Two Catholic schools in South Australia; Whitefriars Catholic School, Woodville Park and St Francis of Assisi College, Renmark have taken home awards for excellence in storytelling, raising awareness, and the performing arts for their performances as part of the 2024 National Wakakirri Story-Dance Festival.
Wakakirri is Australia’s largest performing arts event for schools with 180 schools from across the country taking part in 2024. Participating schools are inspired by the Wakakirri ethos ‘great stories inspire change’ to create and perform story-dances that reflect students’ thoughts, ideas and aspirations. This year’s theme was ‘Belonging’.
The South Australian schools taking part in the festival performed at the Norwood Concert Hall across a number of days in August and September.
Wakakirri Festival Director Adam Loxley praised the outstanding performance and storytelling of schools this year, stating, "The standard this year was exceptional, so these two schools should be very proud of their award. This acknowledgment reflects the high quality and creativity that the schools brought to their participation in the Wakakirri festival.”
Whitefriars Catholic School performance was titled “Bungle in the Jungle”
Whitefriars Catholic school is a multi-cultural community where everyone brings a unique and valuable gift. The Year 6 students delivered a story about a character feeling left out, but persisting in trying to find their place by sharing their gift. The message was in the belief that everyone can have their time to shine.
Grace Loizos’s, performance coordinator at Whitefriars Catholic School said: “Our students worked extremely hard to tell a story about difference, acceptance and belonging through music, dance, movement, emotion and joy. We’re so delighted that our story-dance message has been noticed and acknowledged. We are so different but the same inside our hearts.”
St Francis of Assisi College’s performance was titled “This is Me”
St Francis of Assisi College in Renmark opened as a secondary school in 2022. 25 students from Years 7, 8 and 9 were involved in the project as either performers or backstage assistants. The students’ performance was intertwined with the Diocese of Port Pirie’s Catholic Education theme, 'Let Your Light Shine'. The story dance portrayed a journey of a young person overcoming adversity and learning to accept, embrace and love who they are. The students learnt about characterisation and how to tell a story through their movement and facial expressions, whilst also reflecting on their own personal narrative.
Keisha Barber, performance coordinator at St Francis of Assisi College said: “I was very grateful to work with a group of students at St Francis of Assisi College for this year’s Wakakirri showcase. The students worked hard during the rehearsal period learning a seven-minute story dance. It was a wonderful experience for the students, who were also awarded the Spirit of Wakakirri award for their overall spirit on the performance day. Being able to perform in Adelaide is a great experience for country kids, but to also receive a national reward is absolutely incredible!”
Thomas More College, Salisbury Downs was also awarded a State Award in the Wakakirri Secondary Video Category.
Year 12 student Erin created the choreography as part of her Activating Identities and Futures studies. She auditioned and trained students from all year levels over lunchtime sessions with the finished dance filmed and edited at school, before submitting it to the Festival.
Nathan Quadrio, who coordinated Thomas More College’s entry said: “It was an amazing opportunity for student-led work that allowed all members of our community to participate.”
The Wakakirri Ambassador Kate Burgess for South Australia said: “I am incredibly honoured that I was able to be a part of such a wonderful, jam-packed season for Wakakirri 2024. Everyone came onto that stage and nailed every beat, I couldn’t have been more proud of everyone who stepped on that stage, or helped to make it happen. Congratulations to everyone!”
Simon Pryce from The Wiggles was the 2024 National Ambassador for the festival. He said: “It’s so important for young people to be able to express themselves through the art of storytelling and dance. This has such a positive impact for all the students involved.“
The Wakakirri Story-Dance Festival is a national program that helps schools develop student engagement and wellbeing through participation in the performing arts. Schools participate by creating Story-Dances which they perform in live theatres in capital cities and selected regional areas around Australia. Schools in remote and regional areas can participate via Wakakirri Video.
Wakakirri’s partners include Greenfleet, Kids Helpline, Planet Ark, and Reconciliation Australia.
On Tuesday 1 October, Playgroup SA presented the Playgroup Excellence Awards at Government House, hosted by Her Excellency the Honourable Frances Adamson AC, as part of their 50th year celebrations.
