BSME Digital Dance Project 2021

BSME Digital Dance Project 2021 The BSME Dance Festival is an annual festival, where schools from across the Middle East are invited to come together and share their dance work. The festival started 4 years ago, where BIS Abu Dhabi participated in the inaugural festival in 2018 and have continued to support the event each year. The BSME Dance Festival is an annual festival, where schools from across the Middle East are invited to come together and share their dance work. The festival started 4 years ago, where BIS Abu Dhabi participated in the inaugural festival in 2018 and have continued to support the event each year.

The BSME Dance Festival is an annual festival, where schools from across the Middle East are invited to come together and share their dance work. The festival started 4 years ago, where BIS Abu Dhabi participated in the inaugural festival in 2018 and have continued to support the event each year.
This year due to covid, the festival took a different approach looking at Digital Dance and the theme ‘Connect’. Usually, dancers would participate in a series of workshops led by professional dancers. However, with group gatherings and travel not possible, students were able to continue their experience of dance workshops via pre-recorded session in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary and Hip Hop. 

BIS Abu Dhabi worked on three separate dance pieces. A junior duet, a senior solo dance and a senior group dance. 

Congratulations to Orla from Year 4 and Ffion from Year 5 for their duet ‘Courage.’ In an ever-changing world, amongst a pandemic, we crave connection. This piece was written and performed with emotive and empathetic hearts to show how we can be courageous in the face of struggles. 

 

Congratulations to Lily from Year 7 for her solo ‘Isolation,’ inspired by the Dear Evan Hansen Broadway musical and book. This solo dance looked at isolation and loneliness whilst searching to find a connection of acceptance of oneself. 

 

The group dance ‘Cable’ was inspired by the cables and electrical wires connecting the world during Covid-19. Cable is the term used for a group of wires swathed in sheathing. The term ‘cable’ originally referred to a nautical line of multiple ropes used to anchor ships, and in an electrical context, cables (like wires) are used to carry electrical currents. 

Whilst in isolation, wires and cables have been of paramount importance. They ensure a constant supply of electricity to our homes which power our gadgets. There are wires and cables behind every phone call, every Zoom call, every WhatsApp and every email.  Without these cables, the connections we have made with each other would not have been possible.
In this dance, the rope represents the cable coiled, twisted, turned, stretched and strained, pulling together human souls.     

Congratulations to Year 7 students Christen, Juliette, Isla, and Urvi, and Year 8 students Paula, Elyssar, Leila, Nina, Sophia and Bella.

What was special this year was the opportunity to work in another artistic field alongside the dance. The digital dance project opened the platform for a group of Year 12 students studying CAS. CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) is one of the three essential elements that every student must complete as part of the IB Diploma Programme. CAS involves students in a range of activities alongside their academic studies. It is not formally assessed. However, students reflect on their CAS experiences as part of the Diploma Programme and provide evidence of achieving the seven learning outcomes for CAS. 

The BSME Digital Dance project allowed 6 CAS students to learn about photography and filming. They participated in digital workshops and discovered how to use the equipment and utilised their skills to explore editing formatting and created a ‘Digital Dance’ for the BSME 2021 Festival. Watch this space for the full BSME Digital Dance Festival BISAD Documentary. Congratulations to Doyoon, Myungjae, Ioana, Mariam, Rumesa and Suvan.