This weekend is the 2024 Victorian State Schools Spectacular (VSSS), at John Cain Arena with 3,000 Victorian government school students, including dancers, vocalists, orchestra musicians and circus artists.
This year’s show ‘Splash’ which will also be televised for December, portrays a little girl’s dream sequence, sailing across the seas, exploring rivers, and delving into life above and beneath the waves.
The show also features hit music from artists including Eskimo Joe, songs from Matilda the Musical, Lady Gaga, Vance Joy, Queen and Beethoven.
Within the principal cast this year there are two Greek students, Amelia Apostolopoulos, who is in Year 11 at Lalor Secondary College, as a principal dancer, and Hope Zorbas who is in Year 12 at the Northern College Of The Arts and Technology, and is one of the principal vocalists.
Hope is in her fourth year of the Spectacular and Amelia her third.
Neos Kosmos had the opportunity to attend a rehearsal ahead of the show at the arena and spoke to the two girls after the performance.
“We all pretty much look forward to it every year because not only is it an amazing performance opportunity, but to be able to do it with your best friends and spend so much time with them for months on end, it’s really fun,” Hope said.
Amelia told Neos Kosmos that she felt the exact same and looks forward to it every year.
When asked if they still find it nerve wracking to be up there with thousands in the arena watching, the two agreed with one another that it’s much easier being up there with others.
“You’re with your best friends and everyone’s in it together, no one is doing it alone,” Amelia said.
“Everyone’s always with somebody. It’s really nice to be able to look at your friend and know that they’re there to support you and you them.”
Hope added that it’s always “scary” but because they’re surrounded with others “the experience as a whole sort of overpowers that feeling of nervousness, and it becomes really exciting jittery butterflies.”
“We use that in our performance.”
As mentioned, the two are now in their later years of high school and are experienced performers of the VSSS.
Both feel a sense of leadership and are proud that other younger students look up to them as principal performers.
“Knowing there’s over 1000 dancers which are younger and looking up to us, I definitely feel that sense of leadership and being a role model,” Amelia said, and added that she tries “being the best version of myself to inspire the future generation of principal dancers.”
For Hope, this is her final year as a principal vocalist, and she is reflecting on the journey she has been on.
“I started in the choir, so for me I know the feeling of looking at the principal vocalist and the dancers and being like, wow that’s something I want to do.”
“Coming in I never really saw myself as someone that kids would look up to, so seeing the smiles on their faces and the way that they interact with us, one part of me is like oh my gosh, I was once you.
“That crazy journey that I’ve gone on to get here is just incredible – I’m at a point in my life now as a performer and a person that I can be that person for them to look up to and for them to look for guidance and for support and for inspiration – that’s something that means a lot to me.”
The Victorian State Schools Spectacular hits John Cain Arena for two shows on Saturday September 14. The moving performing arts showcase will be televised in December 2024.
