Wakakirri Dance 

Wakakirri is a program run throughout NSW that invites schools to create a story dance about an important social issue incorporating the theme of RISE. 15 students from KHS have been working hard over the last 2 terms with Miss Brown on this project. Students decided to compose a dramatic dance piece about bullying and loss. They decided on this issue because teenagers experience bullying at school.

 “Most of the time, we have friends to help us feel better about ourselves, but sometimes we don’t. When teenagers feel alone and depressed, we don’t have the skills to help ourselves, and this can lead to bad things happening. We created this dance to show the effect that loss has on the whole school community. We wanted to raise awareness of the effects of bullying, and to encourage other students to be there for each other, because as teenagers, this is incredibly important”. 

(Charlea Kelly)  

Students, along with Miss Brown and Miss Kenyon worked hard on the creation of the story, the choreography, casting, and costuming. Students also assisted in filming a projected backdrop in place of traditional props and set.  

They travelled to Sydney in August to perform with other schools from around NSW for an audience of over 400 people. Despite nerves and fear students performed beautifully and made themselves proud. Malise Kelly and Brydie McGowan worked with a lighting technician in Sydney to create beautiful effects on stage to enhance this story. 

Unknown to students at the time there were awards to be presented for different categories and Kempsey High School won the NSW “Best use of the theme of RISE” award, as well as the award for “Great use of projection”.  

Beyond these great awards, the group from Kempsey High School has been invited back to Sydney in September to Perform for an awards night. This opportunity has been given to only 8 schools throughout NSW, out of 200 schools that performed. These students have been nominated for two national awards. The National “RISE” award; is given to the group that best shows the theme of RISE in their story. The judges commented that the group showed brilliant storytelling and they felt carried along with the storyline of loss. They have also been nominated for the “Best in Performing arts” award. This award is based on the danceability of the participants. The comments received for the lead dancers for our group were excellent.  

This is an amazing achievement for the school and a brilliant experience for the students. The students would like to thank Mr McKinney for giving them this invaluable experience. 

Sam Brown

English Teacher