Bollywood kids at QPAC

Asha Shah's Bollywood Dhamaka participates in Out of the Box again this year

Since its inception in 1992, 0111 ef tbe Box has become an integral part o f the Brisbane cultural calendar. The ico n ic festival, which is supported by the Queensl and Stace L ibrary, Queensland Museum and Quee n sland Art GalJery, is ai med at "e nhancing children's experience tbrough involvement in the arts by e n couraging a se n se of wo nder, curiosity, di scovery and serious fun", according to chief executive and inaugural festival di rector John Kotzas. The festival builds on the all -important theme that " children's early lives reall y matter" and thus hopes to engage and m uture them through better participation wi thin the commrn1i ty.

[ ow in its twentieth year, the high profile event, hdd between 12- 17 June at the prestigious Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), drew thousands of child1·en exposing them to a r ich cros s section of hands -on cultural experiences sourced from a variety of backgrounds. Popular Brisbane dance school Bollywood Dhamaka was onc e again invited to be part of this vibrant kale id oscope.

The wdl- known dance institute and talent agency nm by Asha Sh ah performed four segments at the festival's outdoor stage.

"W/e have been involved w i th Out of the Box event for last few years and it has always been a delight to perform at the children's festival,"' Shah to ld lndia11 Unk. '1vfu1ticu1tural events like these evoke a sense of harmony a nd mutual respect. le is a11 abom ml.icing peop le and igniting that aura of peace through mus ic and dance".

"I am particularly proud of m y talented performers for putting forward an excellent fun filled display en joyed by enthus iastic children", she added.

The four segments included group performances by Dhamaka students in the age gro ups 3- 7 (Ma!Jya Yasboda), 7- 10 (Dbinka Cbinka) and 10- 13), fusion - medley of J!J,1, Cb,1t11T11ak and Chikni Cba111elr) respectivd y as we.LI as a ,vo.rkshop by As ha o n B o ll ywood dance rhythms based on Nagaara J\Jt1/',arm1.

N in e -year-old Sllkhleen Arora was thrilled to be part of such a major mainstream performance.

The Yea r 3 srnde nt was part of an e ight-gid team that represented Bollywood Dhamaka.

" I was reaJJy excited about the item", said a beaming Sukhleen, w h o clearly showed no stage fear "Ash a's s tudents regularly participate at public s hows," mum Rani Arora explained. "S ukhleen has performed earlie r this year at

McGrego r State Schoo l's Mayfest

Fete. Last yea r d i ey performed at Roma Parklands at a multi- cultural event fearmi.ng Prem ki 11a!Ja from Aja/; Pt-em ki Ghqjah Kahaani. So sh e is confident and really looks fo rward to die-5e events".

"Th ese days, kids h ave no stage fear whatsoever. All 8 girls were very confident and excited. They kept their smiling faces on diroughout the performance. Th.is is a great platfo rm for gh7 ing more meaning to the dan cing classes that the gi rls attend weekly It brings about a sense of pride and satisfactio n for die pare n ts to see their kids perform so confidently o n stage then get app lauded for it. Moreover it brings about die awareness of Indian culture an important pan o f it, which is dance, in the Australian mindsets," Arora noted.

"The workshop we cond u cted after t he performance and di e response was so fascinating,"

Shah added. "We got alJ of the audience d oi ng it die Bollywood way widi d1eir hip s shaking, feet tapping, hands swirling, all in sync to an upbeat Bollywood song Tt was the children in the audience that m ade it worth much more to dance, because d1ey were into it. le i s moments Like d,ese that encourages us as a Bollywood style dance g roup to bring forth more amazing performances directly from our hearts to yours".

"My med1od of tead1ing is basicall y cl assic al folk oriented an d I make it a point to impart a se n se of what traditional Indian dancing upholds", she explained. '1vfombai i s home to the Bollywood style and I am prou d to say that growing up there and performing Bollywood dancing right from a young age instilled a lot of charisma in m y dancing which also reflects in the dances that I choreograph Through Bollywood pe r formances, I honestly wan t to display the spirit of a danc e culture that shouldn't be lost through dilution and the refore, I make it a point that t he audience takes home the spi rit of traditional Bollywood dancing and that i t remain s etched in d1eir memories as a brilliant show," s he stated.

A trained a nd qualified dance instructor, Shah who hails from Mumbai has over two decades' experi e nce.

''1 started m y dance career as a 5-year-old, taking part in stage shows, concerts and dance dra111a s".

Si n ce then she has choreographed a nd performed at numerous shows, in clu ding the popu lai· Boogie 117oogic As well, Shah has worked with BolJywood film choreographers.

Asha has created quite a niche for hersel f in Queensland and she recently choreographed and performed in TV vommercials for Subway Cbicke11 Tikkd.

In this article, Richard Chua explains what to expect in your HSC and how to succeed in it. Richard graduated from Sydn ey Grammar in 2001, with a UAI of 100.00 (ATAR equiv. 99.95) and holds a degree in Commerce and Law from UNSW

Every Decemeber 60,000 students anxious ly await their HSC resu lts wandering whether their hard year's work will be enough to get them in to University. Small differences in ATAR can make the d ifference between adm ission and rejec tion.

However many of the HSC's top performers prepa re well in adva n ce to ensu re their success. In th is article we look at 4 secrets to p reparing for you r HSC.

1. Choose the right subjects, and understanding scaling

Perhaps the most important cons ideration for st u dents is to understand how each of your subjec t sca les. Most students will be familiar w it h the fact that marks i n diffic u lt su bjects, like Maths Ext 2, get ··pushed up" whilst marks i n ot h er subjects l ke Lega l Studies wi ll get "pu sh ed down".

However, you need to know much more than t h is.

If you understand sca ling properly, you can actually breakdown any ATAR into a partic u lar mark or rank in each subj ect. Below we list a tab le of the h ighest scal ing subjects in the HSC, and what you need to score in each subject to ach ieve a n ATAR of 95/97/99

2. Expect at least ONE bad assessment

Many students get dishearten ed when they see ONE bad assessmen t resu lt. Some students decide to "drop" subj ects premat u rely or panic and bel ieve they are no longer capab le in t hat subjec t

However. you shoul d expect to have at least O NE bad assess me nt. A bad assessment does not necessarily mean you a re weak in t he subject. Rat her w ith rough ly 5 assessmen t s per subject. you wil l be doing bet ween 30·36 assess m ent and exam tasks in the year. Rea listicall y, y ou are bound to have a sub-pa r performance in a t east a few of those assessments

CATEGORY HIGHEST SCALING SUBJECT DECISION RULES

MATHS Math s Ext 1 & 2

ENGLISH Advanced or Higher

SCIENCE Physics and Chemsitry

HUMANITIES Eco nomics & Modern H ist o r y

I n o r d e r to sco re 9 9 ATARJ you need to b e ranke d In t he t op + 57% of Maths Ext 2 + 25% of Maths Ext 1 + 5% i n Chemist ry Physics and Eng lis h

3U and 4U Maths are by far the highest sca ling subj ects that are readily accessible students. Because of their hig h seatin g, you should take the highest level of mathemati cs t hat you are capable of. For instance, t o be on target for an ATAR of 99+ you only need to be average In 4U Maths, whereas you wou ld need to be n the top 4% of 2U Math s. Whe re possible you shou ld ta ke at least adva nced English The higher Engl ish as a group, sca le we l above Standard English. For instance studen t s who scored in the 2 5 % of Advance receive scores higher than those students who sco re i n the top 1% of standard Physics and Chem stry a re r h e h ighest scali ng sc e nces, a nd sca le s gn"iticantfy better than biology

Humanities are genera lly quit e subject ive, and tend to sca e lower Eco nomu:;s is the highest sca ng humanity readily eva ilobfe, followed by Modern History Anci ent H i st ory, Bus iness Studies. Commerce and Lega l Studies scale even lower st il l.

I n order t o scor e 97 ATAR y o u n ee d to b e ranked I n the t o p + 80% of Mat hs Ext 2 + 4 7% of Maths Ext 1 + 12% of Chemist ry + 11% Physics and Adv English

In ord er to score 95 ATAR you n eed t o be ranke d In the top + 90% o f Maths Ext 2 + 60% of Maths Ext 1 + 18% of Chemistry + 16 % Phys ics and Adv English

For a full explanation of scaling, please see www.talent-100.com.au/hsc-study-guide.php or register for our free Scaling Seminar (Jan lS,16, 29,30)

I f a single assess m ent s weak don 't panic. Understand that the assessme n ts increasing i n we ig h t i ng a ll the way up u nti l the HSC exam (w h ich cou n ts for 50% of your f inal mark), so you can a lways make u p lost ground. Under stand that the f i nal HSC exam will count as much as everything y ou d o in s c h ool put tog ether.

3. Take a spare subject

A lthough your HSC is only scored from your 10 best units. it is best to take a spare subject or take 11-12 u ni t s. Some stud ents th ink that tak ing 10 units w i ll g ive them extra t i me to study. Wh ilst th ere is so me meri t in this, this is a r isky strategy. It assumes that you w ill be ab le to execute you r e xams flawl essly If y ou take 10 u n it s and you perform badly in one subject. you w ill be forced to count t hat subj ect In cont rast. ta k i ng an ext ra subjec ts give y ou "i nsurance·· - even if you perform bad ly in one subj ect. you'l l be ab le to inclu de your 'spare subject' inst ead

4. Accelerate your learning

A growin g t rend among many of the HSC's top per formers is to acce lerate part of the ir H SC in Year 11. In particu lar. many sch ools

(such as Sydney Boys and Normanhur st) are encourag ing thei r Year 11 Math s st udents to sit the 2 Unit Maths Exa m whi lst in Year 11.

Other schools, like Bau lkham HIiis H igh Schoo l allow Year 11 students to si t Econo m ics.

The philosophy beh ind th is is straight-forward. If you can complet e 2-4 units successfully in Year 11. you will have much more t ime to devote to your subject s in Year 12. Effect vely, t h ese students have a massive ad vantage over the i r peers. as they are able to sit t h e HSC over two years.

Co n versely, there i s very l ittle ris k If you d on't pe r form well in the H SC in Yea r 11, you can si mply sit the same subject again in Yea r 12

Ou r concise, straight - for ward and resu lts-focuse d approach has helped the Ta le nt 100 stude nts perform at the top of Sydney's best p riva te and selective schoo ls. I f you would l ike to know more information about sca ling, or wou ld l k e a FREE THREE WEEK TRIAL o f any of our courses•. p lease contact us o n 1300 999 100, email info@ta1ent·100.com au or v isit ou r webs it e