TERM 2 Dance Highlights

13/08/2026
2026 Issue 5, Arts

ACTIVATE
WSCW dance dept were fortunate again this year to host Unitec Performing and Screen Arts Director Katie Burton and third year students in their annual ACTIVATE dance workshop. This workshop involved a showing of student work, teaching and learning of movement and an opportunity to connect with students and staff of Unitec to ask questions about studying dance at tertiary level and what a pathway at Unitec Dance looks like.

MATARIKI FOR TAMARIKI
WSCW were grateful for the opportunity to welcome The New Zealand Dance Company (NZDC) to share their joyful celebration performance Matariki for Tamariki. Created by acclaimed Aotearoa artist and 2023 New Zealand Arts Laureate Sean MacDonald (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Raukawa), the show follows a cheeky group of friends travelling across Aotearoa during the Matariki season.

TOUCH COMPASS WORKSHOP – TOI TUKU
Our senior tauira had the opportunity to participate in an accessible arts workshop facilitated by Alisha Mclennan Marler, Rodney Bell and Julie Van Renan from Touch Compass, a leading Disability-Led arts organisation in Aotearoa. TOI TUKU included a performance of “To Colour Us Different – Ngā tangata rerekē ngā tae” followed by a workshop where our tauira and kaiako explored movement and ideas related to “leaning differently into the wind – He rerekē te neke i roto i te hau”.

GUEST CHOROEOGRAPHERS AND MORE
11 Dance built ensemble skills and key movement techniques while working with leading industry guest choreographer Richie Cesan on a Hip Hop group dance. Richie comes with a wealth of professional dance and teaching experience. This process has been alive with energy, laughter and learning new movement pathways.

Year 12 dance explored the street dance style locking as part of their 2.5 repertoire standard with guest choreographer Mele Ta’e’iloa to share . Mele is the Director of New Zealand’s leading Hip Hop and Street Dance collective, Projekt Team. She is an advocate for Hip Hop and Street Dance across the globe and an experienced mover, educator and more.

Term 2 saw our Semester 1 year 10 dancers exploring a range of dance styles in our dance taster unit. In this unit tauira experienced a platter of dance genre/styles such as; Street dance – Locking, Popping, House, Salsa, Siva Samoa, Jig , Bob Fosse Jazz and more. From this experience our tauira selected a range of styles and created some imaginative fusion group choreography. Tauira also progressed their performance skills whilst learning and co-constructing a group dance inspired by international choreographer Anna Teresa De Keersmaeker’s Rosa’s Danst Rosa chair dance.

LUNCHTIME HIP HOP CREW
This term our crew worked with Richie Cesan on four different sets learning a range of movements and skills. We also have a very cool piece of student choreography created by Miah Vatu and Ocean Kohere-Armstrong. This hip hop crew is on every Thursday lunchtime and open to all year levels. If you are keen to join in term 3 we ask that you head over quickly at the start of lunchtime, come weekly so we can make progress as a crew, bring sneakers you can move in and good vibes!