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Highlights from Performing Arts
Christmas Singing
Chiswick Flower Market, Chiswick House & Chiswick High Street Lights
The Performing Arts department was again in demand to entertain the community of Chiswick. We were asked to sing three times in December, starting with being the official "Christmas Lights Switch On" group. We all gathered on Chiswick High Street, decked out in our Christmas finest, and sang to a large crowd. Mince pies, hot chocolate and marshmallows were handed out by Santa and the students. Then at the allotted time one of our Year 8 students was picked and pressed the on switch. The lights up and down the high street were illuminated and we sang again.
Two weeks later we were back singing again, this time at the Duck Pond market at Chiswick House. We stood on the stairs at the house and once again sang our hearts out to a very cold, but appreciative, audience. The next day we were at Chiswick Flower Market, again in crazy Christmas costumes, we sang a number of Christmas songs to a large audience who sang along. Christmas is one of our biggest opportunities to engage with the community, and we love it.
The Christmas Show
The Chiswick Christmas show was a play of two halves. The first "Grimm'' was a series of short plays and dances, performed by KS3 Performing Arts, retelling stories from The Grimm brothers. Stories included Snow White, Cinderella, the magic porridge pot and an "interesting" version of The Bray Town Players, set in an imagined Grimm's Got Talent world. The second half belonged to KS4 and KS5 and was the 12 Days of Christmas. Each number was assigned a song or piece of music that reflected the item being bought by "my true love". Five gold rings, for example, was a hilarious rendition of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" dance which included four of our 6th form boys.
We ended the evening with the whole cast on stage singing "We are Young".
The Crucible
The first performance for our Year 12 BTEC Students was The Crucible. The play, about the Salem Witch Trials, had been adapted to create a new version. The performance included projections, music and choral chanting, bringing a dark and ominous feel to the narrative. The students, all in black with white collars to represent the pilgrim costumes, took to the stage and gave an amazing performance full of fear and paranoia. There wasn't really a stand out performance on the evening, with everyone giving it their all. The students have already started their next performance, which will be performed at the end of February.
School Panto
As is now a Chiswick School tradition, we invited the local primary schools along to watch a Panto! The Panto was presented by the Year 10 BTEC students and included two shows. The two schools, Cavendish and Belmont, all arrived excited and loud and ready for an afternoon of fun! The cast came onto the stage and performed extremely well, engaging with the audience and ensuring they had a brilliant time. We finished the show with a whole audience rendition of Rudolph, and let the students go all with a smile on their faces.
It's been an extraordinarily busy year with eight public performances since September, 2024 shows no sign of slowing down.
