Dance News featuring Cane Warriors and Stages
CANE WARRIORS AT THE ARNOLFINI
Ms Cambanakis, accompanied by Miss Adams, took a group of students to see Cane Warriors at the Arnolfini. Last year, dancer Micheal Joseph (pictured here) led an amazing series of workshops based on the novel Cane Warriors by Alex Wheatle, so it was fantastic to see him performing on stage alongside a very talented small company.
The piece was joyous in its celebration of African culture, but then also powerfully emotional taking the audience across the sea, into the plantations and the strength of the slave rebellion. The students were blown away by the incredible performance. Ms C said that “everyone should see this brilliant dance theatre – I hope they get the funding to take it on tour”
Jai – “It was quite a powerful and dramatic experience. It was an eye opening piece, it felt really truthful and real.”
Saskia – “It was very amazing, there was a lot of dances from different styles. I enjoyed the music and dancing.”
STAGES
DANCE FESTIVAL 2024
On 21st April, Ms Cambanakis and Miss Thompson took our two Dance companies – Generate (Years 7 and 8) and Synergy (Years 9 and 10) to perform at the Bristol wide dance festival based at Trinity Academy, organised by staff from our fellow Trust school Ashton Park.
Generate performed a piece based on puppets and dolls, with a creepy twist which challenged the dancers usual range of movement and expressive skills. Synergy created a beautiful piece which used the diverse beats, powerful accents and contrasting softer qualities of the music chosen to explore dynamics and energy through the space.
It was a privilege to be one of the smaller numbers of secondary schools represented at the festival amongst many primary schools and independent dance schools, and we are so proud of how the students represented themselves and the quality of dance at Fairfield. Our students showed great support for each other and the other groups and we all enjoyed a great afternoon of performances to a sold out crowd. We can’t wait for next year!
Mia – “It was a very fun experience to perform in front of an audience.”
Sasha – “It allowed me to connect with my friends and gain knowledge about the dance world.”
Martha – “Dance is a way to express my emotions and it was a very enjoyable experience. It was really fun.”
