Nov 23, 2015
Chinese music blasts through the speakers, and the aroma of fried rice and chicken fills the air. The room is filled not only with students, but also with Diabolos (essentially oversized yo-yos), bamboo poles (for a Filipino dance called tinikling), and a Tanggu (a traditional Chinese drum). Students sit over paper plates stuffed with food, talking about what they just saw. It’s 6:00 on November 20, and the Chinese talent show has just ended.
“It was the most talked about event of this season,” sophomore Saaj Patel said. “Everybody in Chinese was talking about it.”
Everyone who attended the event certainly was talking about it. Junior Nelson Ly, who is in Chinese 2, said that practice was hard, but it was worth it.
“Practicing was hard, because we got a dance, and then we got a new dance,” Ly said. “Then we started changing the moves; we deleted moves and added moves, and we ended up with what you saw. But it was fun.”
What the audience saw definitely interesting: a dance to LuHan’s “有點兒意思” or translated, “That Good Good”. Saaj Patel, another student in Ly’s group, noted the impact that the performance had on his life.
“This dance was by far the most fun experience of my life,” Patel said. “I don’t think there will ever be anything better. While I have said the phrase ‘I quit’ multiple times, I did not mean any of it. This was worth all the work.”
All of the students who performed agreed that practicing was difficult and sometimes frustrating, but they also recognized the benefit of their hard work. Sophomore Jay Fang, a Chinese 4 student who acted and sang in the show, said that he was proud of the work that his group had done.
“We tried hard, and we worked hard as a group,” Fang said. “We did great.”
The talent show instilled a sense of confidence in the performers that could not be shaken. The students who performed were very supportive of not only their own groups, but the other groups as well.
“The other performances were even better than ours,” Ly said. “They were really good!”
Patel agreed that other groups were extremely talented, but said that his group was the very best. He noted the adrenaline rush that swept over him during his performance and the effect that it had on his entire act.
“I just let the dance take over, and I showed my moves off,” Patel said. “As team leader, I led my group to success. To fame. And to glory.”
Jay Fang summed up the students’ thoughts.
“We’re proud of ourselves,” Fang said. “And we know that the Chinese talent show will go even better next year.”
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