Teens’ emotional stage performance

Tears of joy were shed following Forest View High School’s moving Stage Challenge performance on Friday night.

The school told a story through dance of how they saw Tokoroa and how the town is seen for its negative flaws, which is not the Tokoroa these students know.

As one of nine schools that competed in the Stage Challenge competition Forest View High School happily took fourth place, showing raw emotion throughout the competition.

‘‘We felt like we had already won before even competing,’’ said student Tahnee Rawiri-taiki.

The students practiced since the start of the year, dedicating three hours a day, two days a week, to their dance.

Their outcome was a dance that lasted six minutes and involved 46 students.

Their costumes were simply T-shirts that represented Tokoroa such as Pacific Island churches and basket ball shirts.

‘‘Our costumes were simple and effective,’’ said student Daniel La’aiva

‘‘Costumes that really represented Tokoroa.’’

The students said they turned small things that people may take for granted and made them into something big, for example the bus ride to the event.

Rawiri-taiki said they did everything together and now that Stage Challenge was over it was as though something was missing.

‘‘We are like a big family,’’ Rawiri-taiki said.

Students of different ages – ranging from year 9 to year 13 – all took part in the challenge.

A message off Facebook, directed at Forest View, described how the audience was away by the touching performance that could ‘‘Bring a grown man to tears’’.

The teachers involved said it was all down to the students who lead the way and made the decisions with help and support from them.

As a school Forest View won awards of excellence for Choreography, Visual Enhancement, Concept, Performance Skill, Drama, and Soundtrack.

The students fundraised money by holding school socials to help pay the cost of $25 per person to take part in the event.

The students would like to thank their teachers and parents involved as well as the South Waikato District Council who gave them a Creative Communities grant of $1000.