Students set to rise to stage challenge
Face paint, jazz hands and creative costumes are returning to Nelson after four years of waiting in the wings.
New Zealand school’s performing arts event, Stage Challenge, hasn’t been in Nelson since 2013 due to the upgrading of the Trafalgar Centre. It’s now coming back to one of its original locations for its 25th anniversary.
Earlier this year, the first Stage Challenge meeting was held at Garin College, bringing together teachers and student leaders to meet each other and bounce ideas around.
Stage Challenge event coordinator Shanell Bielawa said it was ‘‘nice to come back for our 25th anniversary’’.
‘‘It was good to see the teachers had a good relationship with each other ... and the team work amongst all the schools.’’
Some of the locations were very competitive with other schools in their region but Bielawa said she could see Nelson schools would work together.
‘‘It’s great to witness this high level of support and comradeship between the schools’’.
Waimea College Stage Challenge liaison teacher Melanie Stewart said more than 40 students were preparing their dance performance to compete in the RAW category.
Being in the RAW division, she said the group were ‘‘really focusing on the dance elements and sound and lighting as opposed to big set pieces’’.
Stewart said the school’s performance was all run by students, from the choreography to the technical aspects.
She said after seeing them in rehearsals, the students were ‘‘looking great’’.
‘‘They’re a very talented bunch of students we’ve got here with good ideas and a very strong technical crew.’’
The Stage Challenge starts in Dunedin on May 9 and includes 19 stops to towns and cities nationwide with up to 200 schools vying for the top spot.
Schools in the Nelson region competing include Waimea College, Nayland College, Garin College, Motueka High School and Broadgreen Intermediate.
The three divisions for entry are J Rock non-competitive category for primary and intermediate schools, Open for competitive primary and intermediate schools and RAW a competitive division for intermediate and high schools without the use of sets. The Stage Challenge will hit Nelson on May 23.