By Melissa Li
Part dance-off, cultural gala, and celebration of the arts,Unity in Diversity is East’s alternative to the classic high school talent show. Culminating in an annual school-wide performance, Unity’s mission is to bring together all of East’s different cultures and ethnicities in a show that highlights the uniqueness of each through dance, music, and poetry.
This year’s Unity show kicked off with a very relevant video introduction that commented on society’s viral obsessions with insignificant events like the Great Dress Color Controversy or That One Time Kanye Told Beck He Didn’t Deserve A Grammy. Mired in these saccharine distractions, it’s high time pop culture delivered some entertainment while still being socially aware.
Unity in Diversity does just that. Apart from the typical dances, this year’s show included readings of poems in different languages, one written by an East student, Negin Mahallati, about minority oppression in Iran. This is also the first time in a few years that singing was featured prominently in the Unity Show. Freshman Ananya Chakravarti showed off her Indian classical singing skills while members of Chorale also made appearances, representing Israel and later Ireland.
The dances performed this year were also extraordinary. Spain, led by Nicole Cavanaugh, incorporated scarves and chairs in their stunning opening act. Greece presented a very creative dance that had the audience clapping along to the beat. From Middle Eastern belly dancing to hula-hooping tricks set against dubstep, Unity’s longstanding acts were crowd-pleasers. Speaking of EDM, apparently trap music is also classified as a culture, proven by “Young Prodigy’s” moonwalking and hype skills.
But it wouldn’t be Unity without the fan-favorite Korea and India dance groups. Sugary sweetness becomes an art form with the Korea girls’ well-coordinated, adorable K-pop dances. And no one will ever forget the Korea guys’ electrifying moves, with senior Manjoyt Sandhur literally making it rain dollar bills onstage.
India, by far the largest performance group, featured multiple dances from different regions of the country steeped in centuries of history. Juniors Anjor Khadilkar and Shubhangi Mehra opened with a beautiful classical dance based on a Hindu myth. Next, groups performed Bollywood inspired dances and then Bhangra. India ended the show with a huge, colorful production that filled the stage, featuring a particularly skillful mashup of modern Punjabi music and “Turn Down For What”.
A snapshot of cultural history spanning thousands of years, Unity in Diversity is a much-loved East tradition that combines the beauty of tradition with modern pop performance. This year’s show was one of the best to date, and we look forward to the amazing things Unity has to offer in the future.
