Performing Arts

From the DIRECTOR OF PERFORMING ARTS

Below: Anna Casey & Shelagh Thomson

There is no doubt this has been the strangest and most challenging of years, with few of our original plans coming to fruition. It has been especially tough for our Year 13 students who have worked incredibly hard over the years to achieve such a high level of performance in their chosen disciplines. They were so looking forward to the gala opening of the Diocesan Arts Centre and all those promised performance possibilities... alas, not to be.

But what ensued was something very unexpected, and few will forget 2020.

This was clearly demonstrated by our Arts Council and I especially want to acknowledge Anna Casey as Arts Prefect during this fragmented year. She has been an exceptional leader and is someone for whom nothing is ever too much trouble. Her kindness and commitment in all areas of leadership have been exemplary, the support and mentoring she offered to younger students was exactly what we required during these unsettling times. She led the council during lockdown with maturity, always encouraging everyone and displaying a real positive ‘can do’ attitude. Her opening speech at Showcase summed up the support and creativity her council displayed over lockdown and how much they achieved. “At times we thought there would be no performances at all – especially for choirs who were banned from singing altogether during Alert Levels. Nearly all our competitions, festivals and national events were cancelled, so keeping everyone motivated has been a big challenge. But our theme for the year ‘Tuwhera’, ‘to be open’, became something we wanted to explore; what it meant to be open-minded, open to new challenges and experiences, open to developing ourselves as artists, encouraging others to get involved.

“We all kept practising our instruments, learning new dance moves, writing poetry, painting and drawing, making things. I think everyone got more creative and our new Arts Instagram page definitely kept us connected. The Arts Council found this social media presence opened up the arts to so many more students, with Instagram challenges, virtual videos, ‘isolation creations’ and profiling our amazing Year 13 student leaders across the disciplines.”

Thanks Anna, you’re going to be a hard act to follow and we will miss you!

So as the year draws to a close, and despite the challenges, there have been some exceptional achievements across the few competitions that have taken place. We are especially proud (and very grateful to have the necessary resources) that some 600 girls continued over lockdown with their extracurricular dance, drama and music lessons via digital platforms. Simply none of this could have happened without the commitment of parents, the community and the expertise of our highly skilled team of professional teachers, tutors and coaches. I know students and staff have been surprised and delighted with the journeys taken this year, despite the alert levels put in place.

From me and the team, thank you everyone for your on-going contribution to our arts programmes. Enjoy the summer recess and roll on 2021!