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Highlights from Performing Arts
Springwest Academy heART Festival
Every year Springwest Academy in Feltham puts on a performing arts show in aid of local charities. This year we were invited along to perform songs and dance. We took a group of 15 performing arts students to showcase our dancing and singing. We included in the show two dance numbers, SIX and Christine and the Queens' Je Disparais Dans Tes Bras with our 6th form performing arts students. The group also sang The Long and Winding Road and Amazing Grace. Once again the performances were superb, and the students who stayed to support the other schools were a credit to our school.
Summer Festival
The PTA Summer Festival is one of the highlights of the Performing Arts year. This year we included dance, and for the first time dances from our local primary schools. Our 6th form students had been going into schools for the last four weeks to teach them routines and skills. After only a few short rehearsals the two schools, Belmont and Cavendish, arrived at the school to perform their dances. We were scheduled to perform outside in the summer sun, however the Great British weather had other ideas!
So into the small canteen we packed! The two dances the primary schools performed were really good, and showed what an amazing talent pool we have for the coming years! Our 6th form had done an amazing job teaching them and it was clear that they had really bonded with them. In addition to the primary schools we also put on a nine minute dance, comprising all our favourites from this year.
Charlie
A golden ticket of a show!
After eight weeks in rehearsals, during weekends, after school and holidays, Charlie, our biggest production to date, was ready!
The set had been painted, costumes adapted, made or bought, hair "brushed" and lines learnt. We had coordinated with the PTA to bring a fully immersive experience with chocolate, sweets, marshmallows and cake being offered at a special "sweet shop" at the interval.
The production itself was scrumdiddlyumptious. Over two acts, each act with their own distinctive feel, even the set changed!
The first half, set in a school and the Bucket House, included video inserts introducing the ticket winners. The set was traverse, with the house at one end of the hall and the school at the other. The set was predominantly black and white and the costumes were the same. Over the interval the audience were taken down to the small canteen to fill their stomachs with sugar.
The second half was a total change! The audience moved to "in the round", the set was changed to full colour with a spiral floor, hangings from the ceilings and inflatable bananas! The Umpah Lumpahs ran around covered in paint, bumping into every one and singing songs based around styles of music that fitted the characters lost at the factory. A particular highlight was the Bulregard song, a rap called "Chewing gum 'aint polite!"
Throughout the performance the cast put enough energy into the show to solve the current energy crisis (if only we could somehow plug in into the mains!)
The audience laughed all the way through at Wonka's madcap antics, and on the whole understood most of Mr Robinson's jokes!
It had been a long road for the Performing Arts students but in the end, as they held Charlie in the air shouting her name, it was worth it!
Ysgol
The day after Charlie, we presented our final song and dance show. The first half was a review of our best bits from the year, including songs and dances from all our previous shows. Highlights of the first half included a reimagining of Sloth (from the show 7 SINS) performed by our KS4 dancers, and a performance of Everything's Alright from Jesus Christ SuperStar sung by the whole cast (all 55 of them!)
The second half was the main event. We have a tradition of dancing long narrative pieces from Romeo and Juliet to Troy. A music track specially created for the dance is used as a starting point for the story being told. This year we decided to tell the story of the Aberfan disaster. The music chosen was all by Karl Jenkins, a Welsh composer. The dance was almost perfect. The students told this difficult story with ease and sensitivity. The narrative never got self-indulgent or over sentimental, but stayed true to the seriousness of the disaster. The students who had been told the story over the past six weeks, and been encouraged to research the event itself, really took on the persona of the children in the event itself. The track was interspersed with interviews from survivors of the disaster as well as archive footage, at these points the cast stood in still silence listening to the words. The dancers showed incredible skill, for some at such a young age the subject matter was handled with incredible maturity.
Awards
Our highlight of the year!
The second Arts Awards were staged after three days of intense performance from the students, but they didn't let exhaustion get in the way of a great night out!
They came dressed to the nines, with hair and make up applied to perfection. The PTA had supplied champagne and classic cars for the audience and award winners to have photos with, and canopies were handed out to everyone, while they listened to a musical quartet.
The evening is a way of celebrating the extraordinary achievement of all who took part in the performing arts, and to highlight those individuals who go that little bit further and excel.
In the evening we awarded Drama, Performing Arts, Dance and Music and in total 42 awards were given out to very excited and somewhat tearful students.
This year we also had a special guest, local Labour MP Ruth Cadbury, who gave a speech about the importance of the arts, not just for enrichment but also a legitimate and very important career destination.
Mr Robinson opened the evening with a speech about the importance of not just talent but also determination, ambition, priority and need, which formed the backbone of the awards.
Highlights of the evening were Musician, Dance and Dramatist of the Year, as well as Actor and Actress. We gave special awards for inspiration and achievement, and Mrs Ellener presented our school band Q with a special award.
However the evening culminated in what is the most anticipated event of the year for the performing arts, the announcement of "Arts Champion".
This year it went to Emily in Year 12, who has this year performed extraordinarily in dance, acting and singing. She has supported the younger year groups, represented the school at festivals and taught primary school children how to dance. She is dedicated, kind, funny but most of all modest. This was clear with her actual surprise when her name was announced as the winner!
We have uploaded videos that showcase what we have done this year. Please watch and enjoy.
Band Highlights
Over the Summer Term, our bands have been on tour showcasing their music at Primary school fairs. Dark Riders started off with Strand Infants in May for a coronation party, then Blue Monday and No Refund did Strand Juniors on 10th June, next Kaos took Cavendish on 23rd June with some great extra solos from Harry, Henry, Markos and Zaria. On 24th June, we had two at once! The Q went to Ark Priory Academy and Dark Riders went to Belmont for a full show. AMMO then did two back-to-back assemblies at Belmont School on 4th July before returning, and finally Xing and the Backups did their final outing at Grove Park’s fair on Saturday 8th July. Elsewhere, Dark Riders and Hiraeth had a superb City Barge Debut in May, and five soloists appeared in our June slot with Orla, Skye, Zaria, Mia and Sophie. Time for a weekend off.
Steel Band Highlights
What a brilliant term it’s been for the Steel Band. They played culture day to 100s of pupils as they were queuing up for lunch on 11th May, and also a very well-attended coronation party on 7th May. In June, they made their debut at the Brentford Canal Festival, 3 days after doing their first full show at the City Barge on 21st June. To top it all off, they did their best show yet at the drenched Summer festival and Belmont assembly on 17th July followed by a very well-earned break!
The Q Highlights
Busy Busy Busy. Another full length show at the Queen’s Head on 16th June, a very valiant appearance at Hounslow Battle of the Bands, where, although not the ultimate winners, clearly wowed the audience with their energy on stage, and another triumph at Summer Festival. A particular shout out has to go to their new song - ‘Mermaid’ by Henry. It’s really good!
Summer Concert
On Thursday 29th June we had our formal indoor concert at St Nicholas Church. The orchestra had one of their best shows to date with very polished performances of Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings, and particular mentions must go to James, Art, Maya and Yushua for their excellent playing. Our Junior choir then made their very exciting debut with two songs. Credit must go to those 20 singers who have turned up for Monday morning rehearsals before form time!
Then came the second half and Chiswick Voices showed their lighter side with seven pop/rock/jazz classics from the last century. Special mentions must go to our main soloists: Emma, Victoria, Joel, Xing, and Mylu.