Through Their Eyes: A Journey of Identity in Music, Dance, Drama & Visual Art

kerryclarke9
Jun 19
3 min read

This term, Creative Arts students at Girls Grammar explored identity, culture, and important issues through music, dance, drama and visual arts.

Music

In Prep to Year 3, students embarked on a joyful exploration of sound, experimenting with instruments, dynamics, and tempo to compose simple yet expressive pieces. Their curiosity and creativity set a strong foundation for future musical learning.

Years 4 to 6 delved deeper into the elements of music, using them intentionally to create compositions that painted landscapes or told stories. Alongside their creative work, they listened to music from various eras and cultures, developing an appreciation for the richness and variety of global musical traditions.

In Year 7, students took their first steps in keyboard performance. They learned how the instrument works and successfully performed a hands-together version of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy - a milestone in their musical journey.

Year 8 students concluded their DJ unit, blending rhythm, layering, and effects into final compositions that showcased the techniques they’d mastered throughout the semester.

Years 9 and 10 explored the world of film music and sound design. They composed original soundtracks - including foley effects - for a scene from the animated film Big Buck Bunny, discovering how sound can shape emotion and storytelling on screen.

Senior students in Year 11 focused on using motifs in their compositions to build structure and cohesion, while Year 12 students brought their studies to a close with thoughtful assessments that explored musical storytelling through the lens of narrative.

Dance

Year 7 students in Dance researched global cultures and created respectful choreography inspired by their findings.

Year 8 Dance took a personal turn, with students developing dances based on meaningful life connections. In Years 9 and 10, students explored social issues through journals and movement, creating performances that raised awareness and prompted reflection.

Senior dancers in Year 11 deepened their work with choreographic intent statements tied to social themes, while Year 12 students expressed their experiences as young adults through authentic, powerful performances.

From foundational skills to sophisticated storytelling, this term’s creative work has been both inspiring and thought-provoking.

Drama

Year 7 Drama, students embraced the flair of melodrama, writing and performing their own exaggerated scenes.

The 8-10 students revisited the elements and skills of drama in Term 1 and put those to use to perform monologues and duologues. In Term 2, they’ve explored magical realism in drama and combined their knowledge of magical realism conventions with the elements and skills to analyse meaning in a performance.

Year 11 students chose compelling themes and styles of theatre to develop dramatic concepts. They used photography, scriptwriting, and analysis of dramatic languages to storyboard their scenes. Meanwhile, Year 12 Drama students examined what it means to recontextualise theatre. Through directorial pitches and performances, they transformed scenes from A Doll’s House, shifting them from 19th-century Realism into rich, alternative styles like Australian Gothic or Magical Realism.

Visual Art

This term, In Year 1’s Gone Fishin’ unit, students have explored media and ideas relating to art from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations, while Year 2 have focused on the styles of Early Australian artists to depict faces reflecting our extreme environments. Students in Year 4 explored abstraction by creating effective artworks influenced by Cubism and in the Year 6 Stillness and Motion unit, we constructed delicate kinetic sculptures to understand balance and movement.

The grid-drawn Self-portraits made by Year 7 in Term 1, have evolved into exciting colourful Pop Art compositions, accompanied by screen printed silhouettes. In Year 8, students responded to Environmental art by producing effective collagraphs and meticulously recreating them in a clay tile. The wonderful Wearable Art creations made by Years 9 and 10 have inspired audiences at the Rockhampton Show. These and other selected artworks along with exceptional pieces produced by Year 11 and 12 students, will be on display in the Arts Showcase next semester.