Culturama 2019 Final Reflection
Performances: October 16, October 17
Culturama was definitely a worthwhile and memorable experience. I joined this activity to pursue my passion for performing, as well as expose myself to numerous different cultures. Culturama not only gave me an opportunity to take the stage, but also to meet new friends and becoming more involved in the school community, which was something very important to a new student like myself. My goal for this activity was to spark my passion for performing, and to hopefully get inspired to continue on with arts-based activities. After this experience, I am definitely excited for participating in upcoming performing opportunities, such as Kahaani.
Final Thoughts
Although I have had numerous performing experiences, Culturama definitely brought its own challenges. The first being how it was a pure dance showcase, which is something I have never done before. I definitely would have not considered myself a confident or skilled dancer prior to this experience, but through the rehearsals, I have grown more confident and have even started to enjoy it. During the rehearsals, I experienced some difficulty learning the steps, especially when having to learn the partner dance as it required harmony between two people. However, I was lucky that the rest of the members of the Spain dance were all very supportive and helpful. Collaboration was quite important in this process, wherein we each played a part in supporting each other, whether that was through teaching each other the dance or helping each other get ready for the performances. We all were striving to achieve the same goal, which was to express Spain’s culture in the most authentic and entertaining way, so we were all very motivated in placing maximum effort into working towards this.
The enthusiasm everyone had definitely made Culturama feel like less of a commitment and more of a past-time. During rehearsals, when I would notice people’s energy levels dropping, I would try to motivate them by giving them encouraging comments, and they would do this for me in return. Although sometimes my schedule will get hectic at times, I ensured to prioritize making it to Culturama rehearsals for this very reason, and I feel it paid off as I felt well-prepared for the real performances. I truly believe that as a team, we were able to share Spain’s culture in the most respectful manner, while still engaging the audience with our dance. I am very happy that I decided to take part in this experience.