Each year in Spring, Kingsway students from various ethnicities come together to celebrate different cultures around the world in the Multicultural Assembly, put on by Kingsway’s World Cultures Club.
This year’s assembly featured Bollywood dance, Latin dance, hip hop dance, and various singing performances. Poetry was also read by two students.
Jessica Cheng, co-advisor of the World Cultures Club along with Michelle Beech, recalled what her first year being a part of the assembly was like. “It was my first time being part of a club, and I really didn’t know what to expect, but I really enjoyed being a part of it. The assembly itself was definitely hard work but totally worth it in the end!”
“The production was really the result of the students’ unwavering dedication and teamwork abilities,” she added. “I was able to stay after school at least once, sometimes twice a week, ensuring [the students] had ample opportunity to refine their skills.”
The assembly began with an introduction from Cultures Club Co-advisors Jessica Cheng and Michelle Beech. The first performance was a Bollywood dance introduced by Anjuli Nair. Bollywood is a type of Indian dance based on Bollywood movies, which is an industry similar to Hollywood.
Next was an Asian fan dance introduced by Jace Chen. Fan dancing originated in China, and is performed to pass down traditions and stories throughout generations. Fans are used as props that highlight the graceful nature of the dance itself.
Senior Malin Cortright then sang a Swedish song based on a tradition in Sweden. Each year on the morning of December 13, the girls of a family serve their parents saffron buns and coffee. The eldest daughter wears a wreath with four candles on her head to celebrate the coming of light after the shortest day of the year and sings the St. Lucia song.
This was followed by another Bollywood song and dance performed by Mahi Mopal. Next, the Latin Dance Fusion section began.
The assembly featured a Huapango dance, a Mexico Folklorico dance and a Cumbia dance introduced by Nick Recinos Garcia, Joseline Hernandez, and Nayshla Vera Alicia and Jandiel Martinez Santiago, respectively.
Next, students Gabrielle Kiner and Logan Lyons read two poems from Kingsway’s Shades club, which celebrates and empowers Black and Brown students. This was followed by a choir performance by Kingsway’s Dragon Singers.
The assembly closed out with a Reggaeton dance introduced by Felicia Rivera. Reggaeton is a modern style of Latin dance that combines reggae, hip hop, and Latin music, among other styles.
“I hope [audience] members took away a curiosity and openness towards exploring and embracing various cultures, but mostly I hope they at least walked away with an appreciation of the beauty and significance of cultural expression through dance and song as well as various art forms,” said Jessica Cheng. “My favorite part honestly was seeing the end result of all the students’ hard work and the confidence they gained from each performance.”
