In recognition of the diversity among students, the Culture Assembly was hosted by student council in the auditorium on Dec. 5.
It began with an introduction of the event before the first fashion show kicked off. Representing the Chickasaw Nation, junior Madison Woodward and freshman Averie Herl showed off wearing regalia. After the first performers finished, the next volunteers were freshman Sophia Semere and senior Makeda Dawitt, representing Ethiopia and Eritrea. Showcasing Micronesian culture, junior Elisa Manuel and junior Mailelai Manuel finished off the last performance of the first fashion show.
Afterwards, the next act featured a Bollywood Fusion dance that combined north and south Indian dance styles. It was performed by senior Ilakiya Raghavendiran and freshman Pavithra Raghavendiran. The two sisters went the extra mile to prepare for their performance; they spent weeks practicing, for about an hour at a time every few days.
“It became our little routine, laughing through mistakes and celebrating when we finally nailed a step,” Raghavendiran said.
Following the concept of the first performance, the second fashion show introduced new cultures. The first to walk out onto the stage were freshman Emaan Fatima and junior Merab Hamida, modelling Pakistani attire. After Fatima and Hamida finished off their showcase, the next performer, senior Suri Fernandes, wore a lehenga, a traditional Indian garment known for its intricate designs. Wrapping up the final performance for the second fashion show, representatives for Bangladesh, sophomore Onima Haque and sophomore Nazifa Abdullah also wore lehengas they bought directly from Bangladesh.
An additional Indian performance was presented afterwards, calling forth five new performers: freshman Sanjit Dhillon, sophomore Aastha Shah, sophomore Haasini Modugu, freshman Sahithi Kavuturu and junior Pari Mattewada. They danced to four songs called: “London Thumakda”, “Rahda”, “What Jhumka?” and “Kala Chashma“. The dancers began preparing over fall break, sending each other videos of their progress.
“I love performing with people who enjoy dancing just as much as I do,” Shah said.
The third final fashion show presented traditional dresses from China, the Philippines and Vietnam. Senior Emme Shum and junior Lara Reams were the opening models, and they wore qipaos. The next representatives for the Philippines were junior Eurish Leones and junior Dana Manuel. Lastly, junior Hannah Dinh walked for Vietnam, wearing an ao dai.
“Since these dresses are only worn for special occasions, I typically only wear it once or twice a year, however, with the Culture Assembly and Culture Fair, it gives me an excuse to take her out,” Shum said.
Concluding the last fashion show, the models were lined up on stage before the final dance performance kicked off.
The dancers from Vien-Giac Buddhist Temple first began with the lion dance drums and cymbals, building up the atmosphere before the lion dancers marched out. Three vibrant lion dance costumes lined up on stage, the first costume was blue, the second was black and white and the third was red. In sync, the lions were moving along with the clash of cymbals and drums. The audience cheered as the lions strutted down the stairs and interacted with the crowd.
The main method these dancers used to excite the crowd was what they call “free style”, which is crowd engagement on the dancer’s terms.
Originally, the team planned to keep the performance with just traditional lion dancing, however, to better connect with a younger audience, they incorporated trendy music and orchestrated a choreography to match.
“I suggested that we could do a music choreo as well, as we’ve done it for weddings and other events,” lion dancer senior Davin Tran said.
With time remaining, the fashion show models and lion dancers were called up to do a Q&A, concluding the assembly.
