Wiz Kids: Choreographing Oz

Our Senior School musical - The Wizard of Oz - takes place March 11-13. The classic story of Dorothy's trip over the rainbow has been re-imagined as a steampunk powerhouse of acting, singing, set design and, of course, show-stopping dance numbers. Behind the spectacle, many students have played important roles in bringing the production to life, including Christiana T, Year 12, and Elena L, Year 11, who led choreography for the entire show.

Christiana and Elena share a passion for dancing and for a time were both training at the same dance school in Shanghai. Elena had previous choreography experience as part of the musical Peter Pan, while Christiana drew on her experience as a highly accomplished figure skater for inspiration.

For both, the leadership opportunity provided valuable insights, especially when it came to working with younger students.

Christiana tells us, "By working with the younger children, it has helped me improve my collaborative skills and really my communication skills because when you work in a production, you have to involve so many different people, and you have to talk to everyone, and make sure everyone’s needs are really matched and fitting well."

Elena adds, "I actually really like working with younger students because we were younger students once, and as a younger student, we’ve experienced it, so we know what kind of mentor is the best and what we liked when we were younger. I think it is really interesting trying to provide that same atmosphere for them."

Caroline Farmer reflects on the experience, "I am extremely proud of the hard work put in by both Elena and Christiana. They encountered challenges along the way and met each one, displaying great resilience and dedication. I never had any doubt that they would do anything other than a smashing job."

Check out the video for the behind-the-scenes story of The Wizard of Oz choreography and how these two remarkable students made it happen.