Cockburn School students and staff are undergoing preparations for the Rock Challenge Northern Open Final which will be held at Grimsby Auditorium on Friday 1 July 2016.
They were delighted to be awarded the top spot in their recent heat at the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham, and are now working hard with their sights on the final.
Year 10 student Charley Thornton, one of the dancers, described the day in Rotherham as “exciting – it was great to see all of the other performances from other schools and to meet lots of other students.”
Rock Challenge UK is a series of performing arts events which promotes healthy life choices. Thousands of young people participate in their local events each year, with the hope of qualifying for the Scottish, Northern or Southern Grand Finals.
A school team decides on a theme, reflecting the personalities, concerns, hopes, dreams and interests of those who create it. They then create the choreography for their eight minute dance-drama performance, select and record the medley of music for their soundtrack, and design and make their sets and costumes.
The challenge is for the students and their teachers to create and be involved in their own production from conceptualisation through to the live performance. The challenge is also to be the best that they can without the use of nicotine, alcohol or other drugs.
Cockburn’s performance ‘Gatsby’ is a rendition of the well-known F Scott Fitzgerald novel and captures the drama and excitement of love, money and losing everything.
Isabella Addo in Year 10 says “There are many different dance styles in our piece and it has been challenging to learn how to dance in so many ways.”
The high energy choreography is set to an 8-minute soundtrack which is influenced by music both old and new, and is performed by a team involving over 50 students from all years of the school.
The students from Year 7 to Year 11 have become a tight knit team and have put in hours to rehearsals in their own time, after school and on weekends.
The students are extremely proud of their work. Rio Gerald in Year 10 says “It’s like a family – everyone gets to know each other during rehearsals. We work hard and have lots of fun.”
