from Lev Ivanov’s 1875 Swan Lake to Justin Peck’s 2012 work for the New York City Ballet, Year of the Rabbit. 

As dancers, it feels right to begin understanding the rich history of western theatrical dance in a physical way. By learning repertoire, the students absorb this history. By performing it, they keep it alive.