MISA Dance Troupe 2025

Over the past two weeks, we have held auditions for our Junior and Senior dance ensembles, and we are thrilled with the talent on display. The juniors, in particular, were exceptionally strong this year, and we are excited to welcome many new students into our dance program for the upcoming school year.

A huge thank you to our Year 12 students, Ainslie and Ella, and Year 10 student, Leila, for their invaluable assistance in running the auditions. Their leadership and support helped make the process smooth and enjoyable for all involved.

With auditions now complete, our dancers are straight into rehearsals, working hard to prepare for our Open Afternoon Performance, where prospective Magdalene students will get a glimpse of our dance program. Parents and families will also have the chance to see our talented dancers perform at Magdalene Shines and the MISA Dance Festival in Term 2.

We can’t wait to see what this year brings!

I would like to congratulate the following students who were successful following our auditions this year. 

Year 10 Dance Elective - Callback Excursion

On Friday 14th February, the Year 10 Dance Elective students had the opportunity to travel to the Seymour Centre to watch Callback 2024, an inspiring showcase of top-performing HSC dance works from the previous year. This excursion provided students with firsthand insight into the high standard of excellence required for the HSC Dance course and offered a glimpse into the creativity and dedication of senior dance students across New South Wales.

The program includes exemplary works in the areas of Core Performance, Core Composition, and Major Study Performance, Composition, and Dance Film. Each piece demonstrates technical skill, expressive movement, and deep conceptual engagement, reflecting the rigorous process of study and refinement undertaken by HSC dance students. In addition to the performances, students had the opportunity to listen to a Q&A session with the dance students, gaining valuable insight into the creative process and technical aspects of the works.

For the Year 10 students, attending Callback was both an educational and inspiring experience. It allowed them to see what is possible at the senior level and encouraged them to think critically about movement quality, choreographic intent, and performance artistry. The diverse range of works on display sparked discussions about the creative process and provided valuable insight into the expectations of the HSC Dance syllabus.

This excursion not only broadened the students' appreciation for dance as an art form but also motivated them as they continue their own dance studies. With fresh inspiration from Callback 2024, the Year 10 dancers are eager to develop their skills and creativity, with many now considering the exciting challenge of HSC Dance in the years ahead.

Student reflections

"From the Q&A, I learned that you cannot just briefly think of a dance and have a theme that you slightly stick to; you have to spend hours choreographing and planning out everything before you can actually start really feeling the piece. You will change paths multiple times, but you will eventually find something that sticks with you, and that's when it will become easier because you actually enjoy it and find yourself in it.”

“My favourite performance was by Alyssa Faint, whose major study explored losing a loved one through denial, remembrance, and acceptance. From the Q&A, I learned the importance of research and asking lots of questions to improve my dance compositions and performances.”

“I really enjoyed the dance about losing a loved one, an evening I will not forget,  as well as the dance about a grandparent and granddaughters relationship after the grandmother was diagnosed with dementia and dealing with dementia. I think researching and finding the shapes of the motif to further imply the shapes and space of the idea is what I will take away from my experience of the day.”

“It was an incredible opportunity to see high-level performances and gain insight into the process behind them. During the Q&A session, I learned valuable insights for preparing for a dance exam and using feedback to enhance performance. I also gained a deeper understanding of how to convey emotion, which will help me in my own compositions and dance performances moving forward.”

“The excursion was really good. I learnt a lot of new things, and it has influenced me to choose elective dance for years 11 and 12. The whole day was spent showing the HSC callbacks from last year's HSC. My favourite performance was from Engadine High School, 'An Evening I Will Not Forget', By Elyssa Faint. This dance was about 'The human experience of losing a loved one is explored through the stages of denial, remembrance and acceptance' I believe that I really liked this performance as the performer had a lot of emotion and she really stuck to her brief, for example she had a chair as a prop in her dance which resembled the loss of a loved one (an empty chair). Some things that i learnt from the Q & A is that when doing year 10 film dance (this year term 4) when filming make the cameras a third dancer, this makes the audience feel like they are a part of the dance. This info will really help me this year when doing this assessment. Overall, the day was very entertaining and I learnt a lot of new things that will benefit me in the future.”

Thank you,

Miss Tahlia Cupillari 

Dance Teacher