Intermediate Ball Part 2 - After the Ball is Over . . .

More before and after stories from Huia 1:

(Before)  . . .I am most nervous about the dance after the grand march. I don't want to ask a girl to dance with me, but other than that stuff, I'm very excited to go to the ball because it's my first ball I have ever been to.

Hopefully, I don't sweat too much. I do not know what to bring to the ball for food. I am wearing something I bought this morning. I think it looks good because it looks original for me. The reason I got it was it is different. Hopefully nobody has the same idea as me.

I wish I can still dance next to my friends. I don't want to mess my new clothes, but to have fun you have to get dirty, right?

(After) . . . I was very nervous in the car. We were nearly there until Fili reminded me that we forgot our tickets, so we did a U-turn and got our tickets . Thankfully that was our first and last mistake that I made that night.

I was relieved when I saw Karwyn and he just got out of the car. Yes, I wasn't late. The grand march flew by quickly. One of my favourite bits was the statue waltz. I was partnered with Julienne. We were going fine until we got muddled up on the One Direction pose. I said to her to be the singer and I would be the fan, but she dis a pose of a fan and  I did too. So I quickly did a pose of a singer stroking my hair, but I was too slow and Miss Griffin caught me moving. I was gutted, but it was fun, so I didn't mind.

Also, one of my favourites was eating, of course. I was so lucky to be in Tawa because Miss Griffin was handing out napkins and asked, "Who was in the marathon?" I put my hand up, and she looked away. Then she said, "Who's in Tawa?" I put my hand up and she gave me one. I didn't care if any one was looking. I got some food from the table, tested it, then grabbed some more. I was on thirds when it was time to ask someone to dance with me.

I didn't bother asking someone, so I sat down, put my legs on another chair and started kicking back. Some of my friends were getting up to dance, so I dance with Alex. I noticed I was the girl because it felt weird in the position, or was it because I was dancing with a boy? I don't know. Then we got split up and I danced with Kylah. Tonu


(Before)  . . . I am nervous to ask someone to dance or to get asked. I love all the dances so I am going to have a great night. I'm bringing strawberries dipped in chocolate.

(After) . . . What was cool was just the Year 7 and 8s there - and the teachers. It was awesome because the parents could stay and watch, then  came early at watch the dances at the end - which I liked. . .Tegan Year 8

(After) . . . My favourite dancer was probably Divya because she had soft hands. We started with the grand march then we did the opening waltz. My favourite dances were Cotton Eye Joe and The Gay Gordons. In the statue waltz, my partner was Karwyn. We were professional until Karwyn mucked it up for us. We could have taken that competition. The night was young, the songs were boring, but being with my boys was what made my night.
Hoani.

(After) Last night was quite exciting. When I first arrived, they had started. The music was pumping and it was an amazing atmosphere. At first, I was really anxious and I was wondering how I was going to dance with my right ankle injured and strapped. I really felt like I was in a scene from Narnia, and that I had walked into a wardrobe and entered an unknown world. Then I saw a couple of my friends and we started talking.

We did a range of dances  we had learnt throughout the year. I thought that the best dancer of the night was Hoani, and he looked very elegant.  All of a sudden, the music went silent and a familiar song came on  - Gangnam Style. Everyone in the hall went off and started to dance to it. Rudadiso 

(Before)  . . . I am wearing my adidas shoes, my dark blue jeans, my square striped shirt and my black jacket. Zaid and I are coming together. We are getting dropped off close to the school and will walk the rest of the way. I am confident about the snowball waltz and I know who I am going to ask.

(After) . . . The ball last night was really good because of the freestyle dancing. To start the snowball waltz, Mr Yates picked some people and he put me with two girls, then he put Te Amo with the second girl. I  thought the best dancers I danced with were Kristina, Jessica, Madison and Lisa.  My favourite dances were Cotton Eye Joe and The Gay Gordons.  Trent 

(Before) . . . I'm really nervous about dancing in heels. I'm still pretty nervous about askingf boys to dance. I can't wait to freestyle dance with my friends. I have really improved i confidence this year. I think the teacher have noticed too.

(After) . . . The girls looked great in dresses and their shoes. Parents and teachers took photos of us. We had to smile a lot. I was so scared about dancing in heels becasue they were pretty tall. Miss Murphy asked me how I danced in them.


We had freestyle dancing, starting with Gangnam Style by Psy. Everyone started screaming when the song came on. People danced in groups of friends. After a few dances we had supper. I love the strawberries with rich chocolate dipping sauce. There were so many sausage roll, samosa and spring rolls and chicken nibbles. Some of the fudge brownies were really nice. The punch was absolutely divine.

After supper we had some more dancing. Now I have the song "I'm Elmo and I know it" stuck in my head because it's really catch. .  . Lauren

Having a Ball at The Gardens School Part 2

Some comments about the ball from members of Huia 1:


... I was wearing heels and my friends and I were laughing because I was a lot taller than my partner. It felt good being tall because I am the shortest in the class. There was punch which tasted like Just Juice Bubbles, and heaps of supper. There were chocolate eclairs and I love those...
Jessica

I felt nervous but it was OK. I had to do the Grand March with Tracey and she was really slow - maybe she shouldn't wear high heels.
Jakob

... Last year I was really nervous, but I slowly started to get more confident. On Wednesday night I really enjoyed myself. The best bit as when we taught Mrs Chetty to fist pump. I thought Terrence and I were the best fist pumpers though. I think it was more fun than last year's ...
Ben

I have improved in dancing. I used to hate dancing but now I like it.
Danny .

...Everything looked amazing. All you need to do is have a good attitude and have fun. Rachel, Krizelle and I were taking photos of each other in front of the Eiffel tower with little lights that hung from it. I had the best night ever.
Annella

I felt uncomfortable when I first started but then, after a while, I came out of my comfort zone and I had lots of fun. I had a great time. I was surprised because I was one of the leaders for the line dances and I think I am more confident about dancing with people and in front of people.
What was funny was that we got free dancing time and when a song came on, everyone screamed really loud - and when the lights went out, everybody screamed. A great memory was that everyone was so nice when I danced with them. I wore some of my sister's jewellery and a black dress that goers black, grey, white. I liked how my mum did my hair, and I felt good.
Tegan.

...It was awesome. During dancing, I have learnt to keep in time and use a bit of style in my dancing. At the start of the term I was very nervous and didn't think I could make it to the ball. But, I didn't have many fears except for the fact that I might have fallen over in my heels.

When I arrived at the ball I was very excited because Hunter arranged for her uncle to take us in his very cool car. It was read and white and fitted six of us in it.

I liked how the hall was decorated. It had a beautiful cardboard Eiffel Tower. I was surprised how confident I was with all my dancing.
Caitlin

Last year I was not very confident with my dancing and I would avoid doing it in public - but now I can strut my stuff without a care in the world. I think Hunter, Tegan, Caitlin, Sarah I, Sarah J and I made an entrance in our fancy car. I will probably never forget that when the house lights went out some of the girls screamed loudly. I loved my dress because it was different in its blue-green colour and how it looked on me. I won a special Mickey Mouse pencil case for being enthusiastic during all six weeks of dancing practice. I love Mueve la Colita because I can put my own style into it.
Ricki-Jean.

At the start of the term, I had completely forgotten most of the dances from last year. But, when we started to dance to the music, I started to remember. My favourite dance was the Grand March to the Marseillaise. It was probably the hardest to learn but also, in my view, it looked the best.
Nikhil.

...My special memory is shuffle fist pumping. I won a prize for the Macarena and I came second in the statue waltz with Tanya as my partner.
Matthew.

...This year I was more confident in dancing.
Chris.


... At first I didn't like dancing but now I do because I have a lot of confidence and I think it's pretty fun. The best part was when Ben and I were teaching people how to fist pump - including teachers - like Mrs Chetty and Mrs Loakman. And, it was cool as!!!!
Terrence.

...The night was awesome because Hunter, Tegan, Caitlin, Sarah, Ricki-Jean and I went in this really awesome old car....There were lots of nice dresses and everyone was so good at dancing Mueve la Colita... Last year, when I was a Year 7, I wasn't that confident, but I know I am really confident dancing with boys now. Mr Yates danced with a chair when we were waltzing around the hall - he did that last year, too.
Sarah J.

The ball has just been. I had a great time with everything, and there was a lot of supper. We played statues - the waltz version; it was fun. My favourite dance was Mueve la Colita because it is very enthusiastic and it makes you want to smile. I got chosen to start off the snowball waltz, along with two other couples.
Hunter.

Mrs Chetty came to the ball. She was telling me to shuffle and I shuffled - then she started laughing. Nikhil and Taleyah won the statue waltz. There were a lot of good dancers like: Michael, Danny, me, Ricki-Jean, Tegan, Hunter, Trent, Sarah J, Fili and Ben.
Jackie.
When I first started dancing, I was scared but as we kept learning dances I started to feel more confident. As Taylor -Paige and I arrived, we forgot our tickets so we had to go back home and get them We walked in the door and all the lights were off and there was only fairy lights.

We started with the grand march and next we did Mueve la Colita- I got a prize for that. There was supper and drinks. The punch was very fizzy - it made my eyes water. Wednesday the 5th of October was the best thing for that week.
Renae.

Overall, my favourite dances were the merengue, the Maxina and the snowball waltz and I think that the best dancer was Ben.
Madison.

I liked the statue waltz because I am really god at staying still and so was Terrence - he was my partner. When Mrs Vincent said we had to act the Eiffel Tower and a tourist I wanted to be the Eiffel Tower but so did Terrence, but he outranked me by saying,"I am taller." Terrence and I got into the finals but we did not win.
Shayla.

Everyone dressed their best and brought a plate of food - either savouries or sweets. What I enjoyed best was the freestyle dance. The lights were turned down and the music was played. We started a jumping Follow the Leader line. I won a prize but I forgot what for. During supper we took photos in front of the Eiffel Tower. It was a fun night and I didn;t realise that I had gained more confidence in dancing.
Krizelle.

I learned that you have to be confident. I also won a prize for great dance moves. When our parents came we did some dancing to show them what we've been learning.
Sarah I.

Having a Ball at The Gardens School Part 1

Here's the first account of our Year 7 and 8 ball last Wednesday, and some of the photos.



On the evening of the 5th of October, the Intermediate team of the Gardens School gathered around the school hall. All wore their best dresses and suits and, as was required, their best attitudes. Many tried to make a grand entrance but they were shortly outshone by what they discovered on arrival.

The classic blacked-out windows greeted ball-goers and hid from passers-by the fabulous decor inside, which included a definitely-not-to scale Eiffel Tower, many Christmas lights and a supper that could be considered a feast fit for a king. In the background, French music complimented the theme of the night nicely - "A Night In Paris".

We began the night's dancing with the Grand March which is often performed at posh, formal balls. It starts with boys and girls in lines, shortest to tallest, and when the music starts the front two join arms and walk towards the host/hostess and everyone else follows along until everyone ends up in lines of 8s. We walked to the French national anthem which matched our theme.

We then broke into columns to dance Mueva la Colita, which in Spanish means "shake your bottom" or as Mrs Vincent says, "Move your tail." This was followed by the famous Macarena which although it is danced frequently many get it wrong, as one student kindly and thoughtfully demonstrated the correct way to do it. (Thank you, from Mrs Vincent.)


We then pulled out some dance moves that belong in the late 1970s and danced to Saturday Night Fever which then broke into the Circle Waltz, then through the Maxina, the Palais Glide, the Gay Gordons, the Merengue, the Veleta, and a statue waltz.

After most of the organised dancing, we had supper, followed by a snowball waltz, led by the best dancers of the night so far. Next the house lights were turned off and the disco and laser lights shone and we all started free-styling to some more recent tunes.
Thank you Mrs Whitehead for the group photos.

by Ricky-Jean


Here's a slide show of the ball photos. The link is currently 'private' which means it can only be accessed by using a link to it. You won't find it by searching or by finding it randomly.


If you have any photos you would like added, can you email them to me kayv@thegardens.school.nz and I will upload them to the blog. Others will have to wait until we are back at school. I hope you are all having a good holiday - from Mrs Vincent.

Dancing Practice

Photos by Mrs Whitehead

Reflecting on the Ball

Students were asked to write what they had learned since starting dancing lessons to prepare for the Intermediate ball. Here are some comments written by Huia 1 class members the morning after the night before:

- The one thing I learned was never wear high heels, but I am much better at the Circle Waltz. (Hunter)

- Last night was a ball! I had so much fun with my mates dancing to Saturday Night Fever, which I enjoyed. I also had fun dancing to Scotland the Brave. I had eye contact* and just got along with it. I loved my hair and I also liked Mr Yates' wacky dance. This afternoon, Brittany, Hunter, Kumiko, So Yeon, Richard, Bailey, Anton, Mark, Mighael and I performed, in front of the junior assembly, the ball dances. They were Cotton-eye Joe, Saturday Night Fever and Scotland the Brave (the Gay Gordons music). When Cotton-eye Joe was finished, I announced that there is a special surprise which was Mark shuffling. He was really good at it and I am really proud of myself and my mates. (Nikeeta)
* Note from Mrs Vincent: students were told they must have eye contact when they are asking or being asked to dance.

- The ball was really, really fun. I was half confident for dancing. (Chris).

- My dancing got better and I am confident to ask someone to dance. (Sarah)

- This week was awesome. I learned to control my nervousness. It was really fun but I had to leave early. (Erica)

- I was OK to dance with boys. It was a lot of fun. The funny thing was I came fashionably late. (Juliana)

- This week we learned the Snowball Waltz. It starts with one couple dancing, then they both choose new partners until everyone is dancing. I wasn't nervous about asking someone to dance. (Rebekah)

- (This week) I haven't improved on much but I did improve on my dancing...I did really well in my waltz. I have been following the formation left, right, left, right, and that's pretty much how it goes. (Bailey)

- I like dancing. I wished the ball was ever-lasting because I had a great time. I was very thirsty so I got a cup of water and drank it all within 10 seconds. But then I got a brain freeze which was bad. (Donny)

- Last night was the ball and it was awesome. I won as "Amazon" gift voucher for having the greatest time. I am really confident in asking a person to dance and I have really improved in my waltzing and I learned to dance to a new song called "Scotland the Brave" by Jay Jay. It is more like a techno song than a Scottish one. Another reason why I enjoyed last night was because it is my last year at this school and I really decided to enjoy myself. (Mighael)

- ...It was really cool. I learned lots of skills. It was fun and I can ask boys to dance. Learning to dance has helped me a lot. (Kumiko)

- This week at the ball I got a $20 gift card fot the best waltzing. (Garrick)

- This week I have improved in dancing. I am confident asking people to dance. (Mark)

-This week I have improved in persuasive writing and convinced Mrs Vincent to let us practise dancing. I am really good at dancing now. (Ricki-Jean)

More ball photos

Here's s0me more photos from the ball.

Having a Ball!

Here are some of the photos from the ball. Well done everyone for a great evening.