BROMAD, the creative festival for boys kicks off at Scots!

News Release: Friday 15 March 2013

BROMAD, the creative festival for boys kicks off at Scots!

Last week students at Scots College threw down their best dance moves, pushed the boundaries of performance poetry, made their own street art, and attended workshops with award-winning creative professionals. The students took part in BROMAD 2013, and all 850 students, aged 5-18 years are now ‘Brothers in Arts, Music and Dance.’

“This is the first time we’ve run a week-long creative festival of this calibre at Scots, and it’s been an overnight success, the boys have really embraced it,” said English teacher and Learning Area Co-ordinator Arts, Claire Hall.

“BROMAD is unique in that it is a creative festival specifically designed to appeal to boys. From experience we know all boys like to experiment, to push the boundaries and try new things and feel more comfortable doing so in a group setting with their mates, and without the pressure of an assessment. BROMAD is about having a go without worrying about how ‘creative’ you might think you are,” reflected Hall.

“I think all-too-often students get pigeon-holed as ‘sporty’ or ‘academic’ or ‘creative’, whereas the reality is that while we all have different strengths, it’s especially important for boys to have a creative outlet of some kind. Teenage boys are typically not big talkers, and more comfortable communicating through music, writing, story-telling and art,” said Hall.

Highlights of the festival included Tuesday’s ‘Class Comedians’ workshop with professional comedians the TVNZ show 7 Days, which packed out the school hall. Students really enjoyed learning about comic timing, the construction of a story and the art of improv. Equally poet and actor Apirana Taylor and writer Kate De Goldi had their groups sweating as they put them through their paces with some seriously wordy workouts.

Headmaster Graeme Yule is very supportive of the festival, ‘The inaugural ‘Scots Got Talent’ show as part of BROMAD was for me, a real highlight. Seeing what came out of the woodwork talent wise was very encouraging. We had dancing, singing, music and even a Harlem Shake. Everyone, students and audience, had a fantastic night out. Seeing our boys develop their talents is one of the most rewarding parts of my job,” commented Yule.

The impressive Strike percussion troupe gave a grand finale performance at the College to conclude BROMAD. Throughout the day Scots students partnered with children from neighbouring Kahurangi School in Strathmore, to learn the art of sound-making and story-telling from some of New Zealand’s top performance percussionists.
Year 11 student Alex Fidow enjoyed sharing the Strike experience with his brother Jonty Bird a year 6 student at newly merged Kahurangi School, who is the College’s neighbour. ‘It was really cool coming over to Scots to see Strike perform. I couldn’t believe how loud they were and how they could make such a range of sounds from different surfaces” said Bird.

By all accounts BROMAD looks to become a regular event on the school’s annual calendar.

BROMAD (11-15 March, 2013)
http://www.scotscollege.school.nz/sites/default/files/uploads/misc/BROMAD.pdf


ENDS

Background Info:
Scots College is an Independent Presbyterian Day and Boarding Boys’ School; Years 1-13. It is an IB (International Baccalaureate) World School, offering both the NCEA and the IB qualifications. Scots offers a vibrant learning environment for boys, encouraging excellence in every facet of their education, creating global citizens - boys who are equipped for life as balanced, compassionate, motivated and socially aware young men.
www.scotscollege.school.nz

© Scoop Media