Whangarei Report editorial: Stage Challenge Stoush

If you look at the page three story of The Whangarei Report this week you'll see there is a bit of a stoush going on between Stage Challenge participants about the level of teacher input into the performances.

I remember being part of the organising team and participating in the Otamatea High School Stage Challenge in around 2002 or 2003.

We didn't have much teacher input - there was a teacher in charge of the whole production and getting us there but in terms of the actual show - we did it all.

It wasn't that good - we didn't win any awards and we didn't have amazing costumes or stage props.

But we did do it ourselves - and that was the cool thing. We got up on stage at Forum North and performed something we'd put together ourselves - theme, music, choreography, costumes and all.

Years later, I went on to perform at Forum North as part of a cheerleading competition and that was a different kettle of fish. I was a tumbler in a elite level team and we trained out-of-school hours (although at this point I was at university myself) and we were part of a club, and a sport really, that was separate from school.

Our routines were choreographed by professional American choreographers, we had expensive costumes, make-up and much harder manoeuvres than you would expect to see at a school production.

To hear that Stage Challenge routines are starting to echo that - a private (i.e. not school) competitive sport - is a little sad.

Let's keep it student-driven and student-led, I say. Teachers' input is fine of course, but leave it at that - input.