It was very busy in Dance last term, here are some of the highlights. Enjoy and please come and talk to us about future events. Super Learning Day – Year 9 Dance Pathways & Ex-Students As part of SLD the Dance Department decided to get ex-Lister students to come in and work with and mentor year 9 students who were participating in the Dance workshops. Joseph Yvan Toonga (2005), Ricardo Da Silva (2005), Saffron Mathurin (2008), Tobi Akinsoji (2009) and Tanyel Hassan (2012) are ex-Lister dance students who are either studying Dance or have completed their training at institutions such as the Place, Lancashire University, Northampton University and the Deborah Day Stage School came in to support. Saffron and Tanyel are embarking on teacher training courses so you never know they may well come back to teach you at some point!! The 3 sessions brought up some fierce competition amongst the participants as each ex- student had to teach a group a short sequence which was then judged by the teachers. “It was hard to find the winners but a smile always helps” said Ms Coke. “I am glad that I chose Dance GCSE. It was nice to have a break from lessons where we had to sit around desks and write. Also the teachers made us feel that they really cared about us. Even now they keep in contact. I think that's why we always come back to the Dance Department”, said Tobi ex- student. Aisha Hussain said, “it was really good and so much fun”. Joseph, Tobi, Saffron, Tanyel, Ricardo
Transcript
It was very busy in Dance last term, here are some of the highlights. Enjoy and please come and talk to us about future events. Super Learning Day – Year 9 Dance Pathways & Ex-Students As part of SLD the Dance Department decided to get ex-Lister students to come in and work with and mentor year 9 students who were participating in the Dance workshops. Joseph Yvan Toonga (2005), Ricardo Da Silva (2005), Saffron Mathurin (2008), Tobi Akinsoji (2009) and Tanyel Hassan (2012) are ex-Lister dance students who are either studying Dance or have completed their training at institutions such as the Place, Lancashire University, Northampton University and the Deborah Day Stage School came in to support. Saffron and Tanyel are embarking on teacher training courses so you never know they may well come back to teach you at some point!! The 3 sessions brought up some fierce competition amongst the participants as each ex-student had to teach a group a short sequence which was then judged by the teachers. “It was hard to find the winners but a smile always helps” said Ms Coke. “I am glad that I chose Dance GCSE. It was nice to have a break from lessons where we had to sit around desks and write. Also the teachers made us feel that they really cared about us. Even now they keep in contact. I think that's why we always come back to the Dance Department”, said Tobi ex- student. Aisha Hussain said, “it was really good and so much fun”.
Joseph, Tobi, Saffron, Tanyel, Ricardo
Dance Episodes IV
The fourth Dance Episodes was upon us. Audience were treated to 5 wonerful dances
including the latest from Lister’s grand and tripple gold winning street crew. What a pleasure
to be in the audience for dance episodes IV on Wednesday 18th December 2013. Dayyaan
Nordien hosted the lovely event. Students from all year groups staged an excellent set of
performances; each piece much appreciated by the audience. Well done to all the dancers
who participated. Well done to the dance teachers.
Mr Battersby
Choreography P latform at Lew isham College
Lister was exclusively invited to the Lewisham College’s end of year show which showcased
exam pieces created by AS and A level studensts. Thirty year 9 and 10 students attended
the amazing hour long show which featured dancers who have been working with some of
our year 8 and 9s on the ‘Lets Shine’ project in partnership with The Place and other key
organisations. Keep reading for more information. Joshua said that the show was
emotional. Muhammed said that he wanted to recreate one of the duets performed. Dont
worry if you missed it. Lewisham will be touring some of their pieces and Lister is one of
their stops.
‘I ts behind you’ , Panto at Stratford Royal
Almost all Year 7’s attended the Dick Whittington Pantomime on the 9th December 2013.
For year 7s on the Specialist Theatre School the trip was an opportunity to pick up ideas for
their very own pantos which they will be performing in February 2014. Watch this space.
Lister, Lister – we are w inners
On the 6th December 55 students from year 7 -10 travelled to the ExCel centre to participate in the Active Newham's Winter Showcase. Our two newly formed teams performed extremely well, bringing home the medals again. New comers enjoyed performing at the Showcase and representing the school in a positive way. Lister had 4 teams 2 street dance Teams and 2 cheer leading teams. The results were as follows: Cheer leading Silver Award for Lister Lions (Years 7-9) coached by Emily Gold Award for the SEN Cheer leading (Years 7-11) coached by Gareth Street Dance Grand Champion Street Dance coached by Jade Grand Champion SEN Street Dance coached by Tolu Ms Coke was very pleased with the results. All students worked hard in the run up to the competition to perfect their routines. Our newly formed SEN Street Dance group's sequence was so infectious that members of the audience were joining in. Once again the Street Dance Crew conquered quite magnanimously by winning Grand Champion 3 consecutive times! The next competition is in March. Will you help us win it? See the Dance Department for details
On Saturday the 22nd November 2013 Dance GCSE students performed at The Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds as part of ‘Respect and Protect’ (ResTeC), a project organised by NewVic lecturer Rachel Bradbear. The following Saturday the piece was performed at Stratford Circus. Lister was the only secondary school invited to Leeds. Our piece is choreographed by ex-Lister student Joseph Toonga who also led on the ‘Lets Shine and Dance’ Mentorship project, another project Lister Dance was involved in.
Personally the experience was amazing. We shared a coach to Leeds with NewVic and Lewisham Colleges. I made friends that are studying dance at ‘A’ level. I was surprised by how nice everyone was. I was humbled by the support we received from our partner colleges and it was nice being with ex-Lister students Joseph Toonga for Lister and Ricardo for Just Shine. The challenge for many of us on the Dance GCSE course was that it was the first time we were performing to an audience. Hmmm, and it was at The Phoenix Theatre. I was very nervous but enjoyed it and Muhammed learnt that eating 4 slices of pizza before a huge performance is a no no.
I learnt so much on the project. Did you know that ReSteC was created to raise awareness for World Aids Day? Various colleges and choreographers are invited to create a piece inspired by the Aids and HIV. For our piece Joseph took the concept of the HIV virus attaching itself to healthy cells. We were lucky to also have Madeleine from Newham Sexual Health (SHINE) come in to school to deliver a workshop on facts about Aids and HIV so that we could develop our knowledge. It was really cool to learn science through dance.
Also, I now know what dress and technical rehearsals are. Basically before a show all performers are allocated a time to work out lighting and staging with the director, lighting designer and stage manager. After that all the performers watch each others’ dances before the audience has the opportunity to see the entire show.
Actually I will say that Rachel was one of the lecturers who taught Ms Lungu Humphrey (a form of Contemporary Dance) at Middlesex University. To take this further Rachel trained with Ms Coke at Middlesex. I think it’s cool that I had my teacher and my teacher had her teacher.
By Year 10 Dance Captains for Galileo House
Lets Shine - Dance Mentorship Programme, Leeds, Greenw ich, Lew isham an the P lace
This exciting project was made possible by Joseph Toonga (ex- Lister student), the London School of Contemporary Dance and the Deutsche Bank. I was one of the three Lister students on this project had an amazing experience studying Dance and other related aspects of Dance production. They were taught dance by Ricardo and Ellen (the Place), had seminars by Anthony Grey Education Officer at the Royal Opera House, Vicki Igbowke founder of Uchenna Dance Company and Eddie Nixon the Artist Development Officer at the Place. It was so cool to work with ‘A’ level Dance students at Lewisham and NewVic. They were so talented. I am still recovering and hold this wonderful opportunity in my memory forever. The conclusion of this part of the Let's Dance Mentorship Programme for 2013 was the dancer’s performances in ResTec shows in Leeds and Stratford Circus and at A Night of New Beginnings at Greenwich Dance Agency (GDA). The performance at GDA was alongside Joseph's professional company Just Us Dance Theatre and the students enjoyed being part of a professional show. Just Us Dance will be performing at the Place at the end of this term. Keep an eye out for our future performances, pictures for your enjoyment.
By King House Dance Captains
Still Life at the Penguin Cafe Still Life at the Penguin Cafe by David Bintley Performed by The Birmingham Royal Ballet at Sadler's Wells Year 11 GCSE Dance students got to see one of their set GCSE professional dance works performed live at Sadler's Wells. It is always great to see a work that you have to study in depth using a DVD and books live as the performance is etched in your memory. Some of the students felt that they had to endure the first two traditional ballets before seeing the crowd pleaser. However Manaal Sharif said that, “the dancers were pointing their feet so hard that they must have muscle spasm. Other dances were okay but Still Life was amazing'”. Still Life at the Penguin Cafe is about the effects of man on the environment. It was choreographed in 1988. The most popular parts of the of the 8 sections choreography are the bouncy 'rat', the comical 'flea', the flexible but sad 'zebra' and the stylish Brazillian 'monkey'. We expect the Year 11s to be able to score highly on questions on Still Life said Ms Coke
Are you paying attention?
On Wednesday 13 November I left for San Francisco to take part in the San Francisco International Hip Hop Festival. It was an experience I will never forget.
We stayed in an apartment for the five days and we could see the famous San Francisco Bridge from our window. It was so cool. In the morning before we performed, we would have breakfast at the Ihop, International House of Pancakes and it sells the best pancakes ever.
The festival itself was awesome. There were groups from all over America and I met so many new friends. Their dance styles ranged from hip hop to contemporary making for a rather diverse event. I learnt a new dance style, called Chicago footwork. I hope to put it into a dance piece soon. Our company was given lots of positive feedback from the organisers, audience and performers.
It became emotional to leave as I had to leave behind so many new friends but is an experience I wish I could have again. I see that you are paying attention now.
By Dayyaan Nordien, Senior Dance Captain
Rambert’s M ixed bil l at Sadler’s Wells
We had the privilege of watching Rambert Dance Company’s mixed bill matinee at Sadler’s
Wells Theatre on the 24th October 2013. We loved the fact that Mark Baldwin the artistic
Director for Rambert came out to speak to us about the company’s current programme. He
explained that putting together a show was hard work not just from the organisation point
but also ensuring that the choreography was flawless. He went on to introduce the rehearsal
director who then introduced the dancers to the audience.
To our surprise she asked the dancers to demonstrate how they prepare to dance. They
showed us how both ballet and contemporary dancers warm up before each rehearsal and
performance. This was inspiring as we took some ideas to incorporate into our own warm-
ups which we have to plan and deliver shortly. It was also interesting to look at the
differences between ballet and contemporary dance.
Following the introduction, Mr Baldwin came back on stage to explain the two pieces in the
mixed bill, ‘Subterrain’ and ‘The Castaways’. We loved the ‘Castaways’. It had beautiful
simple actions performed to Baltic, Arabic and Asian music. Even though the actions were
simple, the choreographic devices used were complex, making the piece unusual as there
was always something happening. We also thought that the narrator was funny. The lighting
brought the story to life and added to the mood. Would we watch it again? Yes most definitely.
By Shirley House Dance GCSE students
Zoo Nation at Sadlers Wells
My sister and I went to Sadlers Wells theatre with the Dance team on a school trip to watch
Katie Prince’s Zoonation. No, the show is not about animals it is inspired by the
choreographer’s love for the MTV Unplugged series. I don’t know what that is, ask Mr
Gordon. All I can say is that it was amazing. I thought the singers were outstanding. Using
live music was cool.
My sister’s favourite moments were all the stunts performed by the dancers for example
hand stands, flips and lifts. We also enjoyed the break dancing because it had some pretty
quick actions. My sister thought that the dancers used the music well. However a certain
GCSE Dance student said that the actions could have been more developed. I guess he
would know more as he is studying Dance and apparently going to San Francisco soon with
a dance company because he is “good”. Anyhow, we digress; the best thing about the trip
was watching other young people on stage. Some of the dancers are so young. I think
that’s it, until next time.
By Rukiya and Rakeem
Dance Umbrella 2013
Our Year 9 Dance Specialist students were thrilled to experience a workshop with Judy from Dance Umbrella, a dance organisation and festival that has presented new contemporary dance to London since 1978! Judy taught the group a contemporary piece which students had to develop. Judy also wanted students to use selected sketches as a stimulus. Some students were new to moving in this way and found it quite hard. However Judy was sure that all of the participants would be great contemporary dancers in the future. Namely Nuria Ribeiro, Ugne Grigaite, Tunde Kurucz, Liana and Lianca Murphy. Aurelija told Judy that she "was an inspiration".
By Ms Coke
Year 8 Dance w ith Lil J Street Dance
Lil J from Pineapple Dance studios came in to work with year 8s for a one off workshop. Year 8s enjoyed the workshop very much. They liked the fast pace of the choreography. They also enjoyed developing Lil J’s choreography.
By the Dance Team
Swan Lake for staff at Sadler’s Wells
Staff had the opportunity to watch Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake at Sadler’s Wells in January.
There will be more opportunities, talk to us, or better still come to club. Here is the list
DANCE CLUBS
DAY CLUB WHEN WHERE
MONDAY CHEERLEADING TEAM YEARS 7 & 9 SEN CHEERLEADING CLUB YEAR 11 GCSE INTERVENTION
LUNCHTIME 3-4PM
DANCE STUDIO GYM DANCE STUDIO
TUESDAY PRACTICE YEARS 7 & 8 DANCE FUSION YEARS 7 & 8 GCSE DANCE YEARS 10 & 11
7.50-8.20AM LUNCHTIME 3.15-4PM
DANCE STUDIO DANCE STUDIO DANCE STUDIO
WEDNESDAY GCSE DANCE YEARS 10 & 11 SEN STREET DANCE DANCE FUSION YEARS 9 – 11 REHEARSAL YEAR 11
7.50-8.20AM LUNCHTIME LUNCHTIME 3.15-4PM
DANCE STUDIO GYM DANCE STUDIO DANCE STUDIO
THURSDAY DANCE PRACTICE YEAR 9 BOYS DANCE – ALL YEARS LISTER STREET CREW
7.50-8.20AM LUNCHTIME 3.15-4PM
DANCE STUDIO DANCE STUDIO DANCE STUDIO
FRIDAY BHANGRA/BOLLYWOOD YEAR 11 GCSE DANCE COMPULSORY
LUNCHTIME 3-4PM
DANCE STUDIO
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Lister at Laban Conservatoire
There will be an opportunity to attend workshops and see the beautiful Laban centre in February Half term. Please come and see the dance team if you are interested in attending. Boys, speak to Mr Gordon, Girls Ms Lungu and Ms Coke.
If you came along last year you know how much fun the two days at Laban are.
• Set Dance Controlled exam with Kat Dale for Year 10 GCSE
• Trips to see: o Flash Mob o Akram Khan Dance Company o Brasil Brasilero o Netherlands Dans Theatre o Rambert Dance Company
• Let’s Dance Shine Mentorship Project at The Place
o Year 9 – Oh What a Lovely War o Year 10 – Merchant of Venice o Year 8 – Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time o Year 11 – (Drama) The 39 Steps o Year 11 - (Dance) Matilda
