Hair braided tightly, mouths muzzled by gaffa tape, standing in a straight line, 26 Caroline Chisholm High School students walk to the front of the stage and stare intently at the audience.
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They're making a bold, four-minute statement on abuse and domestic violence in Australia - and they're using contemporary, hip-hop and jazz dance to do so.
It's the one shot the students get each year to creatively interpret an appointed topic - this year it's Make Your Mark - and perform their views in front of thousands of Canberrans.
This is Dance Fest - Ausdance ACT's annual youth dance festival, this year uniting 35 ACT high schools over three busy nights in the Canberra Theatre. It starts tonight, with performances ranging from tributes to Beyonce and Michael Jackson to dance pieces on sustainability and social media addiction.
Dance Fest creative director Jamie Winbank says the "absolute essence" of the festival can be captured in the wings of Canberra Theatre, just seconds before the students glide onto stage to perform for 1200 people.
"For most students, this has been months and months in the making, and then that moment arrives - it's magic," Winbank says.
"You see the fear, the terror, the excitement, the adrenaline, this thing of, 'We got here, we're doing this and we've totally got this'."
For Canberra College student Thomas Adams-Walker - the only male in his school's dance troupe - the beauty of Dance Fest lies in being able to show off eight years worth of circus training and "just the energy of the whole show".
"Our piece is called BenchMARK and it's basically us leaving our mark in a fun way - in our own individual way that we've created," Adams-Walker says.
"It's really upbeat and fun. Dance Fest is one of those places where it's a really good environment, where everyone can come together and just show off some dance moves without being in competition."
Year 10 Caroline Chisholm High School student Kailey Jitts wants people to be educated and inspired by her school's dance piece on domestic violence and abuse; conceived and choreographed entirely by students.
"I want people to feel the emotions portrayed through our faces, the sadness of the victims but leading into happiness," Jitts says.
"We're aware that not everyone has a happy ending when it comes to domestic violence and abuse, but we did want our piece to have a sense of hope."
Winbank says the response from students' parents each year ranges from "wow" to "I had no idea".
"Some people love it because it opens their eyes to the world of young people," he says.
"Other people love it because they're seeing their child on stage for the very first time.
"Other people are nervous because they've never been to the theatre before - it's a big variety of audiences that we bring into the Canberra Theatre to see Dance Fest."
Ausdance ACT's 2018 Youth Dance Festival, September 19-21, Canberra Theatre Centre. Tickets from canberratheatrecentre.com.au.
