By Anna Bella D’Amico
On Thursday, March 7, 2019, Unity In Diversity had their annual performance, and the talent was unbelievable.
Unity In Diversity is a club at East that promotes the acceptance and celebration of all cultures. These students spend a countless number of hours choreographing and rehearsing their routines. It was evident in the high-quality show the club put on.
After emcees Robert Korman and Gemma Petrulla opened the show with a brief synopsis of the first act, seniors Grace Yao and Cynthia Cheng and junior Jennie An represented China through a traditional ribbon dance that mesmerized the audience. People were captivated by the synchronicity of the ribbon wands and the girls’ immaculate dancing. It was a moment that left people excited for the rest of the show.
Every year, people look forward to Korea and India, and this year was no different.
Korea began with the boys performing a routine to popular K-pop songs that left every girl’s heart throbbing. It was like we had BTS on our very stage. The audience went wild over the boy band’s choreography, and a shout out must be given to Cynthia Cheng for dancing with guys and looking as much as teeny-boppers as the rest of them. The girls were next, and the fierce feminine power was a force to be reckoned with. Their performance was about celebrating the love and beauty of women and had the whole audience hooting and hollering at their fire dance moves.
Celebrating the different cultures and languages was very important for India. They represented both Hindi and Urdu, two well-spoken languages within the country. They also represented Bollywood styles of dance in addition to more traditional ones. India featured very talented musicians, including a clarinet solo by Aditi Arun to start off, and Aditi Kashyap singing a traditional Urdu song accompanied by Sharan Prasad.
The costumes were a gorgeous component of the performance; the girls were dressed in traditional saris,which are dresses with scarves/wraps; and salwar kameezes, which are dresses with leggings. The men were typically dressed in dhotis, the flowy pants; kurtas, the traditional Indian dress shirts; and sherwanis, a more formal style of dress that includes a long jacket. The dances were complicated, fast, full of energy, and executed with precision.
The final performance for India and the show was a Raas dance which incorporated rhythmic stick percussion as the girls and guys danced together for a spectacular finale.
There were many other amazing acts throughout the show, including United States of America’s modern hip-hop performance to hits by Cardi B, Migos, & A$AP Rocky; Gillian Cavanaugh’s stunning tap solo; and the coveted glow in the dark hula-hoop extravaganza.
The entire performance was incredible and the whole cast and crew should be proud of what they created.
The performance will be available on the East Film Studios’ YouTube channel, courtesy of Mr. Belling and his team. A special thanks goes out to Jon Powell for making the introductory film at the beginning of the performance.
If any student would like to join Unity In Diversity, they can contact Mrs. Korn in the science department, or Mr. Huber in the English department. The club is always looking for new members and cultures to explore and celebrate.
