THE art of storytelling was alive and well at yesterday’s Western NSW Dance Festival.
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A full program of 26 dance items featured a variety of ideas that were portrayed to audiences through dance.
Students came from right across the western region for a matinee and evening performance at the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre.
Each idea reflected something students had learnt at school and was predominantly choreographed by their teachers.
However, in some cases, students were asked to add to the choreography themselves.
The Bathurst and Kelso campuses of Denison College each created two performances for the festival, which students began preparing at the start of the year.
Year 11 student Jenna Murphy said the resources at the Bathurst campus made it easy to put together two different dances.
“We’re doing one with phones, Digital Disconnect, about how we are dependent on our phones and we are doing one to a song called Fast Car,” she said.
Fellow student Chloe Toole said the festival is a great opportunity for students to showcase themselves in a professional setting.
“You get to see a variety of different dancers and performances,” she said.
Kelso High’s two performances also touched on important issues, with the main performance, ‘Run, Boy, Run’, a story about good and evil.
Year 10 students Maddy Howle and April Lyle said they preferred being involved in performances where the pressure was off to be the best.
“I just like the opportunity to dance without it being a big competition,” Ms Howle said.
Behind the scenes, Bathurst High’s Kane Bartlett was enjoying his first experience as a crew member for the Western NSW Dance Festival, proving that you don’t just have to be a dancer to help tell a story.
“I’m here as part of my entertainment course and my job is to make sure kids are moving out of dressing rooms, on stage and off stage,” he said.
Schools participating in yesterday’s dance festival included Denison College Bathurst High Campus, Denison College Kelso High Campus, Eglinton Public School, Orange High School, Blayney High School, Lithgow High School, Cowra Public School, Canowindra High School, Nyngan High School, Bourke Public School, Mulyan Public School, Lachlan Learning Community and The Henry Lawson High School.