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Southeast Queenslandʼs premier arts organisations are sparking an unearthing of Greater Springfieldʼs next generation of creatives at the inaugural Arts Magic Festival this week.
The innovative festival, which has run throughout September and October, in Greater Springfieldʼs 30th year will culminate in a final free showcase event on Friday evening (October 14) at Robelle Domain.
The likes of Queensland Ballet, QPAC, Circa Zoo, Australasian Dance Collective, Prospero Arts and SWELL Sculpture have transformed hearts and minds in the growing city.
Dr Richard Eden PSM, Springfield City Groupʼs Executive General Manager – Education and Smart City – says Arts Magic is seeking to stimulate and activate the local arts and culture ecosystem and embed the important role that arts play in the past, present, and future of Springfield city.
“Weʼre aiming to leave a lasting impression and to ignite a love of arts in the hearts and minds of the region, which is part of the booming western corridor, the fastest growing of any region in Australia,” Dr Eden said.
On Thursday, a group of 24 students in Year Three at Springfield Anglican College will learn from Queensland Ballet Education Teaching Artist Martha Godber as the state’s best dancers commit to school workshops as the central part of festival learning across Springfield.
Queensland Ballet has developed the workshops which aim to put the fun into the fundamentals of ballet, coming to schools to deliver safe, educative, and inclusive dance experiences.
The workshops use dance as a vehicle to explore cross-curricular subject areas in Literacy, Numeracy, Physics, STEM and Humanities & Social Sciences, complementing the teaching and learning currently taking place in Queensland classrooms.
Queensland Ballet’s Head of Community Engagement Lily Spencer said she is excited to be sharing the magic of ballet with Springfield City.
“The workshops aim to get students moving and inspire inner creativity, providing them with the opportunity to experience the physical, social, and emotional benefits of dance. We hope we can bring some sparkle and magic to Springfield City with these school workshops,” Ms Spencer said.
For the showcase performance planned for 14 October, Queensland Ballet Academy Resident Choreographer Paul Boyd has a brand-new piece titled A Twist of Treble Clefs.
This new work celebrates the music of the 1950’s as we are taken on a musical journey of this era where heartfelt sweeping melodies and Big Band favourites are intertwined with the dancers.
A series of in-school movement, dance and visual arts workshops have taken place at schools across Greater Springfield during Arts Magic 2022 in September and October.
These have featured Queensland Ballet, Circa Zoo, Australasian Dance Collective, QPAC, SWELL Sculpture and Monte Lupo Arts, leading up to the free festival finale on October 14 in Robelle Domain.
Australian musical theatre star Bobby Fox will take to the stage to perform from his upcoming Singin’ in the Rain concert at QPAC. The Prospero Arts show is among QPAC’s most exciting events for 2022 and the Arts Magic Festival crowd will get a free glimpse of the show from a performer praised for his performances in shows such as Jersey Boys.
Sharing a 30th birthday is QPAC’s Out of the Box Festival, which is held biennially in Queensland, and is this year staging a ‘drop-in’ workshop of its interactive ‘Wishing Tree’ art installation, featuring the creations of some of Springfield’s youngest artists.
During workshops at schools, students were asked to write and draw their hopes for a creative world on the Wishing Tree, which will be in place at Robelle Domain for the festival finale.
As Queensland’s Premier arts venue, QPAC prides itself on connecting arts and education, also a major hallmark of Greater Springfield’s planning for the 50,000-plus people who call it home.
Direct from its Australian tour of its latest creation Aftermath, the Australasian Dance Collective (ADC) have also held workshops at schools in Springfield, offering students a behind the scenes glimpse and the chance to take part in the creative process of Aftermath creators Amy Hollingsworth, Jack Lister, as well as musician Danny Harley of The Kite String Tangle.
Indigenous students at Hymba Yumba Independent School have also had a chance to work with performers from Circa Classes, a public program run by emerging artists within Circa Zoo which has toured in more 40 countries and in front of audiences of 1.5 million people since it was formed in 2004.
Amongst those schools taking part in the workshops are Springfield Lakes State School, Springfield Central State High School, The Springfield Anglican School, Woodcrest State College, Hymba Yumba Independent and Saint Peters Lutheran College Springfield.
Thanks to our Arts Magic 2022 Sponsors – BMD Group, Cardno now Stantec, Orion Springfield Central, Dreamweavers, Gallagher, Brennan IT and Regional Development Australia (Ipswich & West Moreton Inc).
