Thursday September 14th marked the day we would be departing for Sydney! Students were rushing out of school early to meet at the airport and full of excitement. This year we had a much smaller group heading on the tour of 7 students, 2 teachers and 2 parents.
Friday morning we had a bit of time to relax and wander around the area of Sydney Olympic Park before heading to the centre for 3hrs worth of dance workshops. For the seniors the day started with our good friend from Phly Crew, Neale Whittaker, teaching a contemporary workshop. The junior students starting their day with a jazz class with Stephen Perez. After the workshops we headed back to the hotel for some dinner and then continued the night with a range of showcase performances and the Australia's Best Dance Crew competition.
Saturday was a busy day with 5 hours of workshops with Australia's best choreographers. Students learnt a range of styles including commercial jazz, hip hop, contemporary and breakdance. By the end of the day the students were exhausted and their brains about to pop with so much new choreography. Another quick dinner & shower at the hotel and then it was back to the centre for more performances. This evening we witnessed the Australia's N.E.X.T Choreographer competition and were blown away with pieces by Neale Whittaker, Rob McLean, Lucy Doherty, Cat Santos and more.
For the seniors Sunday came with a much needed sleep in. Unfortunately for the 2 junior students of our group they had another early start for their last few workshops - but they were able to rest and explore in the afternoon. The seniors then had their last workshops in the afternoon followed by one last evening of amazing performances. After the festival we watched Marko Panzic's Dream Dance Tour show "Enter The Vortex" choreographed by Sarah Boulter who some of our students took class with during the weekend.
Our last day of the trip we did some exploring of Sydney, starting with Darling Harbour and Madame Tussaudes wax museum. The students had a blast getting selfies with all the stars and some even got a wax model of their own hand made. Next we caught the ferry underneath the bridge to Circular Quay for some lunch. Students explored around the Opera House, and its gift shop, and more photo's were taken to add to the memories. Finally we ended our day with a walk through town to The Escape Hunt Experience where we split up in to two teams and battled it out to see who could find Harold Holt first! Then it was time to head to the airport where everyone enjoyed looking around the shops and of course getting some Krispy Kremes.
We hope everyone who joined us on the Sydney Tour had a great time and we are looking forward to going back to the Australian Dance Festival for 2019!
Jennifer
“I really enjoyed the concerts, it was amazing to see what other dancers could accomplish”
Helen
“I love pushing myself in the workshops and the inspiration it gives me. I also really enjoy getting to know the girls and their parents better during the trip”
Charlee
“I really enjoyed the escape room as well as the wax museum. The Monday was a really fun and energetic day I really had fun hanging out with the other girls.”
Brianna
“I enjoyed making new friends and getting to know the other girls at Showtime. My favourite workshop was Neale Whittakers contemporary workshop”
Brianna
“My Favourite part of the trip was seeing all the amazing dancers around Australia and being taught by the best. I loved learning all the different styles and becoming a better dancer”
Shayla
“I really enjoyed the escape room, it was a very challenging task but I loved how we all worked together as a team!”
Shayla
“I enjoyed the workshops and learnt a lot of new things and it really challenged me and made me a better dancer. Thank you Helen for organising such an amazing trip”
