The Joy of Dance Comes to Life on Stage
Santa Maria College’s recent Dance Showcase was a celebration of creativity, collaboration and the joy of performance, bringing together around 200 dancers for an unforgettable evening in the Cultural Centre.
Featuring 25 dance items plus a finale, the sold-out showcase gave students the opportunity to share the results of a term’s preparation with family, friends and the College community.
A Celebration of Dance
The program featured a wide variety of dance styles, including Jazz, Hip Hop and Contemporary, showcasing the versatility and talent of our dancers.
Students also had the opportunity to work with guest choreographers Brooke Leeder and Kyah Kani, as well as past student Nina Tavani (Class of 2025), who each created new works for the showcase.
Adding another layer of creativity to the evening, many students performed their own choreography, giving them the opportunity to further develop their artistic voice and bring their ideas to life on stage.
For some of our younger dancers, the showcase marked their very first experience performing on stage. Supported by senior students, who were wonderful role models throughout the preparation and performances, they embraced the excitement of the occasion.
Senior Drama students also played an important role behind the scenes, taking on technical and front-of-house responsibilities and helping to make the evening a success.
Bringing the Cultural Centre to Life
Performing in the new Cultural Centre made this year’s showcase particularly memorable for students, giving them the chance to experience the excitement of performing in front of a live audience in the College’s new performance space.
Year 9 student Ella performed in four pieces – Click Clack Symphony, Symmetry, Unfiltered and Dreams. Beyond the excitement of performing, Ella particularly valued the opportunity to collaborate with her classmates and contribute to the choreography and development of the pieces. She also enjoyed the friendships and memories created backstage throughout the showcase.
“The support and dedication from our dance teachers and staff made our first ever showcase in the Cultural Centre truly special and memorable.”
For Year 10 student Georgia, who performed in Black Car, David and the IGSSA dance Unfiltered, the showcase held additional significance. After an injury and a long period away from the stage, it marked her first performance back. She performed in both of her Year 10 class dances as well as the IGSSA contemporary piece, making her return to the stage in the new Cultural Centre even more memorable.
For Georgia, one of the highlights was sharing the experience with her friends and finally seeing the work they had put into their pieces during class come together in performance.
“My favourite part was getting to perform with my friends, and seeing all of our hard work from class come together onstage.”
Year 11 student Ivy performed across several pieces, including the IGSSA contemporary piece Kaleidoscope, DPP Jazz Gaga Remix, Year 11 Hip Hop What You Need and the Year 11 group piece Watch the Clock.
For Ivy, the showcase was an opportunity to share the hard work and passion that had gone into preparing each performance. Working through challenging rehearsals and the inevitable nerves that come with preparing for a major performance also reinforced some important lessons.
“The experience taught me the importance of teamwork, commitment and trusting the process, even when rehearsals were challenging and everything felt stressful.”
Performing alongside dancers from different year groups was another highlight for Ivy, reflecting the wonderful sense of connection between students that was evident throughout the showcase.
A Wonderful Community Response
The energy on stage was matched by an enthusiastic audience, with the showcase selling out.
Parent Barbara Granville praised the work that went into creating the evening:
“From the beautiful costumes and incredible routines to the stunning new theatre, it was such a wonderful evening and you could really see how much time, effort and passion had gone into bringing it all together.”
Parent Camilla Riley captured the spirit of the showcase:
“Such a fun night, so much diversity, expression, storytelling and could feel the genuine joy of dance imparted to the girls.”
Following the wonderful response to this year’s event, we are delighted to announce that there will be two Dance Showcase performances in 2027, creating even more opportunities for community to see our dancers perform.
Next Stop - IGSSA Dance Festival
The dancing continues, with 50 Santa Maria College students preparing to represent the College at the IGSSA Dance Festival at Perth College on Friday 28 August.
We wish our dancers all the very best as they prepare to take the stage once again and represent Santa Maria with creativity, confidence and enthusiasm.
- creative arts, Cultural Centre, Dance at Santa Maria College, Featured, Girls' Education Perth, IGSSA Dance Festival, Performing Arts, Santa Maria College community, Santa Maria College Dance Showcase, student choreography, student dance performance Perth
Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
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