First Nations Dance Ensemble
Eligibility and selection
The First Nations Dance Ensemble will involve groups of students from NSW public schools joining together and learning the same choreography to participate in an individual item as well as the finale at Pulse Alive.
Participation in the ensemble is open to groups of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who currently attend a NSW public school from Kindergarten to Year 12 (in 2024).
Groups comprising students of all abilities are encouraged to nominate.
There is no audition video required to be part of the First Nations Dance Ensemble and no upper limit on the number of students each school can nominate. We encourage all schools to extend this opportunity to the widest range of students possible.
Teachers will be informed of the final numbers accepted into the event once all applications close. Changes to nominated numbers may be required due to considerations around venue capacity for rehearsals and performances as well as ensuring access to the event is open to as many schools as possible.
At this time, teachers will also be informed if they have been allocated as Cast A (performance on Thursday 14 March) or Cast B (performance on Friday 15 March). As part of the application process teachers will be able to preference dates they are available for rehearsals and performances.
Students participating in their school group for First Nations Dance Ensemble may also participate with their school group in massed dance. These students will be required to pay a separate resource fee for each category.
Due to logistical limitations, we are unable to accommodate individual students participating in this category. Talented dancers should consider applying as a principal dancer.
Important application information - changes for 2024
To ensure the ongoing viability of the show, the Pulse Alive team have introduced some changes to the application process for the 2024 event:
Submission of the online nomination form commits your school to paying the student resource fee ($52 per student), whether or not you end up participating in the event. All schools who apply will be given access to the choreography and choral music resources, as well as provided with a t-shirt for each student who applies. It will not be possible to issue any refunds if students or schools withdraw after the closing date of the online nomination form.
The t-shirt order will form part of the nomination process - please ascertain your students' t-shirt sizes prior to submitting the nomination form. There may be limited opportunity for size swaps in early 2024 to accommodate changes in the make-up of your participating group.
To assist in this process, the Permission to Publish and Participate form for Pulse Alive 2024 is now available - this will enable you to send information out to your students so you can confirm numbers prior to submitting your online nomination form. These forms should be kept on file at your school and not returned to The Arts Unit.
Thank you in advance for your understanding around these changes. They have been put in place to ensure that Pulse Alive is able to continue providing these opportunities for equity and excellence in arts education well into the future.
How to apply
Applications are now open for schools to nominate to be part of the Aboriginal Dance Ensemble
Please complete the Pulse Alive 2024 - First Nations dance ensemble nomination form by Tuesday 7 November (Term 4 Week 5).
Key dates
First Nations Dance Ensemble - key dates
Nominations close and t-shirt orders due: Tuesday 7 November (Term 4 Week 5)
Schools informed of final numbers accepted and dance teaching resources distributed: Monday 13 November (Term 4 Week 6)
Preliminary Rehearsal - Cast A: Wednesday 28 February 2024 (Term 1 Week 5)
Preliminary Rehearsal - Cast B: Thursday 29 February 2024 (Term 1 Week 5)
Performance day - Cast A: Thursday 14 March 2024 (Term 1 Week 7)
Performance day - Cast B: Friday 15 March 2024 (Term 1 Week 7)
Rehearsals
All schools involved in the First Nations dance ensemble must attend a full day preliminary rehearsal during Term 1 Week 5, prior to Pulse Alive 2024.
As part of the nomination process, schools will be able to preference which cast they are part of and, therefore, which rehearsal they attend.
Rehearsals will be held at Netball Central - 2 Olympic Boulevard, Sydney Olympic Park.
Confirmed rehearsal and performance dates will be communicated to schools on acceptance into the show in mid Term 4.
Each school will only be required to participate in one preliminary rehearsal per category they have applied for.
Schools are expected to attend their preliminary rehearsal in person.
Preliminary rehearsals will run from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. Schools will be required to attend for the full day.
Provision will be made for schools more than 2 hours travel time from Sydney Olympic Park participating in massed dance to attend preliminary rehearsals virtually if required.
Performance day
Performance day includes a compulsory final rehearsal, venue rehearsal and performance.
Schools should expect to be in attendance from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm on their performance day. Final schedule details will be communicated during Term 4 2023.
All schools must attend these compulsory rehearsals in person.
Choreography
All choreography for the event will be distributed to schools by video link on Wednesday 8 November (Term 4 Week 5).
There will only be one preliminary rehearsal for the First Nations Dance Ensemble for each cast in Pulse Alive - please see dates above for rehearsal options.
Before students arrive at their preliminary rehearsal, teachers must ensure that appropriate time is given at school rehearsals to learn:
item choreography
finale choreography
Costume
The costume for the First Nations Dance Ensemble will be as follows:
Coloured Pulse Alive t-shirt – this is the show t-shirt that is included within your student resource fee. The exact colour will be determined closer to the performance date.
Long black tights/pants – supplied by students. We are pretty flexible on what these are, as long as they are preferably full length.
White socks – supplied by students.
White shoes with white soles – supplied by students. See photos for examples.
Any white shoes are fine as long as they also have white soles (this is so we don’t damage the flooring that we will be dancing on). It is fine if the top of the shoes have small sections that aren’t white – as long as white is the dominant colour). White shoes are available at a low cost from stores like Kmart and Big W.
Resource fee
As with previous years, an optional hoodie and cap will be made available for ordering for students and staff that wish to do so. This information will be distributed in mid-Term 4.
There will be a resource fee of $52 per student.
The resource fee assists with the costs involved in the conductors, choreographers and tutors working with the students, supports a number of music copyright costs and the creation of teaching resources and includes a Pulse Alive t-shirt, which will be worn by all performers as their costume during the event.
For school groups participating in the First Nations dance ensemble, the resource fee will be direct debited in late Term 4, based on the number of students applied for during the nomination process. It will not be possible to issue any refunds if students or schools withdraw after the closing date of the online nomination form.
Third-party content attributions
Pulse Alive 2021/22 images, photographer: Anna Warr
