Performing Arts News
The Year 5 boys will be winding up a term long project at the end of this week, with a special performance at the Junior School assembly. The inspiration for their assembly item began at the end of Summer Term while they were still immersed in their unit, Sharing the Planet. The central idea was 'sharing resources can challenge communities to consider different perspectives'. So, in Performing Arts, we decided to inquire into how indigenous communities share resources and then create a dance performance based on our learning.
I wanted to give the boys an opportunity to make all of the creative decisions themselves in this project as next term I will be directing them in a scripted musical. We reversed the roles and they told me what I needed to do for them. It was pretty hard to begin with but they learned quickly that the only way they were going to meet their deadline with a performance they'd be proud of, was to focus on excellent teamwork and communication skills.
The boys enlisted the help of Mrs Salt who loaned them a variety of indigenous tales to read. One particular book stood out called 'The Lost Tail'. It's a story from Papua New Guinea that follows the journey of a boy called Nura, who joins his brother Alfred and the Bundi Boys Dance Group on a trek through the jungle to the dance competition at the Goroka Show.
We discovered that the tribal people of Papua New Guinea live a simple life in the highland villages. They have plenty of good food, close-knit families and a great respect for the wonders of nature. They survive by hunting, gathering plants and growing crops. Indigenous warfare is common and men go through great efforts to impress their enemies with make up, ornaments and dance.
We hope you'll be able to join us at the assembly to see the end result of this project.
Miss Phebe Samson
Performing Arts Teacher
