24 November 2006
About 325 young dancers and musicians will attend four-day workshop in Cape
Town and Paarl next week, 27 to 30 November 2006, as they prepare to take dance
studies and music for matric in 2008.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has organised the workshops to
provide grade nine learners with the opportunity of learning more about what is
involved in the Further Education and Training (FET) curriculum for dance
studies and music.
The learners are all attending new focus schools for arts and culture in the
Western Cape. The WCED has established 10 arts and culture focus schools to
provide better access to education in arts and culture, especially for learners
in poor communities.
The schools are among 28 focus schools established by the WCED across the
province this year as part of the Department's Human Capital Development
Strategy (HCDS). The focus schools specialise in clusters of subjects namely
arts and culture, business, commerce and management and engineering and
technology.
The WCED expects focus schools to serve as pathfinders and lead institutions
in their fields, offering quality education to nurture and train learners with
exceptional talents, interests or aptitudes.
"These schools are expected to become leading edge schools of excellence,"
said Ms Jennifer van Papendorp, Senior Curriculum Planner: Dance, Arts and
Culture at the WCED.
"However, learners coming from a limited background in dance and music need
intense support to enable them to learn at the appropriate level for grades 10
to 12 to achieve the levels of excellence required."
"In most cases the arts and culture focus schools are introducing dance for
the first time and many have appointed new dance teachers."
The WCED has therefore organised a bridging camp for arts and culture focus
school grade nine learners who have selected dance studies for grade 10 for
2007.
About 175 dance learners and their teachers will gather at the school of
dance of the University of Cape Town (UCT) from 27 to 30 November 2006 for a
very full four-day workshop. They will all stay at UCT's Tugwell residence.
The learners will experience what lies ahead of them in the subject. The
daily dance programme will include body conditioning, ballet, contemporary
dance, African dance, improvisation and composition. They will also attend
sessions on drumming, drama, anatomy, healthcare and dance history.
In the evenings, the learners will experience professional dance
performances including Jazzart Dance Theatres, Guardian of The Flame at
ArtsCape, Cape Town City Ballet's Jikelezi and Dance for All at UCT School of
Dance and Fangs at the Baxter. Learners will each receive a dance tog bag with
dancewear and other necessities.
Meanwhile, about 150 grade nine learners from the arts and culture focus
schools will meet at the Frank Pietersen Music Centre in Paarl from Monday, 27
November to Friday, 30 November.
"The learners will experience some of the excitement they can expect as they
study music for matric in 2008, under the new national curriculum for FET in
schools," said Franklin Lewis, Senior Curriculum Planner: Music at the
WCED.
Experienced music teachers will facilitate the sessions ranging from serious
classical to indigenous African music and jazz improvisation.
In addition to learning about music, the camp will provide plenty of time
for music making by the learners through performance in formal sessions and
concerts in the evening.
For further information on contact:
Jennifer van Papendorp
Senior Curriculum Planner: Dance, Arts and Culture WCED
Tel: (021) 467 2593
E-mail: jpapendorp@pgwc.gov.za
Franklin Lewis
Senior Curriculum Planner: Music WCED
Tel: (021) 467 2504
Cell: 082 331 2174
E-mail: flewis@pgwc.gov.za
Gert Witbooi
Media Liaison Officer
Tel: (021) 467 2523
Fax: (021) 425 5689
Issued by: Department of Education, Western Cape Provincial Government
24 November 2006
