LIVING
“Our goal is to reinforce the positive environment in the arts, to be welcoming and to encourage everyone to get involved.” is something we can get motivated for, as well as something that we can use to relax. There is also something unique in the bond that forms between members of our arts groups, and the feeling of us growing and improving together throughout the year is not only rewarding but also an absolute highlight of participating in the arts.
How do you balance your busy schedules? Time management is key! As long as we have planned and noted important dates for both schoolwork and extracurricular activities, we are able to balance things nicely. The School is also great at ensuring that we are not over-committed, and the staff are always there to assist, guide and help if and when needed. They are particularly mindful of when we have assessments, and supportive during these periods.
What’s your vision for the arts at Dio this year? This year is going to be such an exciting one especially with the opening of the Dio Arts Centre. We have decided that the theme for this year’s Arts Council is Tuwhera, which means to be open and we are excited to make the arts more accessible through this vision in 2020. Our goal is to reinforce the positive environment in the arts, to be welcoming and to encourage everyone to get involved. Through this, we want to explore what it means to be openminded, open to new ideas and open to developing ourselves as performers and artists. The addition of our beautiful new theatre will have a huge impact on the arts at Dio, and we really want everyone to feel that they are part of this big moment in our School’s history.
Left to right: Hazel Francis, Chielin Xu, Charli Collard and Hannah Flacks.
CELEBRATING OUR SINGERS Four Year 13 students, Hazel Francis, Hannah Flacks, Chielin Xu and Charli Collard successfully auditioned for the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir at the end of 2018. This is a huge achievement, as this choir is chosen bi-annually through a tough audition process across the country. Rehearsing since 2019, this national choral programme has seen its participants from around the country meet for a total of four courses across a two-year period. The last week of this year’s January school holidays was NZSSC’s final week of singing, rehearsing and
performing – this time in Hawke’s Bay – in preparation for the choir’s international tour to Europe in April. Sadly, the tour was unable to go ahead, but we would like to commend our singers on their level of commitment and dedication; many weeks of rehearsals and concerts have gone into making this national choir the esteemed ensemble it is. We are also very proud that Dio’s Director of Choirs, Rachel Sutherland, is the Assistant Director and Vocal Consultant for this ensemble and are confident that we will have the opportunity to hear NZSSC 2019/2020 perform in the near future.
DIO TODAY
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