House Arts
The night of November 16th saw one of the most important interhouse events of the year at Concord – the annual House Arts competition, where students from each house gather to put on 3 performances – song, dance and spoken word.
By Crystal

The night of November 16th saw one of the most important interhouse events of the year at Concord – the annual House Arts competition, where students from each house gather to put on 3 performances – song, dance and spoken word. Each of the performances were scored out of 16 marks by 4 judges. The quality of every performance from each house was exceptional, making the results incredibly close; first place and fourth place were separated by just four points. Huge congratulations to Gandhi for successfully defending their House Arts title, clinching victory for the second consecutive year. Pankhurst came second, followed by Mandela and Teresa.
Despite the competitive nature of the event, the audience was united in their support, cheering and clapping for each house before and after every performance, which beautifully showcased Concord’s vibrant community spirit. The theatre was packed with students, all fully immersed in the performances, creating an atmosphere that was nothing short of electric. Even after the results were announced, everyone embraced the night with smiles and pride regardless of their standings. It was a beautiful testament to the art of graciousness in defeat in Concord – The true reward of House Arts lay not in the trophies but in the cherished memories and friendships forged throughout the journey.
Each house brought a unique perspective and interpretation on the theme of “escape”, captivating the audience with their depth and creativity. Teresa delivered a comedic spoken word piece on prison escape, while Gandhi presented a Truman Show-esque narrative, highlighting the quest for freedom from a fabricated classroom life. Mandela depicted soldiers escaping from the turmoil of World War I, and Pankhurst shared a touching story of a mother and her children fleeing domestic abuse by boarding a ship to America in the 1850s. For house song, all the houses shone brightly with their piano-accompanied mashups that blended popular movie, classic, pop and even original tunes. The way different voices interwove to create harmonious melodies was both powerful and beautiful. House dance was equally captivating – the complex choreography were brilliantly executed in sync on stage.
Behind each seven-minute-long performances were two intense weeks of planning, staging, writing, choreography, and rehearsing from house captains, prefects, monitors and members of the House. For lots of people, it was their first time being involved in performing arts of this kind. “House dance was definitely tiring but incredibly fun. I felt stupid learning the dances but eventually was able to see the massive improvements as we synchronised over multiple practice sessions. Being part of a team and performing to the best of my ability is something I’ll remember for a long time! I definitely think that everyone should participate in house arts, and try something new.” said Clarice, a 6.2 Teresa Prefect.
Sara from 6.1 has the following to say about her experience in House Song for Pankhurst: “It was quite a ride. The pressure was strong, but the excitement was even stronger. As a side leader, I taught my team the songs and how to sing some parts acapella and harmonize. In the beginning, it was tough. Some sections just seemed impossible, and I wasn’t sure if we were actually going to be able to pull it off. As we did more practice, I learned it wasn’t about perfection; it was about having fun together. When competition day finally arrived, we were all pretty much not really in it to win it, as the saying goes, but in it to make something to be proud of. And we did! The act of everyone singing with all their heart and beaming made me feel we already won. Looking back, this experience was way more than music; trusting one another, enjoying ourselves, making the most of each and every moment. Pankhurst didn’t just escape, we shined.”
To end on a personal note as a Pankhurst prefects responsible for House Spoken Word, I never thought that I would enjoy spoken word as much as I did in the past week. Public speaking is something outside of my comfort zone, and going into House Arts, I thought it would be a massive time sink. And I was partially right – the workload over the two weeks that we had to craft our performances was intense, involving twilight and after prep rehearsals and long weekend phone calls. We dedicated ourselves to perfecting our lines, delivery and stage directions the night before the performance despite having to prepare for Saturday tests. But rather than it being unpleasant, I found every moment to be enjoyable. I truly felt the team and house spirit as we worked tirelessly to put on the best show possible. And thanks to my time management, I’m glad to report that my academics did not suffer. I had a lot of fun on stage acting as the elder child and when the crowd went wild at the ending, I felt that all the hard work was worth it. I would like to give a special shoutout to Mohan, Pankhurst’s marketing prefect, for devoting countless hours to hand draw the background animation frame by frame to bring house dance and house song alive. It has been lovely to work with such a diverse and talented bunch of people and the bonds that we’ve made and funny moments we’ve shared will always accompany me after Concord.