The Global Rock Challenge

   In 1979 a local drama competition known as the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge began in Sydney, Australia.  Its message was simple; teenagers do not need drugs, alcohol or tobacco to enjoy themselves when they can get the incredible natural high from being in Rock Challenge instead.  Now, almost twenty five years later, the competition has spread to schools around the globe, involving over five hundred thousand students aged between eleven and eighteen in this dance, drama and music extravaganza; where they relish the benefits of healthier lifestyles and meet new people their own age with the same passions and values as they have. 

   The rules are relatively simple.  Each school puts together a team of around a hundred students and forms an eight minute piece telling a story with dance and drama to an original soundtrack of contemporary music, crafting their own lighting scheme, costume designs and make-up, to a background of hand made set.  And that’s it!  The real thrill of Rock Challenge then comes from the ingenuity of each school’s response to these premises in their entry. 

   This year was the first time my school achieved the dizzy heights of reaching the finals, and the quality of the entries here was astonishingly high.  So what makes a great Rock Challenge entry?  To answer this question, I am going to analyse this year’s winner, Ryde High, as well as a number of other entries from the Southern Grand Final.  Within their eight minute slot, Ryde High were able to build a story arch concerning the Caped Crusader, Batman of Gotham city.  Their message was a simple one; good will always triumph over evil.  To begin with, their stage was devoid of dancers, save one; our hero as his alter-ego, calmly sitting and reading a newspaper.  The set was a skilfully lit backdrop of the city, painted onto flats in bright, garish colours, creating that comic book effect, and giving the audience a cheerful, feel-good feeling to start the performance.  When the bat signal went up, some slick lip-syncing followed to recorded dialogue, and the stage was suddenly brought to life.  A parade of villains followed, moving from one dance to the next, each concentrating respectively on The Penguin, The Joker, Catwoman and the seductress Poison Ivy.  A principal dancer took the lead in each dance, lip-syncing to a song from the seamlessly blended soundtrack, chosen for it’s enhancement (both lyrically and atmospherically) of the character; Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” with the Penguin piece for example.  The principals were each flanked by complimentary dancers in sumptuous costumes made of what looked to be luxurious and expensive material, but what was sure to have been bought on a shoe-string budget and stitched together by willing (!) volunteers; the epitome of Rock Challenge costume design.  The performance was rounded off with a spectacular, entire cast finale, where of course, our hero triumphed.  As the dancers marched off, the stage was empty once more.  All that was left was Bruce Wayne with the looming vision of The Joker, bringing this epic tale to a sinister close. 

   Other schools chose a different approach to Ryde High for their entries.  For example, Highcliffe Lower School and City of Portsmouth Girls School retained the same small troop of dancers on stage the entire time; their set was simple and their costume was uniform for all dancers throughout the piece.  They chose instead to focus on complex and superbly delivered choreography.  Although both were distinguished performances, lack of a credible story line meant they became monotonous towards the end of their eight minutes, which was disappointing.  Kings Langley School and Sir William Ramsey School focused more on drama rather than dance to put across their serious themes of Drink-Driving and the Plight of Refugees; their costumes were less exotic to help emphasis the literal interpretation of their subjects, and a backdrop of newspaper articles featured heavily in both their sets.  Though it is important to convey some sort of message or moral through your Rock Challenge entry, the death and woe involved in these pieces made them arduous to the point where the message was possibly lost, and the performance, although memorable, became less enjoyable.  I believe my school’s entry effectively balanced a serious concept of isolation and rejection as a school child with a moving idea of hope in the end.  

   In my opinion Ryde High won because their piece was a well rounded and exciting performance.  Fabulous costume, innovative hair and make-up, dazzling dance routines, splendid set, a varied and delightful soundtrack, dramatics for the action scenes, and, most importantly, a message that encompasses all that it means to be in Rock Challenge; if we make the right choices between good and evil, whether that be drugs or cartoon-crime, our lives will be better for it. 

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