By Naomi Yacyshen
2021 Director
On Thursday 1 July, 62 Westlake dance students went to the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre in Aotea Centre for the day to compete in a school competition called ShowQuest.
Our theme this year was Alice in Wonderland. We adapted the well-known story to incorporate ideas around mental health and overcoming negative thoughts.
The dancers performed outstandingly and it was definitely a show to watch, everyone did amazingly and it was a great experience. We came away with six awards that night! These included Best Costume and Enhancement, Best Lighting, Best Use of Props, Best Use of Wearable Arts. As well, as our Mad Hatter toi costume worn by Juliette La Ville received Best use of Recycled Fashion, and Best Stage Presence (pictured below left and right).
We also had three girls involved in the Toi category at Showquest. Breanna Herrera and Dawn Vilaga designed the garment Virago, which was modeled by Francine Rosales. They won the award for Outstanding Storytelling. Here is their garment description that helped them win this amazing award;
A virago is a young female warrior who demonstrates the epitome of courage and heroic qualities. We want our piece to be a symbol of power and strength for young women. As students of an all-girls school, women empowerment is something our community values and therefore plays a huge role in our growth as a person.
Through our piece, we want to depict the double standards women are expected to meet as females and leaders, and that these social constructs should no longer be ingrained in our society. To reinforce this message, the use of symbolism is evident throughout our garment.
From using the painting to convey the idea of beauty and leadership within females, to the various uses of silver accessories and embellishments to signify armour, representing the strength of a woman. As well as colour, with the equal uses of pink and blues, to portray the concepts of females being able to be masculine and feminine.
Pictured top are Ashley Turner (Deputy Director) and Naomi Yacyshen (Director) with Westlake’s awards.