Royal new zealand ballet visits - 2015
Click here to view the Dunedin TV Channel 39 story on the RNZB visit to NCEA2 Drama on Thursday 4th June 2015 - Click here
ROYAL NEW ZEALAND BALLET VISITS - 2014
The John McGlashan College Drama Department was fortunate enough to have the RNZB back at school this year at the beginning of term #2. Pagan Dorgan (RNZB Educator) along with two professional male dancers, Loughlan Prior and William Fitzgerald put the 7AHO and 8MRU classes through their paces for two separate intensive workshops.
During the workshops, students focussed on using the elements of dance to help express their bodies They also participated in a range of very physical and demanding warm-up exercises, working on physical fitness (using strength and flexibility exercises) and they also learned about some of a male dancer's roles within the RNZB company. We also talked about stage presence and the fact that dancers are "acting a role" on stage. The dancers need to think about the elements of characterisation when they are on stage... there is a lot of acting involved, they also wear detailed costumes when portraying their character. This type of talk linked in nicely with our drama classes! Near the end of the workshop, Pagan showed the students some examples of male and female footwear (including "pointes" which females wear) and the students got to ask the dancers any "burning" questions in a Q&A session. It was fascinating hearing about how Loughlan and William got into dancing, how young they started, and what an average week is like for them as a professional dancer in terms of preparing for shows and keeping fit.
It was an extremely rewarding workshop for all.... below are some photos from 7AHO and 8MRU's dance sessions with Pagan, Loughlan, and William and we are all looking forward to having the RNZB back at school later in the year in term #4 for another round of workshops.
During the workshops, students focussed on using the elements of dance to help express their bodies They also participated in a range of very physical and demanding warm-up exercises, working on physical fitness (using strength and flexibility exercises) and they also learned about some of a male dancer's roles within the RNZB company. We also talked about stage presence and the fact that dancers are "acting a role" on stage. The dancers need to think about the elements of characterisation when they are on stage... there is a lot of acting involved, they also wear detailed costumes when portraying their character. This type of talk linked in nicely with our drama classes! Near the end of the workshop, Pagan showed the students some examples of male and female footwear (including "pointes" which females wear) and the students got to ask the dancers any "burning" questions in a Q&A session. It was fascinating hearing about how Loughlan and William got into dancing, how young they started, and what an average week is like for them as a professional dancer in terms of preparing for shows and keeping fit.
It was an extremely rewarding workshop for all.... below are some photos from 7AHO and 8MRU's dance sessions with Pagan, Loughlan, and William and we are all looking forward to having the RNZB back at school later in the year in term #4 for another round of workshops.