Showquest national final results - media release
Havelock North High School from the Hawkes Bay took out the top spot at the Showquest national final, becoming the first
overall winner of New Zealand’s new music, dance and drama showcase for schools.
The winning team of students from Havelock North High School chose to theme their piece Come Join The Circus, using the
metaphor of circus to challenge society’s relationship with cellphones. Second place went to Waimea College in Nelson
for their piece Distorted Images, themed around body image.
Event judge Jackie Clarke said she found the school performances thoroughly engaging.
“There is no better feeling, and there is no more healing and positive energy you can bring to the world then actually
putting on a show, communicating ideas, feelings, emotions, and aspirations, and sharing that with your community,” said
the singer.
Matt Ealand from the Rockquest Promotions Auckland office, and the director of the programme, says that participating in
Showquest is about more than just the performance on the day.
“Showquest is structured on a competitive framework, but the driving rationale, as with all the Rockquest Promotions’
events, is to encourage participation, creative growth and team work,” he says. “We find that if we are able to provide
a platform where students can express themselves on their own terms within the boundaries of the event, the rewards go
far beyond the rush of performing on the day.”
Showquest was staged earlier on this year in Northland, Christchurch, Nelson, Wellington, Hawkes Bay, Bay of Plenty,
Waikato, and Auckland. The national final was judged from a pool of regional first and second place winners, and awarded
by a panel of expert judges from the performing arts sector. Teams were judged overall on their performance, soundtrack,
costuming, choreography, and theme.
The full list of Showquest awards from the national final was:
1st - Havelock North High School; Come Join the Circus
2nd - Waimea College; Distorted Images
3rd - St Mary’s College; Resilience Through Diagnosis
Soundtrack - Cashmere High School
Production - Garin College
Choreography - Darfield High School
Performance Skill - Havelock North High School
Lighting - Waimea College
Visual Enhancement - Havelock North High School
Drama - Cashmere High School
Theme - Havelock North High School
Wardrobe - Mount Maunganui College
Wearable Art – Rangitoto College
Rockquest Promotions, which has 30 years of success with the country’s only live, nationwide school music contest, won
the contract from the Ministry of Education earlier this year for a dance and music performance event for schools.
Showquest lines up with the curriculum and with NCEA standards across several subject areas, inspiring students to put
what they’ve learnt into practice in a professional stage setting, with a live audience.
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