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Highlights from Performing Arts
Dance Festival
Our reputation for Dance has gone beyond our Chiswick borders!
At the end of March we were invited to take part in the Ealing Schools Dance Festival at Featherstone School. The evening is a chance for the local schools to show off their best dance pieces. We were asked to take part as "visiting VIPs"
We performed two dances to a packed audience, all of whom were very surprised at the quality of what we presented. We also helped out with the visiting primary schools and gave them advice and encouragement throughout the evening. Our students not only showed what a talented group we are, but were also professional and generous. The Head of Featherstone emailed after the show and said:
"I just wanted to say thank you to Mr Robinson, Miss Knight, and all of the students who came to the Dance Festival on Wednesday this week. The students performed two extremely well choreographed dance pieces to a very high level. The students were a credit to your school because they spent time interacting with the other performers, particularly the primary school children, making them feel more confident about performing on stage."
We look forward to more collaborations with other schools in the new year.
12
Our 6th form performing arts students are gaining a reputation for quality shows performed around Chiswick. This year they have performed 3 full scale productions, Titus Andronicus performed at the School, Lysistrata at the Tabard Theatre, and this term an adaptation of "12 Angry Men" at Waterman Theatre. The performance was over two nights and we are pleased to report that we sold out for both nights. The play is based on the 1950s film of the same name, and focuses on a jury who are tasked with a murder case. Through the play we discover not just the facts of the case, but also the justification of the characters in the room and their own motivations. In the end, it is they who are on trial not the accused. The group did extremely well and performed the piece with a dynamic assemble gusto, with no particular actor standing out above the others. The group are taking a short break now but will return in the summer term with a performance of Kafka's Metamorphosis.
W4 Plinth Performance
The W4 plinth is positioned outside Turnham Green station and is a platform for local artists to present their work. We were privileged enough to be part of this project a few years ago when our own work was exhibited. We have also been at the last few "reveals" to perform, and this time was no exception. The piece was unveiled by actress Dame Sian Philips, and our students were really happy that she was able to talk to them about acting and how to "get on" in the profession. We performed two pieces, a dance and a song to a large crowd, who stood in the light drizzle appreciatively.
Theatre at the Tabard
Last month we performed Lysistrata at the Tabard Theatre and as a thank you they gave us free tickets to watch a show. We decided to watch Jim Cartwright's "Two", which had been shown to rave reviews. The 6th formers loved the show and it will be great research for their current unit where they are writing their own monologues. They also had a chance to speak to the actors and the director of the show to discuss what they thought and how they could use it in their own work in future.
Flower Market Coronation Show
In what is becoming a regular fixture we were asked to perform at the Chiswick Flower Market. This time for the Coronation festivities the students, all in their Performing Arts tops and golden crowns, sang songs with a Royal theme for 40 minutes. We banged out "I Just Can't Wait to be King", "King" by Years and Years, and ended on "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen. As always a large crowd gathered to watch us and as always the students performed with confidence and passion. We will be back in the Summer!
National Youth Theatre Success
We are proud to announce that one of our Year 11 Performing Arts students has won a place at the prestigious National Youth Theatre.
The NYT is the UK's premier youth theatre with over 9000 applications per year for around 100 places.
The group, who perform across the UK at national events (including the Olympics, Eurovision and many awards ceremonies) as well as the National Theatre, have been running since 1956 and have among their alumni Dame Helen Mirren, Daniel Craig, Sir Daniel Day-Lewis, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Colin Firth to name but a few.
The course starts over the summer holidays and will run for the rest of the year with students being invited back to participate in events. It is also a very good stepping stone to drama school, with some of the top London drama schools seeing it as a "passport" for entry.
Lara has been performing with us since the very beginning and has started in almost every production we have put on, from Othello to Oliver and most recently in our production of 12. She will be returning to us in 6th form, where we wait for greater things to come for her.
Coronation Performances
Over the coronation weekend, we had four performances at local events to celebrate the coronation. Starting on Friday, Dark Riders played a set at Strand on the Green Infants for their coronation fair, including classic hits Don’t Stop Me Now and I Want You Back. Later on the Sunday, the Performing Arts choir sang a great array of songs at Chiswick Flower Market, where they are much-loved regulars (see earlier article for details). The Steel Band and Junior Voices then did their own sets at the Strand on the Green Association coronation party, and just an hour later, The Q did their own show at Beaumont Road’s Street Party. Safe to say, we were very glad to have a Bank Holiday Monday the day after.
Junior Recital Evenings
On 16th and 17th May we had two wonderful evenings of solos from students in Years 7-9. Given that the hall is now used for exams until July, it provides an excellent opportunity to use C15 as a performance venue for small recitals, and due to demand we split the recital over two evenings. We had varied programmes, ranging from a Baroque Violin Sonata, to a trumpet arrangement of ‘A Whole New World’, and Frank Sinatra’s 'My Way'. Huge congratulations should go to Mia, Edie, Harry, Amelia, Bethany, Sophie, Maya, Anja, Orla, Mylu, Roseanna, Ava, Markos, and Zaria for such polished performances.
Steel Band Play for West London NHS Trust
On Tuesday 16 May, the Steel Band did a fantastic set for a new client - the NHS. A staff worker for NHS London happened to be at the Steel Band’s performance at the GTech Stadium at the Hounslow Council Assembly last year. She thought they were so good that she immediately got in touch to book them for the launch of NHS West London’s ‘Wellbeing and Recovery College’ - a new mental health and wellbeing initiative for those in West London, and based at the GTech Stadium. The Steel Band played for half an hour as delegates entered, and as always is with our Steel Band, they were thrilled with the quality.
Live Music Nights at Local Pubs
Being so close to Fullers’ Brewery, Chiswick is well known across London for having an excellent array of fine pubs. However, those wanting a quiet drink after work should now proceed with caution. Since January, Chiswick has made agreements with The Queens’ Head and City Barge Pubs to provide music once a month. Xing and The Backups, our Year 13 band did the first slot in January, followed by The Q in February, hungry for more, The Q then headed north to the Queen’s Head so that they could sign their own deal of doing a monthly concert there, they have now done two and are looking forward to another date in June. Back at the City Barge, AMMO, one of our Year 8 bands, did their first full show in March, despite having only formed a year ago, and Blue Monday & No Refund took the April slot by storm with a great programme of 90's and early 00's tunes. We look forward to two more dates this year - 24th May with Dark Riders and Hiraeth, our new Year 10 band, and to finish off the year in style, the Steel Band will be performing on 21st June.
Jazz and Blues Night
On 1st March we had a fantastic night of Jazz and Blues classics. The school hall had been completely redone to have tables and chairs in cabaret-style, and no less than three separate stages! We had our Steel Band, Orchestra, four bands, a professional house band, made up of our teachers and sixth formers, as well as some stunning individual solos from James (Violin), Maya (Trumpet), Youssef and Emma (Guitar and Piano) and Harry and Mylu (Voice and Bass). Safe to say, this won’t be the last Jazz and Blues night we have!
The Molotovs Workshop
On 27 February we were delighted to welcome the Neko Trust alongside the up and coming band The Molotovs for a day of workshops and performances to ‘enthusiastic’ KS3 students. As well as some mesmerising performances from a young teenage band who are playing alongside names such as the Libertines, we had some fantastic insights into the whole of the music industry, not just those at the front of the stage. We learnt about stage managers, sound and lighting engineers, liaisons, and many more careers available. We hope they return sometime again in the future!
Year 7 and 8 Trip to the Royal Academy of Music
On 10th February, our Year 7 and 8 Music Scholars had a wonderful trip to the Royal Academy of Music. We started off by looking at the museum, and after having lunch in the canteen (alongside all the students!) we went into the very impressive Duke’s Hall to watch a performance of Saint-Saens Carnival of the Animals. During the performance, we enjoyed a very vibrant, though of course silent game of ‘guess the animal being depicted’. This was all going very well until we got to the movement entitled ‘characters with large ears’.
