Contents
WHAT IS CULTURAMA?
Culturama is an event that runs every year within the both UWC campuses, and is a dance show encompassing the traditional dances of a diverse range of cultures around the globe. It is run and choreographed by HS students, and HS students can audition for 4 dances maximum and hopefully get in!
This year, the show itself is on October 4th.
I auditioned for France and Hawaii, and got into both, however, I ended up choosing France.
THE SHOW!
Our dance starts at 34:00!
LINK
(I’m the centre of the first dance, centre left for can-can and dance 3, and leeeft front row for the last dance!)
LIGHT PLOT VIDEO:
September 20th, 2 weeks before show day! (to get notes from the committee so we could improve for the real day!)
CAS REFLECTIONS:
OVERALL REFLECTION:
(updated during the process!)
Three highlights:
- Making Friends! We had an extra practice one weekend at Remy’s dad’s hotel SOFITEL in Sentosa. We spent the whole day dancing and in the breaks we would all lie and talk in the dance studio, and they provided tables of desserts and snacks and sandwiches 🙂 So we all got to talk a lot and thats the day I think I truly made a lot of friends and got to know a lot about all of them! Also, I went for dinner after with a few of them that I had never otherwise talked to before like Sidney, and I’m now really close to them still (got her 18th birthday party next weekend!).
- Getting ready for the show! This was such an amazing time backstage, it was all the girls helping one another with everything possible – even those who were not close. And everyone was just so loving for everyone and in it together it was amazing to watch. Even just myself as an example, I had Anjika doing my eyeshadow, Aanya straightening my hair, Sidney helping with my eyeliner… And everyone was just sharing everything – Isa gave me eyelashes and I gave her lipstick, I used Victoria’s highlight and she used my setting spray, all eyeshadow palettes were on the tables to share, my friends in India helped put on hair gel for me because we had no hairspray, etc. It was just the cutest community ever of everyone excited and helping one another that even writing it I’m so happy 🙂
- THE SHOW! Do I really need to explain why? The second we finished any show (mostly the last) we would all jump and hug and scream! And getting to go out and see all our friends running up to us and hugging everyone was so so great and I loved every moment of the show day.
What are my goals:
My goal is to learn the dances for France and give a great performance! And put all my effort into perfecting the dance because it’s such an amazing event that I want it to be the best possible! I also want to have a lot of fun because it’s all about community and bringing people together which I think should be something exciting and fulfilling. Finally to make friends, as we’re all in it together and I know I’ll be spending a lot of time with these girls over the next few weeks 🙂
What were the outcomes?
I got to meet and get close to some amazing people in all HS grades, who I’m still even hanging out with this October break! It gave us the opportunity to get to know different people we wouldn’t otherwise have talked to, and I’m so grateful for that. It also gave me the amazing sense of community that made me feel a part of something great – because being part of a team is so motivating and makes you feel so special.
A (hopefully) great performance for our audience! My parents were so proud and my friends were all cheering which makes me so happy 🙂 and getting to be a part of a show all about bringing together people and cultures is such a great message to help give out and show the beauty in all cultures.
Everyone in my group and culturama had a lot of fun, and it was definitely an unforgettable experience 🙂
Difficulties encountered
For the most part just time – we had such limited time, and with it being the start of IB where I was just getting into the routine of everything and having to keep up with the massive pace increase from IGCSE it was difficult to balance. Especially how we had a lot of weekend practices, so we would spend the day practicing then be exhausted and go for dinner or lunch meaning that most of our day was consumed…
What abilities, attitudes and values have I developed?
I’d say the biggest value I’ve developed and really come to appreciate is TEAMWORK. To me, it was the most important aspect of the entire event – as the experience would have been so different without those people. Having people around you to motivate you, help you, support you, laugh with you – something that was always making me look forward to the next rehearsal, even when it meant waking up at 7 am on a Saturday… I developed how much I value teamwork, and the importance of people working together and supporting one another – as it makes the biggest difference.
Did I maintain full attendance?
I was present for all of the rehearsals which I’m proud of because a lot of the non-required ones at lunches and breaks I made sure to go to. However, I did miss one because I didn’t know the time was changed so I showed up the second they finished at the original time. This just reminds me to check chats and pages more often just incase…
What might I do differently next time to improve?
There’s not much I would want to do differently, as I’m so happy with how everything went, with the dance I chose, and I think I put in a lot of commitment and as much effort as I could. Next year I’m thinking of running one of the dances, as I think it would be an amazing experience to be able to lead a group of students in such a unique event – and it would be very challenging; but since it’ll be my last year of high school, I feel it would also be such a nice way to leave a mark and leave behind something I’m proud of like choreographing and running a dance.
SKILLS AND QUALITIES SHOWN:
