Ballet and Dance

Australian Ballet School Scholarship Awards

Dante Minassian, Yr 9, performed at the Australian Ballet School Scholarship Awards at the Victorian Art Centre in Melbourne over the weekend. We are thrilled to share that Dante was presented with the Top Award by Director of the Company David Hallberg, who said that “Dante is one to watch!!!”

Huge congratulations to Dante for his Full Scholarship at The Australian Ballet School for next year!

And it’s a wrap for Semester 1!

We have had an extremely busy time at the Academy during Semester 1 and are seeing fantastic results from all the hard work and focus that has been put into classes. Thank you, parents, for your attendance at Class Watching this week, it has been wonderful to see so many of you in the building!

Kindergarten Ballet Class Watching Event

It is that exciting part of the year where we start turning our attention to the special events that are in the diaries for the Academy.

Solo Soirée | 28 July | Redlands Hall

The first event for term 3 is our Solo Soirée on 28 July at 6.30pm in Redlands Hall. This informal event is for students who have been working on solos or duets at the Academy, and a chance for them to perform in a non-competitive forum. All parents and fellow students are welcome to come along to give support. Further details will be up on Pulse on the first week of Term 3.

RAD Exams & Class Awards | Date TBC

The second round of RAD exams & class awards will be happening toward the end of August (date to be confirmed by RAD). These are for our Yr 1 – Yr 6 students and seniors. Please make sure to practise over the holidays.

Dance Awards | 5 September | Norths in Cammeray

The Dance Awards this year celebrate 25 years of Dance at Redlands and promises to be an unforgettable night filled with laughter, joy, and dance. This is a compulsory event for all senior Academy and Curriculum Dance students, and we will be asking you to fill in permission slips during the first week of next term. We are thrilled that awards will be presented to Yr 7s this year.

Make sure to put the 5 September in your diaries!

Tickets: information on how to buy your tickets will be available soon.

Rehearsal: there will be a final rehearsal on Saturday 2 September 3-6pm in studio P1.9. Further details to follow.

End of Year Performance (EoYP)

As the End of Year Performance (EoYP) becomes our main focus, we will be asking all students to work on their attendance. We will be monitoring this very closely during Term 3 and will need everyone to be vigilant about notifying the office if you cannot make any of your classes by completing our ABSENTEE FORM.

If you have more than two absences, we will be asking for medical certificates, and it may jeopardise your position in the show.

The EoYP this year comes as a Triple Bill which will showcase all genres of dance.

Les Sylphides: loosely based on Fokine’s beautiful one act ballet with music by Chopin

Still Life at Penguin Café: our Contemporary piece which is inspired by David Bintley’s masterpiece with music by the Simon Jeffes

The Oscars: brining together Jazz, Tap and Hip Hop in a fun spectacle to complete the evening

There will be three performances at The Concourse in Chatswood:

15 November 7pm: Juniors
16 November 5pm: Prep
16 November 7pm: Seniors

Please note that although performances are aimed at Prep, Junior and Senior Year Groups, there will be dancers who will be involved in all performances. This will make more sense when the casting is announced at the beginning of next term.

Term Dates

Our Semester 2 Dance Classes

Your child’s Dance classes will automatically roll over from Semester 1 to Semester 2. If you are happy with your classes, then you do not need to do anything.

If you wish to enrol, then please see our ENROLMENTS PULSE page.

If you wish to drop any class for Semester 2 then please complete our NOTICE OF CHANGE FORM. Please note that should you withdraw from a class once term has started, a charge will be applied for that class for Term 3. Please refer to our Terms & Conditions on our PULSE page for further details.

Eisteddfods

Our Senior Contemporary Performers (SCP), Senior Jazz Performers 1 (SJP1) and Senior Jazz Performers 2 (SJP2) groups were busy on Sunday, performing at the Extreme Eisteddfod in Wahroonga. A great day was had by all. Many congratulations to our SJP1 on their second place and to our SCP for their third place.

And Yr 10 Imogen Jeffery-Bilich was also at Extreme, and was awarded second in Lyrical solo and highly commended in Contemporary solo. Great job Imogen!

CLASS WATCHING

Two more days of Class Watching to go. For senior class times please see your child’s timetable.

Please see our CLASS WATHCING PULSE page for further details.

LOST PROPERTY

If you have any missing dance uniform pieces, please remember to check our lost property cupboard before the end of term, as it will be emptied during the school holidays. We have lots of unnamed items so please do try to come along and have a rummage!

The cupboard is located in the hallway outside studios P1.6 and P1.9.

EISTEDDFOD COSTUMES

A reminder to please wash and return at the start of Term 3 any Eisteddfod costumes hired from the Academy.

We recommend a hand wash or gentle machine wash using a garment bag for all costumes. Please return costumes in a bag labelled with the name of the student.

ABSENT or AWAY FROM CLASS

If your child is sick or will miss their class then please complete our ABSENTEE FORM.

Any Questions?

For the most up-to-date information on all things dance please

CLICK HERE FOR BALLET & DANCE PULSE

And please contact us at dance@redlands.nsw.edu.au with any questions, concerns or feedback.

Ms Gilly Revie
Head of Redlands Ballet and Dance Academy
grevie@redlands.nsw.edu.au
02 9908 6488

Dance Curriculum

Important Dates

Term 3 – Week 2 – Wednesday 26 July – 6.30pm Redlands Hall	Years 8, 9 + 10 Curriculum Performance Showcase
Term 3 – Week 2 – Thursday 27 July – 6.30pm Redlands Hall	Year 11+12, HSC + IB Curriculum Showcase
Term 3	Excursion to Wicked – Capitol Theatre (Yr 8, 9 + 10)
Term 4	Ballet and Dance Concert

Reflection from excursion to Yuldea – Bangarra Dance Theatre

By Alyssa Tinetti

On Tuesday 20 June, the 10-12 dance elective cohort travelled to Gadigal Country, the Sydney Opera House, to watch Bangarra Dance Theatre’s new production Yuldea. Yuldea is choreographed by new Artistic Director, Frances Rings, and is a ceremonial affirmation of the history and heritage of the Anangu people of the Great Victorian Desert; exploring the moment traditional life collided with the industrial ambition of a growing nation, as the Transcontinental Railway invaded the land in 1917. Then, atomic testing at Maralinga took place, forcing the Anangu people to leave their desert homelands, where they had resided for millennia.

The hour-long work is elevated by the innovative set design by Elizabeth Gadsby, with layered curtains of streamers suspended from the ceiling, that stunningly mirror the lighting shifts throughout the work.

The choreography in Yuldea was different to what we’ve seen from Bangarra in previous excursions, with the performance starting with the dancers completing sharp shivering motions, and forming unique geometric shapes through complicated lifting and partnerwork sequences. The company’s female dancers then mimic a flock of birds, performing strutting actions and bird-like head motions. The male dancers then enter as dingoes where they complete duets inspired by the Kapi spirit and the red mallee eucalypt.

In the third act, the performance changes from its shimmering water-like background to a destructive red wall as the performance transforms to portray the destruction of the land due to the development of the Transcontinental Railway. During this section, all of the student were glued to their seat with eyes popping out of their heads, as the dancers were dragged across the stage by rubber bands, choking and hurting them to reflect the devastation of the land and people due to industrialisation. This demolition culminates in the ‘Black Mist’ scene, representative of the UK’s atomic testing in Maralinga. The piece features a solo dancer in the spotlight, covered in ash as black flakes pour down, the dancer spasms on the ground, covering his face whilst completing complicated floorwork choreography. The piece concludes as the dancers perform as a group, celebrating the enduring kinship ties that pass on the Yuldea spirit.

As a collective, we were all amazed by this performance, awestruck by everything from the costumes, lighting, set design, choreography and performances of each dancer; our bus ride was abundant with excited debriefs and opinions on the work. It is important for us as dancers to see how magnificently Bangarra portrays stories, and conveys their intentions through choreography, certainly inspirational for everyone’s future compositions. Seeing Bangarra also allows us to view dance rooted in an unfamiliar culture, this differing intention from performances by other major companies, and by ourselves, gives us new perspective on dance as a storytelling artform and helps us grow as dancers of a diverse, interconnected world. We have all grown to really love and appreciate our Bangarra visits, and hope that as the younger elective students continue with their studies, they get to grow as we have through viewings of Bangarra’s performances.

On behalf of the cohort, I can confidently say that seeing Yuldea was a night we will never forget.

Curriculum Dance Showcase | Year 8 – 10 – 26 July | Year 11+12 HSC+IB – 27 July | Redlands Hall

In Term 3 we will have our two Curriculum Dance Showcases. These will be held on 26 + 27 July at 6.30pm in Redlands Hall. This event showcases the components of Curriculum Dance, Performance, Composition and Dance on Film. It is a great opportunity for parents and families to see teacher and student choreographed works. All are welcome. Further details will be available in Week 1 of Term 3.

Gala Arts

Friday 21 July, 6.30pm

The Concourse

Please join us at Gala Arts at the end of the first week of Term 3, an exceptional evening of entertainment where we celebrate the talents of our students, and book your tickets via the QR code in the following invitation.

This annual Creative and Performing Arts festival showcases the plethora of talents of the diverse Redlands student body from Year 7 to 12. The Festival was created to showcase the creative talents of Redlands students whilst at the same time promoting Inter-House competition and House spirit. Students perform in dance, instrumental, theatre and vocal categories. Visual Art photography work will be on display in the foyer and the winner will also be announced at the event.

Any Questions?

Please contact us at kboase@redlands.nsw.edu.au with any questions, concerns or feedback.

Mrs Katharine Boase
Subject Coordinator of Dance
kboase@redlands.nsw.edu.au