ALLY Roberts' channelling her grief into dance has received statewide recognition.
The Hunter School of the Performing Arts alumna, 18, has been selected for Callback, a showcase of exemplary performances and compositions by HSC Dance students. Performances will be held at the Everest Theatre in the Seymour Centre on February 9 and 10.
Ms Roberts was selected for her core composition and major study performance and nominated for her core performance, which she said was "really exciting". "It is such a big honour," she said. "It's a very selective process when you think about how many people do HSC Dance compared to how many get selected."
Ms Roberts choreographed and performed her major study performance, which explored grief. She said she hadn't experienced grief until she lost her grandfather in 2019 and her uncle last year.
"I originally had a different concept, but when I lost my uncle last year pretty close to one of my first assessments for my major it just kind of felt very right, it felt like what I should be doing and what I would be able to dance my best, as it resonated very strongly with me and I also felt it resonated very strongly with everyone to some degree."
Ms Roberts said her major study performance was split into two pieces.
"Section A was about the feeling of overwhelming grief that controls your everyday life and to show this a lot of my levels are down to the floor, it's a lot of floor work, it's very grounded," she said.
"Section B is a rendition of the same song however it's more upbeat."
Ms Roberts performed it at last week's launch of the 2023 HSC Showcase season, which she said "settled her nerves".
"I feel pretty good about it," she said. "I still partake in quite significant dance training, so I'm pretty confident in my stamina and ability to perform and I also choreographed this dance to suit my strengths."
Ms Roberts' peers, Claudia Twarkowski Vales, 17, and Abbey Fotheringham, 18, will also take to the Everest Theatre stage in a selection of just 30 students state-wide.
Ms Fotheringham was nominated for all three areas of her HSC dance and selected for her core composition piece on tall poppy syndrome.
"When I was researching, I found the idea and really connected with it," she said.
Composition pieces are usually performed by another dancer, but this week's performances will be particularly special for Ms Fotheringham. "My dancer's overseas, so I get to dance [the composition piece] myself this time. It's a bit daunting... but I'm really excited to get to do that."
Ms Twarkowski Vales was "surprised, but really excited" about having her core composition piece selected. In it, she explored how a venus fly trap lures and catches its prey through three sections of dance.
Callaghan College Jesmond alumna Emily Jones, 18, was selected for her core performance piece.
"It's a challenging piece - it's very difficult in terms of stamina and endurance. There's lots of technical elements [which] my years of ballet training has assisted [with]," she said.
Ms Jones describes herself as a "late bloomer" who began dancing at 10 years old when she was "obsessed" with the cheerleading movie Bring It On. She's now a cheerleader for Newcastle Knights in a "full circle moment".
The Hunter has six students in Callback: Hunter School of the Performing Arts students Ms Roberts, Ms Twarkowski Vales, Ms Fotheringham and Carli Redman, All Saints College Maitland student Lily Stace and Callaghan College Jesmond student Ms Jones.
