Art In Motion is thrilled to announce its merger with Showquest for the Whangarei show on the 20th of June and the Bay of Plenty show on the 13th of August.

Schools should have all received information from Showquest with a link to their website showquest.nz which gives you everything you need to know about how it is going to work.

We are so excited that Showquest will be delivering this event New Zealand wide in 2018 and wish them all the success with the years to come.

You will see Jayden and Teale at the Whangarei show and hopefully some of the other New Zealand shows as well.

Thank you to all the Teachers and students that supported Art In Motion by contacting us, facebooking, committing to the shows and in general just having a really positive outlook on what we were trying to achieve for the youth of New Zealand.

"Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei"

Seek the treasure you value most dearly: if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain -

The team of Art in Motion thank you all.

Jayden, Teale, Grant and Anny

Eight schools now attending

The official launch of A.I.M. last week has brought a lot of interest from Northland and Auckland colleges The AIM team says that spots will fill fast once we hit the media in the next two weeks

Events Director .

he two 19-year-olds have spent the past month setting up a performing arts event for Northland and Auckland schools called AIM (Art in Motion) to fill the gap."As soon as I saw the words 'Stage Challenge will not be continued in 2018' my first thought was I have to do something," Mr Rudolph said."I was thinking, 'What if I was never given this opportunity to be involved in Stage Challenge and to choreograph and how different my life would have been?' There will be so many boys and girls that need this to realise they can also pursue these dreams," he said.The pair were both part of Stage Challenge while at school.Mr Rudolph directed Bream Bay College's 2016 performance which won the Whangarei heat, and Miss Vint was a co-leader of the Whangarei Girls' High School Stage Challenge the same year."My Stage Challenge experience was the highlight of my life," Miss Vint said."My first reaction when I found out Stage Challenge was cancelled was, 'Nope, that's not happening'."AIM is in its early stages but the pair have already emailed schools around Northland.Mr Rudolph said like Stage Challenge, schools will be required to create an eight-minute performance about a topic. However it will be more contemporary, he said."With Stage Challenge you really had to make sure there was a concise and clear storyline. I think now we can allow people to be quite abstract using props and sounds and costumes in different ways that weren't really used in Stage Challenge."Mr Rudolph's Facebook post about the new event has been shared more than 70 times.He said people who were keen to financially support the event had been in contact with him but they would also be applying for funding and grants.If you would like to support AIM

A new Northland-based secondary schools performing arts competition hopes it can snare some government backing.

Whangarei teens Jayden Rudolph and Teale Vint have started a competition for Auckland and Northland schools called AIM (Art in Motion) to fill the gap left after Stage Challenge was axed due to economic conditions.

Last month it was announced popular school performing arts competitions Stage Challenge and J Rock were being axed because of an increase in costs - without a corresponding increase in revenue from sponsorships, grants, participation fees and ticket sales.

Minister of Education Chris Hipkins said music, drama and dance are an important part of the curriculum and for many young people are a way of expressing their creativity and building confidence. So the Government wants to fund replacement competitions.

"Like many people I thought regional and national activities of this sort were too important to lose," he said.

Mr Hipkins said while the Stage Challenge brand is licensed and cannot be replicated, he is inviting potential providers to put forward expressions of interest to run national and regional opportunities for students to showcase their skills.

The ministry has already allocated $267,000 for this purpose for each of the next two years.

"Because time is short, I have asked officials to free up more funding for the activity this year to increase the chance of it continuing, while it works with potential providers on a more sustainable long-term replacement."

Mr Rudolph and Ms Vint have already emailed Mr Hipkins, telling him about AIM. The pair said it would be "amazing to receive something" from the Government to help them get their show on school stages in both regions.

Mr Rudolph said they would be grateful to have the support of the Ministry of Education because they see their event as an educational platform, and added it would give them extra credibility.

The pair are currently seeking sponsors to help raise the funds to hold their event.

Ms Vint said this type of event gives students the chance to express their views, and learn valuable skills like team work and leadership.

"We wouldn't be the people we are without it. It's taught us so many things," she said.

AIM also plans to offer scholarships to students to attend workshops outside of the competition.

There will be a Northland event, three regional events in Auckland, followed by a championship night.

The pair are also reaching out to other groups who have popped up to fill the void left by Stage Challenge. They have offered a place in their championship night to the winners of competitions in Hamilton and Tauranga.