Eva Bradley
First there were words of anger, then the music to go with it. Now Napier dance students have added movement to the growing push for tougher sentencing laws in New Zealand.
Twenty-four senior students of the Rochelle Spence Dance School in Napier performed a contemporary piece at their annual recital
on Saturday set to the song penned by Kelly Piggot, the mother of murdered Napier schoolgirl Teresa Cormack.
Recorded with Rowene Marsh-Potaka, who is fighting against parole for her double-murderer brother, Gresham Marsh, the song was released last year as the theme for the Sensible Sentencing Trust. The lyrics speak of the heartache caused by murder and the need for change.
Rochelle Spence said she chose the song because the emotional content added to what the students were expressing with their movements.
"Musically I found it was not only something that you could dance to but the reason for the song was an inspiration."
Choreographer Leah Kersey chose white for the older students' costumes to reflect purity and red costumes evoke the red raincoat worn by Teresa Cormack before she disappeared - now a symbolic namesake for a new Trust pitched at helping families of murder victims.
"I've talked a lot about the theme with the students and the older ones definitely understood the importance of supporting the cause and being united," said Ms Kersey.
