Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to lead Logan Park High School in Stage Challenge 2013, a regional dance competition against other schools in Otago.
Drawing inspiration for the concept of the dance began in November of last year with help from the other Stage Challenge leaders Nicole Littleton, Anika Campbell, Alice Freeman, Polly Kennedy and Macaela Prosser. After much deliberation we eventually settled on a dance based on a native American proverb which discusses the idea of internal conflict, the fight within one's self against good and evil. The proverb goes:
“One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, regret, greed, and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, and compassion.” The grandson thought about this for a minute and then asked the grandfather, “Which wolf wins?” The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
We felt this would work best as it opened up a range of styles and images we could employ in different parts of our 8-minutes-or-less dance. This also enabled us to have enough sections in our dance so that we were able to include everyone who wanted to participate in dances that best suited them. Once we got past some minor choreographer’s block and a few auditions Logan Park’s Stage Challenge performance was in the making and we were counting down the weeks. By the time performance day came around none of us could believe how fast it’d gone, the weeks of Sunday practices were finally over. The count down to show time was a stressful and exciting time - particularly for myself and the other leaders - but by the time we walked on that stage with sore throats from screaming the Logan Park cheer we were finally ready. Although we didn’t manage to win first place we managed to score a few prizes and everyone's efforts over the months of preparation paid off in the end. To see everyone participating and having fun performing on stage was all the reward I needed, I wouldn't take back my experiences with Logan Park’s 2013 Stage Challenge performance for anything.
