Students dancing for a positive start to 2022
Victorian students will have a chance to dance away the COVID blues in 2022 thanks to Supercharged!, an innovative dance education initiative devised by Ausdance VIC and funded by the Department of Education and Training.
Interested schools have until 30 March to register their interest in an incursion. Supercharged! will be delivered free of charge to up to 75 schools across Victoria.
Supercharged! is part of the Victorian Government’s Positive Start program to be rolled out in public and low-fee non-government schools across the 2022 academic year. Positive Start will support students in their physical, social, and emotional recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 lockdowns that disrupted the school year in 2020 and 2021.
Ausdance VIC is excited to be included as a provider in the Positive Start program as the health benefits of dance are well recognized. At the same time, dance isn’t just about learning choreography and performing like a pro. It is fun, stimulating, energetic, and exploratory, and helps students awaken their creative capacity as dance makers.
Through participating in Supercharged!, level 3-6 students will experience a range of engaging dance activities, aligned to the Victorian school curriculum. They’ll discover that dancing is accessible and inclusive involving creativity, experimentation, and teamwork. “Students will soon realise that anyone can dance and enjoy creative movement”, says Ausdance VIC Director of Education and Lifelong Learning, Dr Katrina Rank.
“Dance is a wonderful way to boost students’ physical and emotional health and wellbeing in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Through games and activities, Supercharged! encourages participants to build characters and contexts. From everyday movements and the application of creative tools we co-create a world of physical and imaginative possibilities.”
Dr Katrina Rank
Short choreographic tasks in the workshop will encourage students to explore relationships and physical capacity within the theme of Superheroes. The learning activities will help students to demonstrate the application of dance principles within a co-choreographed sequence.
Supercharged! will encourage students to explore the potential for their body to communicate and respond to specific ideas. After dancing and making dance, students will have a deeper understanding of the choreographic devices of accumulation, cannon, repetition, retrograde and contrast.
“We look forward to reminding young people how good movement can feel and how empowering self-expression can be.”
Dr Katrina Rank
Where possible, local dance teachers will be employed to deliver the program in schools, facilitating opportunities for future collaboration within communities. Express your interest in becoming a Supercharged! Dance Teacher.
Interested schools are encouraged to act quickly to register their interest before the end of March.