Richmond North Public School dance troupe named community favourite at Wakakirri Awards Night

Tanja Kane, teacher in charge of the Wakakirri group, said the dance tells a story about the history of the fertile local area and the beautiful Hawkesbury River.

“Aunty Edna the elder of the Darug Community gave the school permission to do an aboriginal dance to start the story about the Indigenous people who lived along the banks of the river,” said Ms Kane.

“The sailor hornpipe dance represents the early settlers and the six pilots who came out on stage with the spartan planes with headlights represents the local RAAF base whereby many parents from our school have worked over the years.

“The milkmaid dance represents all the local farms that existed and still exist today. The beautiful ballerinas dressed in blue tutus represents the beautiful clean river with the abundance of wildlife.”

The troupe - made up of 93 students - performed at the Awards Night at the Quay Centre in Olympic Park in September.  

“This has been a whole school performance whereby students, staff, parents and community members have worked together all year to produce a wonderful dance,” said Ms Kane, who choreographed and designed the costumes.

“The children worked hard throughout the year but most of all enjoyed performing in front of large audiences. The dance was definitely the audience’s favourite with continual cheering and clapping throughout each dance.

“We would like to thank Mr Brad Thurling for giving the school the opportunity to participate in Wakakirri this year.”