Showcasing Public school talent

Julia Tutalo

THE Schools Spectacular is an event which has displayed the amazing talent of NSW Public schools for 26 years.

The concept of this year’s show was ‘Reaching Out’. Over 3000 dancers, singers, musicians and actors collaborated to reach out and touch the audience at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on the 27th and 28th of November.

The Port Macquarie Hastings region was well represented in the show with Camden Haven High School, Port Macquarie High School and Wauchope Public School participating in the open dance segments in addition to Wauchope High School contributing to the Schools Spectacular choir which brings together over 1200 voices from across the entire state.

The 5 day excursion to Sydney required extraordinary commitment from teachers, students and parents, however once students glued their false eyelashes on and the mesmerising lights beamed on their faces, the months of rehearsals and stress dissolved away and it was all worth it. The students get more than just performance experience out of the Schools Spectacular. It instils a sense of pride in the Public School system as well as learning about dedication, team work and building camaraderie.

Students from Camden Haven High School, Port Macquarie High School and Wauchope Public performed in “The Greatest View” segment in which the 1960s flight attendants and pilots whisked excitable and colourful tourists away with some magnificent flying machines and unicyclists. It sounds like a bit of a circus, but the Schools Spectacular is like a well oiled machine as all of the lights, costumes, sound, props, singers, musicians and dancers seem to come together on the night for a most entertaining performance.

Camden Haven High School student Teagan Smith was also involved in the Regional Dance Ensemble in which she performed in a number of items throughout the night. Entry into the Regional Dance Ensemble is by audition only as this allows selected students from regional NSW to perform at events such as Education Week, State Dance Festival and the Schools Spectacular.

A featured artist in this year’s Schools Spectacular was a former Westport High student, Laura Herd. A Distance Education Dance student from Camden Haven High School in 2005, Laura has just returned from Broadway as a part of a scholarship given by the Talent Development Project. This is an initiative by former Schools Spectacular director Mary Lopez. The Schools Spectacular has proven to be a spring board into the entertainment industry and we may just see more of our students propelled into stardom.

Be sure to watch the fun on ABC television soon. The cut version screens on ABC1 on Sunday 13 Dec, 7:30pm, and the uncut version on ABC2 Sun 20 Dec, 7pm.