The Dance Department Year in Review

This year the Dance Department took six trips to amazing Dance shows: Station by Freshman’s Dance Crew, Ka Mua Ka Muri by Atamira Dance Company, Tolu by Pacific Dance Fest and NZ Trio, Aiga by Touch Compass, IYKYK by Footnote Dance Company, and Manifesto, an international extravaganza with 9 drum kits and 9 dancers.

Fabulous guest tutors taught a range of dance styles and supported our dance kaupapa: Hadleigh Pouesi – Freshman’s Crew, choreographer Tupua Tigafua, and former WSCW students Tamsin Theron and Angel Mendoza. For Year 11 Taste of the Pacific we had a range of great Pasifika tutors: Year 12 student Willow Epati-Manu and Year 13 Manaaki Nathan Ahmann (Siva Samoa), the wonderful Vaine Paniora (Cook Island Dance) and Tiaki Kerei (sharing his Whakamana kaupapa and extensive experience as a dancer, choreographer and former artistic director of Atamira Dance Co).

Student performances! Senior Dance students performed 2 sell-out Showcases plus a matinee. The Year 13 Dance class presented 15 individual choreographies that communicated a wide range of ideas about, for example, unwinding, toitu te tiriti, metamorphosis, defrosting, te kore, and more! Two outstanding Year 12 and 13 student-choreographed dances were presented at YouDance Festival. And a selection of brave Year 9s and 10s performed exceptionally at our Junior Arts Festival in November. Ngā mihi nui to all the students who performed at the Prizegivings, in person or in video format!

We welcomed Atamira Dance Company and the Unitec Dance Programme into our studio for workshops and talks about the dance industry and further education. To bridge the gap between secondary and tertiary dance education our Year 13 students and teachers visited the Unitec Dance Programme and had the opportunity to talk with Disciple Leader Katie Burton and former WSCW student Tamsin Theron.

Year 9 and 10 Dance students and their dance teachers Sam and Chloe led a dance introductory workshop at Pasadena Intermediate – a fun way to connect with one of our local kura!

Alumni news – Tamsin Theron and Angel Mendoza have both completed their first year of tertiary dance training with flying colours! It was an absolute joy to see these creative movers and makers excel in their studies at Auckland Uni and Unitec. Congratulations to Mui Inskter who has been accepted into the Unitec Dance programme for 2025 to complete a Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts, majoring in Dance.