The Arts

The Dance program fosters creativity and innovation, enhancing student confidence and refining their skills through a diverse range of genres and styles. Dance serves as a platform for self-expression and reflections on the community we live in, and beyond. Students develop an appreciation of the significance of this art form within other cultural practices, building tolerance and acceptance of others. Through the experience of dance, students develop friendships, resilience, confidence, collaborative skills, build focus and come to understand the importance of their role within a team.

The co-curricular dance program focuses on advancing choreographic abilities, nurturing creative processes and preparation for performances. The Canon’s Hip Hop Crew, the Senior Dance Team and the Junior Dance Team, showcase their talents to large scale audiences at events such as the Catholic Performing Arts Festival, Dance Night and Presentation Night.

Drama is a dynamic and physically immersive means for learning about the world we live in. Students use creative processes to interpret and re-present ideas, themes, issues and the stories of others in the community and the broader world context.  Students explore how their bodies and voice can shape meaning to communicate to an engaged audience. Students build confidence as they learn to trust their creative ideas and explore ways to bring these ideas into an imaginative form. Working as a member of a creative team builds collaborative and communication skills that are transferable to many aspects of everyday life.

Beyond the classroom students can challenge their skills, knowledge and creativity through engaging in the College Production, Drama Club, Drama Night and various festivals. There are many roles that students can explore beyond the actor, such as lighting and sound, set design, costuming, directing, script writing and stage management.

Media Arts empowers students to explore the world of media through both traditional and emerging technologies, enabling them to create meaning through imagery, text, and sound. Through hands-on experiences, students delve into various media genres, cultures, and communication practices, developing critical awareness of how media shapes their understanding of the world. They learn to interpret, analyse and develop media practices through their experiences in creative productions and professional media work. Students engage collaboratively to plan, design and produce media artworks through the forms of film, television, photography, print media, radio or online media to develop an understanding of how it can be used to challenge the values of an audience.

Additionally, students are encouraged to participate in competitions and exhibitions such as the College Creative Arts Exhibition, the Angelico Exhibition, the Meta Prize at North Metropolitan TAFE, Shaun Tan Art Award and Cannington Art Awards, further enriching their creative experiences and challenging students to extend their skills.

Music students develop theoretical and practical skills through a range of traditional and contemporary approaches.

Students acquire a contextual understanding and appreciation of music by engaging in a diverse range of genres and styles. Students extend their skills through performances and engagement in festivals, reinforcing and extending their skills as musicians. Through their experience in music, they come to develop their emerging personal style by creatively exploring their ideas through composing, arranging and analysing stylistic features and conventions.

There are numerous annual performance opportunities for students, including the Catholic Performing Arts Festival, Music Night, SoNiC, St Mary’s Cathedral Orchestral Mass, College Assemblies, Liturgical celebrations and recital afternoons.

Instrumental and Vocal Lessons

College Instrumental and Vocal Program is available to all students and consists of individual tuition lessons of an instrument of the student’s choosing. Tuition can be undertaken in woodwind, brass, strings and percussion instruments as well as piano, classical and contemporary guitar and voice.

Instrumental and Vocal Tuition Application Form 2024

College Ensembles

College ensembles provide another layer to the Music Program advancing students’ classroom, instrumental and vocal learning. Our vibrant co-curricular ensemble program provides students learning an instrument or voice the opportunity to play or sing with others in the many ensembles on offer. The College Chorale and Liturgical Music is open to all students, while members of the Jazz, String, Guitar, Percussion and Woodwind Ensembles are selected through an audition process.

Music Handbook 2024

Students engage in creating visual art works that communicate, challenge and express their own and others’ ideas. Students explore a range of media including ceramics, block-printing, sculpting, installation, collage, acrylic, water colour and oil painting. They consider artistic influences, while being encouraged to express greater individualism in their application of ideas and materials. Students develop skills and knowledge of drawing, colour theory and all other elements and principles of art. They are also introduced to art criticism with a particular emphasis on contemporary practice such as Post Modernism and Post Colonialist theory and how to re-interpret more traditional artforms and pop culture.

Students are encouraged to participate in competitions and exhibitions such as the College Creative Arts Exhibition, the Angelico Exhibition, Pulse Perspectives and Shaun Tan Art Awards.