Aerial action ‘lifts’ musical

Jun 22, 2023

Bring It On: The Musical is one of Northern Beaches Christian School’s most ambitious productions in recent years, bringing together an amazing array of choreographed scenes that feature the aerial components necessary in a musical about a cheer-leading squad.

Producer Isaac Owen, the Head of Drama at NBCS, said the music and dance elements are spectacular and it’s well suited to the exceptional number of talented dancers at the School.

“We have a lot of talented dancers, so you could call this a big ‘dancical’!” Mr Owen said. “This show has all the elements we look for – a big ensemble and lots of characters, with a good mix of singing, acting and dancing and a positive message. Bring It On is about inclusivity, being yourself, widening your horizons and not stereotyping people for how they look, so it’s a great message for all ages.

“The soundtrack is fabulous and is written by the same person who wrote Hamilton and Disney’s Moana, (Lin-Manuel Miranda), so it has soaring pop tunes mixed in with that modern hip-hop vibe, so it appeals to everybody.

“At NBCS, we aim to do very high quality productions. We also put a lot of focus on the technical elements, with the lighting, sound and orchestra mixing adding enormously to the production.”

High-standard Musical production

Year 12 student Savannah Whalley, who plays the villain, Ava, (seen flying in the video above) is in her sixth musical at NBCS and says this is a stand-out production.

“I started in Year 5 in the Hot Mikado, then was in The Little Mermaid, High School Musical, Matilda, and Shrek, so I’m sad that this will be the end of my musical journey,” she said. “This role is very different as I’m a flyer, so it’s been tricky learning all the routines and tricks, but the acrobatics is something we’ve never done before at NBCS and I think we’re raising the bar even more than before. And everyone who has that strong suit is able to display their talents in this production.”

Year 11 student Carys Locke, who is a national-level cheerleader, says her role as captain of the cheerleading team combines her two passions of cheerleading and singing. “This is my first musical and it’s been amazing to work on the two things I love – cheerleading and singing – so it’s like my two worlds are colliding. It’s definitely a dream role,” Carys said. “I’ve loved doing something I’ve never done before. It’s really challenged me as a singer because my character, Campbell, has got a lot of ‘belt’ songs so it’s really pushed me and helped me develop as a singer. I think the music is so well crafted and beautiful, it’s my favourite part of the show so I hope the audiences love it too.”

Year 11 student Aidan McDonald, who has had roles in many previous NBCS musicals, says while acting is his strong suit, he’s managed to learn to rap dance for Bring It On. “I had to work hard to learn how to rap, and I’m not a dancer but I’ve enjoyed this musical the most. I’ve made a lot of friends with [students in] other year groups who I would not normally get to know, so it’s been a lot of fun,” he said.

Year 7 student Talia Thompson, who has a strong background in dance, says she has roles in both of the school troops featured in the musical, and performs in most of the dance numbers. “I’ve been doing Acro since I was 7 and stopped this year so I could do this musical,” Talia explained. “I’d done stunts before but had never been a ‘flyer’, so this has been really fun. I think the musical’s characters and plot are great and it’s really entertaining and will appeal to a broad audience. I’ve got to know so many other students from other years which has been great too.”