Tara Murray
Keahna Pekin could never have imagined that her last Victorian State Schools Spectacular would end up as an online production.
The Hazel Glen College year 12 has been a primary dancer in the production since 2017 and was hoping to go out on a high this year.
But COVID-19 restrictions forced the cancellation of this year’s live arena spectacular, resulting in the creation of a made-for-television online production involving more than 2000 students.
“When I first found out that this year’s spectacular was not going to be the same it hit me quite hard because it put things into perspective that I was probably never going to experience something so great again,” Keahna said.
“I didn’t finish 2019 spectacular with the mindset that that was my last time performing to thousands of people, doing fun photo shoots in extravagant costumes or the rehearsals in the studio every Sunday.
“Once I pushed past that though, I started to see the positives. Like how much I have learnt and improved over the four years; the friendships that I have made that I just know will last a lifetime and most importantly how this has all helped me grow as a person and the amount of confidence I have gained from this unreal experience.”
Keahna said normally the rush she experienced just prior to going on stage was the thing that she enjoyed the most.
She said learning different styles of choreography and sharing the experience with “amazingly talented people“ was also special.
She admitted that finding the motivation to rehearse by herself had been difficult.
“We went from rehearsals every Sunday alongside our friends to 40-minute Zoom sessions in our little allocated space in our houses.
“The hardest part for me was probably finding the energy in myself to project an arena level performance to a camera lens in my garage on a tiny square of green screen material that we were restricted to move on.
“It was also upsetting that we didn’t get to converse with the rest of the cast like we usually do during the arena week but I’m so grateful the amazing team still found a way.“
