Last Chance to Secure Your School’s Spot in Wakakirri 2024

Time is running out to join the excitement of Wakakirri 2024. “While there are still spots available, some venues have limited capacity,” Wakakirri Director Adam Loxley says. “With the end of Term 1 approaching it’s time to act now to secure your school’s place, before it's too late.”

Wakakirri is an award winning performing arts program and festival that helps schools develop student engagement and well-being. Participating schools create their own unique ‘Story-Dance’ (a creative combination of dancing and acting) and present in Term 3 at one of over 30 Wakakirri festivals held in live theatres around Australia. Schools unable to attend a live event can send in their performance via video.

Schools’ story-dances can be inspired by the Wakakirri ethos ‘Great stories inspire change’ and the annual Festival motif. Environmental, social, cultural, health, historical and  reconciliation stories are all popular themes. Each year hundreds of schools across Australia create and perform Story-Dances that reflect their students’ thoughts, ideas and aspirations.

Wakakirri has chosen Belonging as its festival motif for 2024. Belonging is an essential human need, it fulfils our desire for social interaction, support, and understanding. It provides us with a sense of identity and purpose, and helps us feel secure and grounded in the world. When we feel a sense of belonging, we are more likely to feel confident, empowered, and engaged in our personal and professional lives.

“The Wakakirri team is excited to see how schools are inspired by Belonging when creating their story-dances for 2024,” Loxley adds.

Australia’s Performing Arts Event Wins APATA Excellence Award
 Wakakirri is Australia's largest performing arts event for schools and was awarded the Australian Performing Arts Teachers Association (APATA) 'Excellence in Performing Arts Education' Award in 2021 based on these outcomes:

•    An inclusive performing arts opportunity in which all schools and all students can take part
•    Provides an enriching and unique opportunity for students to develop connection, engagement and well-being
•    A creative outlet for teachers and students that is fun but also supports arts-based learning
•    Participation increases school pride, strengthens student culture and builds community within schools

Wakakirri is open to all schools: primary, secondary, government, catholic, independent, community groups (i.e dance studios), remote, regional and metro. Schools may  choose to perform live at one of 30 locations or send in their performance via video.

Two ways to participate
1.  Wakakirri In-house Program
Wakakirri can provide programs, resources, workshops, online tutorials and over the phone support to help schools to create their own Story-Dance.
2. Wakakirri Artist in Residence Program
Wakakirri can provide qualified Performing Arts Facilitators that can come to your school and help create your story-dance performance. Teachers can still be involved in the creative process but without the pressure of doing it all on your own. The Artist in Residence Programs can be used for both Wakakirri live and  video events.

To join, the first step is to register your interest on the website and have a chat with the Wakakirri team, then choose the right program and register.

Costs
•    Schools performing live cost $39 per student.
•    Schools entering via video cost $200 per school
•    Artist in Residence Programs costs range from $895  to $4,235 depending on the school's needs. Contact us for more information.

Contact Wakakirri tel 02 9669 3777 or visit www.wakakirri.com