Bendigo schools taste RAW awards success
BENDIGO Senior Secondary College students have danced their way to second place in the 2012 Rock Eisteddfod Challenge RAW division.
The school picked up a host of excellence awards for their performance about the balance between “desire and expectation”.
The RAW division is a stripped-down version of the Rock Eisteddfod, where there are no sets and participants are instead encouraged to use choreography, dance and drama to fill the stage.
Bendigo South East Secondary College also received excellence awards for student leadership, school initiative and the Spirit of Rock Eisteddfod Challenge award.
Bendigo Senior Secondary College dance teacher Natalie Hannaford said the cast of 34 did an excellent job, especially considering it was so small.
“We have a lot less students than other schools and it can be harder to be effective on stage,” she said. “I think they told the story beautifully and they executed it so well.”
Ms Hannaford said the judges praised the group’s cohesion and vision.
Bendigo South East Secondary College dance and drama teacher Ellen-Kate Waayers said the school’s performance to the theme of climate change was exemplary.
“It was all student-led,” she said. “The costumes were made by the students and looked amazing under the lights, and the make-up was also done by the students and really set the scene.”