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Cultural Secretary Report
By Claudia Bowditch (Fresher 2023; 2025 Cultural Secretary)
2025 has truly been a historic year for creative arts at Sancta. The Palladian Cup is the annual cultural competition between the six University of Sydney Colleges. Winning the Cup is a massive feat, and certainly not something that happens by chance – it is a testament to the hard work, enthusiasm and competitive spirit that countless members of the Sancta community have displayed throughout this year.
Students who participated in the Palladian Cup celebrate their well-earned victory at our Valedictory Dinner.
The supportive and passionate energy that Sancta has fostered this year for Palladian has been truly remarkable. At every single Palladian event this year, we had a full audience of smiling faces ready to cheer on the Sancta performers and acknowledge their hard work. And indeed, every performance was worthy of our praise – they were clever, polished and engaging, and every single performance felt like it had a genuine chance of placing. Not only did this make those in the Sancta section of the audience severely restless every time as we sat in silence waiting for the judges to announce the winners, but it also left us with a deep sense of pride for our community and the range of talent within.
Bridget Power performing her beautiful vocal piece by Chausson.
The Palladian year started off strong, where, in Semester 1, we managed to take home first place in solo vocal, dance and oration – wow. Bridget Power’s enchanting vocal piece by Chausson scored us our first Palladian win and set the tone for the rest of the year.
Left: The jazz team fresh off the stage after their powerful performance of ‘Bloodlust’. Right: The contemporary team performing their winning dance, ‘Maybe’.
Then, leading up to dance, we had the pressure of defending our 3-year victory title. However, the dedication of our dance secretary, Adriana Field, and the rest of the team did not waver, and we secured first place for the fourth year in a row! Both the contemporary and jazz pieces left the audience utterly captivated and also brought with them those Sancta screams of excitement that I would recognise from anywhere.
Genevieve Kelly speaking with passion at the Oration competition.
Come oration, Sancta’s expectations of victory were growing, and Genevieve Kelly’s winning speech certainly delivered. The feedback we received from the judges affirmed this, deeming it “one of the most meta, hilarious energetic speeches I have ever had the joy to witness! Your commitment absolutely contributed to this speech working.” If that doesn’t capture the playful, yet competitive, energy that Sancta has brought to Palladian this year, I don’t know what will.
Going into Semester 2, Sancta was coming in first place overall in Palladian, and we knew we had to work hard to hold our position. That we did. First off, we had debating, led by our secretary, Siena Fagan.
Left: Our debating team. Right: Edwina Barton with her piece, ‘Fragments in Flight’.
Siena and the debating team successfully and articulately reasoned their way through the weekend against the other colleges, and finished in second place. This momentum continued as Edwina Barton and Elena Duta contributed outstanding works to the art showcase, with Edwina’s piece, ‘Fragments in Flight’, placing third.
As we continued in the semester, we eagerly watched the spectacular efforts put forward in group vocal and group instrumental. Unfortunately, we did not place in any of these events, yet every time we felt that there was a real chance – the talent of our musicals blew us away, and the passion and community involved from both postgrads and undergrads in our big group vocal performances was a pleasure to witness.
Left: Choir members shining in their ‘Dancing Queen’ costumes. Right: Our two Drama teams are ready to take the stage.
Then, we arrived at our last Palladian event of the year – drama. Our drama secretary, Matilda Curran, and the rest of the group knew that everything was riding on their performances and that we would only win the Palladian Cup if they won first place. They. Rehearsed. Tirelessly. And… it paid off! Our performance of ‘Cockpit,’ with Frankie, Tash and Catilyn, came in first place and the Sancta supporters went wild. The piece was unique, witty and skilful, and it was the perfect way to end the Palladian year.
Sancta students receiving the Cup at the annual Palladian Dinner.
This year, history has been made. We have won dance for the fourth consecutive year, and it is the first time in many years that we have won oration, vocal, and drama. Most significantly, this is the second time we have ever won the Palladian Cup – not since 2002! This has been a whole community effort, and the cultural shift that has taken place this year has been extraordinary. This year at Sancta, we have embodied the sentiment of the In Sapientia Ambulate – we truly have been glorious in victory. We have enjoyed endless support, audience engagement, and celebratory Victory Dinners, and have grown closer through our enthusiasm and well-earned success.
