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Multicultural Festival provides more than a bellyful

By Daniel Cortes: The Multicultural Club held its annual Multicultural Festival and though the audience was small, it was shown a night of cultural exploration and all-around fun.

The Middle Eastern belly dancing by Nadine was unquestionably customary to that region, yet at the time of the performance absolutely innovative to Chelsea High. Her attire was also a striking demonstration of traditional Middle Eastern clothing. The routine was great. Her moves were mesmerizing and enticing and she knew how to work with her music. At times it was smooth then other moments it was energetic.

Hoai Tran's playing of the piano not only was a great display for her immense talent, but was also a wonderful representation of the Asian Club, she being its president. Her concentration gave homage to pianists of the past - her hard work and practice was clearly present. The girl has an outstanding talent that needs to be appreciated.

Christina Grigorian's Armenian dance was elegant and to my knowledge embodied all the qualities of an Armenian dance but lacked any sort of flash to entertain the crowd. The fans did show interest though as all eyes were on her and they were silent. It could have been that the slow moving music and dance style just didn't appeal to the rowdy crowd.

Club President Hawa Umarovi and her brother Adam's presentation of the Lezginka from Chechnya was without a doubt the act of the night. Hawa's graceful moves made her seem as if she was floating in the air and contrasted with Adam who was stout and firm, yet not at all stiff. The way they danced in unison was ideal for the act. Later in the night Adam came out on stage and gave an impromptu lesson to an eager audience member. It was also good to see their siblings and parents there who also came on stage to entertain the spectators.

The German Club's Bavarian folk dance was exceptionally fun to watch and had the audience going wild as the biggest pop of the night went to Mr. Moody who was obviously the crowd favorite. The dance was enjoyable and the atmosphere was light-hearted which appealed to the crowd.

The Funana and Batuque from Cape Verde was horrific. It was sloppy and uncoordinated. There was no routine to it whatsoever. This group did not practice at all and unfortunately it was evident on stage. The music was slow and depressing really, but even when the music had picked up pace, it was just a faster version of the same thing. The music even ended abruptly and seemed to surprise the dancers.

The Samba from Brazil was interesting and unique. It had a lot of visual appeal as the girls were attractive and their clothing was bright because of the green and yellow they were wearing from the Brazilian flag. It seemed to be right for their act. The dancing however quickly became repetitive and ungraceful as it grew to be stale.

When Valerie and Wilnalis Mercado's belly dance came up, I figured, "“The first one was so good how can this one be any better?" Well fortunately for them, they had a different approach. Their version was different from the Middle Eastern style. It was based more on tough, aggressive thrusting rather than smooth curvy moves. It was good to see that the girls had actually put together a routine, as later acts in the show seemed to have not rehearsed as much as they should have. They wore "“every-day" clothes but added accessories around their waists. I can only describe it as a North American belly dance.

The fashion show was obviously a wrap-up of the night. It was a solid display of fashions from various cultures. The only issue I had was that some people came out and presented the same clothes they had worn through the night while others had changed to entirely different cultural costumes.

The hosting for the night was without a doubt A+. Shana Mendoza demonstrated her self-described "“bubbly" personality to the crowd. She is not a stranger to the stage and she demonstrated that. It must have rubbed off on Alex Esturban too because we saw a side of him he has never shown. He was strong and funny and would not be rattled by the spotlight. Both of them were constantly interacting with the fans even bringing up several people to the stage. The communication with the crowd is what really made this show different from others this year. Lilian Pereira was scheduled to be the third host, but only showed up once on stage as a host at the beginning of the night.

After the show, the guests were treated to various delicious foods donated by parents and several local restaurants.

Credit for the night's success also goes to the club advisors, Ms. Michelle Ervin and Mr. Dave LaFontana. For those who did not go to the show, you missed a great opportunity to expand your cultural knowledge while having an enjoyable time. The night was filled with laughter and smiles as this show was a solid performance from the Multicultural Club.

Article posted to chs.chelseaschools.com: .

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