So Culturama is over and it’s really quite sad knowing that it is my last one. But I just want to take some time to reflect in regards of course to CAS.

Firstly I had to work collaboratively with my partner to face something neither of us have done before which was a big challenge in itself but I think with the guidelines and the whole load of documents the committee created for us to get organised really gave us a direction in which way we should steer our dance. I honestly a lot of the other dances were super organised whereas we were struggling. But the realisation that this was not the case and that everyone were struggling really reassured me. As I stated in my previous reflections, sometimes me and my partner clashed because of opposing ideas but we’re both really civil. We never ended a conversation in screaming or hair pulling even though there were times where I kept my mouth shut to avoid any conflict which made me quite mad on the inside but when her idea turns out better than anything I could have imagined, I calm down. It’s a learning process and I think I learnt throughout this process that not everything goes your way, sometimes you can change it but most of the time it’s acceptance that comes out.

Secondly, I had to plan and initiate a whole experience for a group of people which carries importance in itself. I was quite stressed because there are other people relying on you especially since I have never done it before and was assured that I did not have the courage to do it either. But having partner who knew how to talk to a group of people was good. I did more background stuff: filling out the forms from the committee, ordering costumes, getting everyone’s measurements and those fun things that is a part of it. There were a LOT of things to do but I’m glad there was, otherwise honestly I would have left things to the very last minute. Also, there were some last minute things that were stressful like returning the costumes to get the money which turned out to be not a huge issue (I got the money back) and collecting money from the dancers since there was an excess. But I sorted it all out in the end through the support of others and trying to organise my time.

Overall, I really enjoyed this experience even though I probably would not do it again. I’m really glad about how it turned out and got chocolate in the end so extra bonus!

So we have dancers! I originally thought no one would audition since we never promoted much of it and Germany is a new country so you never know what to expect. Normally people want to get into more popular countries because they do more modern styles but people did audition and I’m glad for that.

Since we have to choreograph this and neither of us know anything about German dance or choreographing for that matter, we turn to Youtube for inspiration. Most of the steps are taken from existing dances which I am a little guilty about because it could be called out for plagiarising but once the whole thing is put together, hopefully it won’t look like any of the dances on Youtube. Also, I have ideas and my partner has ideas and sometimes they clash. I mean I am a little conflict avoidant so I don’t like saying ‘no’ to people but I don’t like people telling me ‘no’ either. I knew having to work with someone else on something neither of us have done before will be a challenge but we work it out and hopefully our combined efforts won’t be put to shame.

Also, I’m in charge of the costumes. I’m getting it from Taobao because my mom has an account and it’s just generally cheaper to get it from there. There might actually not be enough time to get it shipped here from China but my mom is good at online shopping and I think we’ve sorted it out. Hopefully they turn out to look good on stage.

Culturama is back and this year I’ve decided to lead a dance with my friend instead of just purely dancing in it. Ever I came to this school, I’ve wanted to do it because the opportunity came up and it’s never before. The theme is “unexplored” so essentially the committee is “banning” dances that have been done over and over again. I originally wanted to do Chinese dance because I have been studying it for over ten years recreationally but I still wanted to share that. China however was on the list of over-used dances so I thought maybe Korea or Mongolia because it is technically also encased within Chinese Dance. After conversing with my fellow choreographer, we decided to go with something else, something neither of us have done before.

Made a list and everything and eventually decided to go with Germany because why not. The dresses look cute, the steps are simple so it was a good choice. We had to fill in a lot of documents for costumes and choreography. Mind you this was in Grade 11 so a whole 3 months before auditions. There is also an option with live music since the Music Department wanted to be more involved in these artistic ventures. So we want to consider that but nothing is set in stone.

This is something new I’m trying out since I’ve never done it before and I’m actually quite terrified that it will turn out to be a mess. I’m glad I’m doing it with someone and we will hopefully make quite a good piece out of this.

The costumes look amazing, the dance looks great and the choreography is amazing. You couldn’t ask for anything more in a dance. Below attached is a video of our performance and with the mist and everything, it looks even better.

Culturama is definitely a new experience as I’ve never danced in a school showcase like this before. A celebration of cultures and sharing that with everyone else, I think that’s pretty amazing. So this is adding onto an old experience and developing it I have been doing Chinese dance since I was 6 years old, so it’s been almost 10 years and it’s something I deeply connect with. Dance is such an amazing way to express and explore new areas within your emotions that you haven’t come in contact with before. Let’s you really be free.

We only get a month to put the whole show together so there is definitely a stress on the time restraint. People are getting really stressed about getting everything ready for the final show which is in 2 weeks. Extra rehearsals are constantly added here and there and that puts pressure on everyone as we would have to try to adapt our own schedule to accommodate these rehearsals. It isn’t exactly the greatest thing as if a few person are missing, everything would be really confusing and hard to figure out. People also learn at different rates and especially with a time cap, it’s hard to give everyone the time that is needed to learn a piece properly.

The time restraint aside, I do think that the show will be a great one. The dancing doesn’t exactly have to be professional as not everyone involved has prior knowledge of dance but I think the energy to celebrate a culture that we possibly relate to makes up for everything else lacking. Culturama is very unique to our school, so being involved makes it even more special.

An experience that will develop strengths is the learning outcome achieved here. I’ve never danced a piece that is choreographed by a person my age so it’s interesting and really let’s me appreciate by how talented people are. Dance I would consider a strength of mine since I’ve done it for so long so I’m developing it by trying new things within that field.