North Albany Senior High School

Billed as ‘Dare to Be’, Year 9-10 students enrolled in the Dance option explored the themes of identity and individuality. After school workshops attracted additional participants from Years 8-12 at the school.

“Dare to be… means expressing yourself in your own individual way… Daring to go into the light. Daring to be you without judgement… It means to me learning that everyone has a part of them that is awesome and amazing and hat we all have a weirdness inside us that expresses itself in many different ways…”  Student

 

Contemporary dance movements and techniques were the core activities at the beginning of Term 2 and overseen by AIR Project Coordinator Ms Shelley Molenda and artists Symantha Parr and Annette Carmichael. Costume design was also investigated, and for the first time the school participated in the APEX Australian Teenage Fashion Awards. Stage lighting and various other production elements were explored with Southern Edge Arts resident Production Manager David Nile.

In Term 3, Annette and David developed the CoLab, which was a five-phase learning program: Dance, Watch, Create, Design and Perform. Using a rotational workshop format, pairs of students completed short tasks aimed at developing a common creative language for lighting effects and its relationship to human movement. The CoLab model was credited with positive results in students’ attitudes towards, and ownership of their work.

 

“The constant push to step outside of your comfort zone and give everything a go. NASH DAIR was a safe environment that everybody felt made it easy to express who we were with no judgement. The NASH DAIR project has been a great opportunity for me to grow both mentally and physically.”  Student

 

The final production of original student work was showcased on Friday September 27, 2013 at the Albany Town Hall.  Students presented two performances, a matinee for NASHS students, and a ticketed evening show for families, friends, and the general public.

 

“The NASH DAIR project has significantly enhanced the Arts program at North Albany SHS. From the outset it was an ambitious project and although there were a number of challenges along the way, the outcomes were very positive. The success of the project is largely due to the project coordinator Shelley Molenda… The project enabled the involvement of staff from other learning areas – including S&E [Society and Environment], Home Economics and Education Assistants. Through the NASH DAIR project a number of students, who otherwise would not have had exposure to the Arts were provided with rich learning experiences as both observers and participants.” Mrs Sharon Doohan, Principalz

Visit the project archive to read more about projects completed in 2013.

 

Principal at the time of AiR project delivery: Mrs Sharon Doohan

School Tel: (08) 9892 0611

School profile available at http://www.det.wa.edu.au/schoolsonline/home.do