Brentwoodian 2019

31 Performing Arts My Extended Project Qualification was a huge part of my Lower Sixth year. For my EPQ I chose to create an artefact which is quite different to the traditional essay form of the EPQ. I chose this as I think that there isn’t enough publicity on opera as I feel it has been classed as an elitist art form when really that is not the case. The title of my EPQ was ‘Women in Opera from 1650-1800’. My passion lies in music and opera and I really recommend centering your EPQ around something you love. As part of my EPQ, I organised a solo recital that examined the ‘Changing Role of Women in Opera’. I chose to sing five opera and oratorio arias and create a speech about each character and their portrayal in opera of this specific era. I chose this particular era as I need to be aware of singing repertoire that is considered advanced for someone of my level of singing. This ruled out the romantic operas like La traviata and Madame Butterfly which have such articulate female roles that would have really helped me in my research development; the EPQ came with many hurdles and this was only one of them. Some of the older more Baroque and Classical arias are more in my ability at this point in my training. The arias I eventually chose to sing were; Dido’s Lament from Purcell's ‘Dido and Aenaus’, O Jove! in pity from Handel’s ‘Semele’, Pamina’s Aria from Mozart's ‘The Magic Flute’, In Uomini in Soldati from Mozart's ‘Cosi Fan Tutte’ and O War Ich Schon Mit Diverient from Beethoven’s ‘Fidelio’. The night of my recital really was one of the most nerve-wracking things I have yet to experience in my lifetime. I wanted so much for everything to go perfectly and I really am glad that I built up the courage to actually do this for my EPQ as it is quite ambitious but I put my heart into it. I feel I have learnt a lot of skills when doing my EPQ, one massively being time management skills; I needed to keep everything on track as I created a deadline for myself when choosing a date for my performance. I also used these skills in writing all of my essays and my presentation as I also had deadlines for these aspects of my EPQ that I fortunately managed to reach without any extensions. This event allowed me to rehearse and perform five of my favourite arias and also gave me an insight into the world of concert management including, working to a budget, marketing and advertising. I was rewarded with an enthusiastic audience, an A* and a substantial sum raised for Sistema UK. My EPQ really gave me an insight into what I will hopefully be doing in the future and it really is worth all of the hard work that went into it. I am proud to have created something so special and dear to my heart and, hopefully, inspirational. By Hannah Walker Showcase The Dance Showcase of 2019 was two nights that I will never forget. Not only did the pieces challenge and stretch me to my fullest ability, but the diversity of genres and age ranges was also a key highlight of this whole experience. With both curriculum and recreational showcased, a wide range of themes and numbers of dancers within the various pieces of choreography were used to show all of the work put both in class and out of class. A particular highlight would have to be the last dance of This is Me where the senior dancers and the First Year dancers came together to perform an emotional last dance for the Upper Sixth that are leaving us this year. The demanding rehearsal schedules and long hours up in the dance studio wrapped up on the 3rd and 4th April, when the Memorial Hall stage was turned into a night of dazzling lights and stimulating music. A particular thank you goes to Miss Choate and Ms Herterich for choreographing such amazing, thought-provoking pieces. A huge thank you also goes to our Dance Captains, Chani Merrell, Laura Maddison and Harriet White for being such incredible role models for all of us, and for aiding the process of the show to turn out as smoothly as it did. Finally, a thank you to Mr Pavelka and his technical team for the incredible lighting and audio edits seen in the show. I think it is fair to say that Dance at Brentwood School is ever changing for the better, and I cannot wait to see what the next academic year will bring for us in Dance. By Clarise Castleman EPQ Using the as part of the