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Issue No 4 February 2008 |
Creative Hurst
Lucie Humphrey Singing Panis Angelicus
Dance
(by Graeme Spencer)
Masterclass with Haylea Durwood - freelance artist and lecturer at the prestigious 'Arts Ed' Dance School in London.
This contemporary dance masterclass was held for selected students from the Est.05 and Est.07 Dance companies. Pupils learnt a challenging combination of exercises which provided insight into somatic training and various improvisational techniques. Ms Durwood commented on the dancers' maturity and commitment to the material introduced throughout the workshop.
KickStart Dance Company workshop
I am eager to extend the experience of dance throughout the school and arranged a workshop by The KickStart Dance Company, based at the University of Brighton. This is an all male company whose members have sports backgrounds. They were keen to demonstrate just how athletic, challenging and rigorous a discipline dance can be. Pupils from the Shell watched the company perform two pieces from their current repertoire and a work in progress, demonstrating how different themes and styles of movement can be fused with contemporary dance. Students then engaged in a creative workshop, working together with KickStart company members to rehearse and refine a dynamic piece, involving a series of set lifts, contact and weight bearing work. The company was impressed by our pupils' strong potential and their eagerness to explore the physical challenges of dance.
Art News January/February 2008
(by Tiffany Farrell)
Art awards celebrate our students' achievements on a regular basis. Emma Brocklesby (U6th) and Lucy Kings (Remove) have received the awards for artists of the month: Emma for her innovative use of art materials and commitment to developing exciting work using mixed media; Lucy Kings for her consistently hard work on her coursework and her entry for the Art Scholars Cloisters Project.
Congratulations to Louise Mulgrew (5th form) on her recent entry for the Art Scholars Cloisters project based on the theme of 'Hurst'. The scholars have all been set the challenge of creating a piece of art work on this theme to be displayed in the new frames in the cloisters. They are aiming to complete these for the Art Scholars Private View on Thursday, 13th March.
Max Parker-Smith, our Shell art scholar, has been working on developing his caricature project through the medium of painting. This is the first time that Max has used acrylic paints on canvas, and he has thoroughly enjoyed the experience. He has also entered his piece for Arts Scholars Cloisters Project and is starting work on an advertising campaign to raise awareness about global warming.
Well done, too, to all the Remove Artists for their hard work and commitment on the first unit of coursework 'Facial Distortion. Emotion, Expression'. Miss Clear and I have been impressed by the time and energy they have all put into developing their skills and ideas to a very high standard. We hope to display their coursework in the front studio alongside the GCSE/A Level Summer show.
The Shell trip to the Booth Museum in Brighton ran over two afternoons. The pupils collected drawings from the displays of birds, skeletons and fossils to use as source material for the 'Flying Forms' topic.
Taking your next step in life is a serious business! Congratulations go to Pinn Bunyapana (U6th) who has an unconditional offer to study an Art Foundation course at Wimbledon College of Art starting September 2008. She prepared hard for her interview and took with her a very strong portfolio of work. Despite some nerves, she wowed them with her confidence and creativity. The Art School are very proud of her.
Drama Masterclass
(by Nicholas Beeby)
The first of our Drama Masterclasses this term was on the subject of stage lighting. John Watson of Creative Lighting Design brought along his working scale model of the Central School of Speech & Drama's stage to demonstrate how to use lighting and create startling theatrical effects. John works all over the world, but is predominantly based at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield and the Nottingham Playhouse. The Masterclass was open to all and a packed house watch with amazement as John's model theatre grew before their eyes, until it stood two metres tall, complete with working, lit sets from Cats and Phantom of the Opera.
Nicola Dewdney, who trained at the Bristol Old Vic and has appeared in many West End shows and on TV, leads our next Drama Masterclass on Stanislavski, giant of Russian Theatre on Wednesday 27 February at 7.00pm in the Bury.
Drama Department Trips
(by Nicholas Beeby)
The GCSE drama syllabus involves developing students' critical faculties and so the Drama Department took 23 Remove students to the Theatre Royal, Brighton to see The 39 Steps, based on the book by John Buchan and the film by Alfred Hitchcock. The production was a clever mix of physical theatre, farce and thriller, with the minimum of set and props. This valuable and enjoyable trip gave students a chance to give a critique of live theatre and familiarise themselves with a tricky part of the syllabus.
The Lower Sixth form Theatre Studies class have been studying two plays exploring different events within the holocaust: the well-known Diary of Anne Frank and Kindertransport, which explores the fate of one child evacuated from Nazi Germany before the WW2. To support their studies, the Lower Sixth visited the holocaust exhibition at the Imperial War and gained a greater insight into the social, cultural and historical contexts of the plays.
Drama Department - Forthcoming Events
(by Nicholas Beeby)
Godspell: Tuesday 11 - Friday 14 March
Rehearsals for Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak's classic, Godspell are gaining momentum 'day by day'! With a cast of over 50, we are certainly in for a spectacular show. The show's music has a fantastic, joyous feel; the libretto, however, is firmly rooted in the 1960's and we are working hard to update it. Details of the pre-show dinner will be available soon. Tickets are already available from the Lodge. Book up soon to avoid disappointment.
Scholars' Concert 31st January 2008
The annual Scholars' Concert in the Music School is always an enjoyable event, giving parents, staff and friends an opportunity to hear the cream of Hurst's musical talent.
This year's concert was among the best for a number of years. A diversity of music from across the ages was played and a wide variety of instruments were represented. The concert opened with Peter Everall singing a song from Jekyll and Hyde - a memorable performance that captured the mood and theme of the piece very well. Jonathan Line improvised brilliantly on the saxophone as part of his jazz piece, Dr Jay, and this set the tone nicely for Giles Williams who showed the flute's versatility as a jazz instrument. Isabelle Smith impressed with her stylish performance of a Purcell song, whilst William Old beautifully encapsulated on the French Horn the mood of Sondheim's Send in the Clowns.
The concert then moved into more classical territory, with Amy Gatton giving a polished performance of the Schubert A minor Sonata on the flute. This was followed by Cameron Forster, who proved that, in his hands, the recorder is an instrument to be taken seriously. Daniel Urben played Débussy with shimmering beauty on the clarinet, leading us to a moving cello solo from Julia Mitchell, who played a Jewish Prayer melody arranged by Bloch. Alex Gatton played the Romanza from the Flute Sonata by Poulenc with great feeling - one could hear a pin drop during the quieter passages. Miriam Kennedy at the piano gave a confident and polished performance of the Prelude in C# minor by Heller, setting the mood perfectly for Lucie Humphrey to sing Panis Angelicus - a terrific, pure performance.
Miranda Holliday produced a fine performance on the violin of Monti's Czardas, judging all the tempi perfectly. Sophia Woodward was ambitious in her choice of music with Bernstein's Clarinet Sonata. Her decision was vindicated by a truly memorable performance of a difficult piece (for clarinettist and pianist). Lauren Peters' performance of a modern flute piece, Sunstreams, was delightful and juxtaposed very nicely Elena Hargreaves' Tchaikovsky (Octobre), which Elena played with great tone and confidence.
In the final section of the concert, Dominique Hawken sang Fauré demonstrating thought to both the melodic line and the language. Nick Greenwood played a slow movement from a Mozart Horn Concerto with terrific attention to detail and Tristan Blundell wowed the audience with some great unaccompanied jazz playing on the trumpet, demonstrating some extended playing techniques. This prepared the ground perfectly for Corey Wickens to round off the concert with a flourish, playing a vigorous and energetic Hungarian Dance on the violin.
The whole evening was hugely entertaining and showcased the considerable musical talent at Hurst.