CULTURE SHOCK: Part I

Culture Shock. noun. 

the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone who is suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes.

In this case however, it is my high school's annual production where acts from different cultures come together and perform in front of an audience. This year's Culture Shock, hosted by Leo Club, took place March 7th and all proceeds of the event went towards relief caused by Typhoon Haiyan. 

This year was Korean Club's second year performing, and to be quite honest, we were much better compared to last year's production. We practiced way ahead of time and were more organized in comparison to what we did last year. As a side note, Korean Club was the star of the show, it isn't a biased view coming from me, it's fact. LOL 

I had Esther borrow my camera and take photos of the event, so here's a little recap of what happened that fun night. Acts ranged from traditional dances from Mexico and Korea, Polynesian dances, Chinese Dragon Dancing, to modern dances that featured Korean Pop Music. You can guess which segment our club fell into. 

Before we went on stage, we all got ready in our advisor's classroom, pumping each other up and whatnot. 

Kevin, myself, Kela, and Ricky. Minus Calvin and Zi, we were the only guy dancers this year for our performance

Jaimie, Priscilla, and Alyssa. These three helped choreograph one of the bigger parts of our dance. 

 

 We made sure to make everyone match in some form, and it just so happened Nicka, Sara, and I wore polka dots, hehe. 

Our club is tiny, but we're powerful. We don't really do club pictures so this was a first. Our club adviser, Mrs. Foster, is on the very right. To the tune of GD&TOP's Don't Go Home, miss A's I Don't Need a Man, EXO's Growl, and Ailee's U&I, we put on a performance for the books. But for now, here are some of the acts before us. 

Liberty High School's ROTC program were invited to be the opening. 

Chinese Dragon Dancers. 

Traditional Korean Fan Dancing. Aren't their Hanboks so pretty? 

Irish Sword Dancing.

Traditional Mexican Dancing. They told a story about two chickens fighting.

Polynesian Dancers! 

My high school's students also performed during the event. 

 Japanese Taiko Drummers who made infectious beats.

After a short intermission, we were the second group to go. I don't know why but the nerve wracking feeling before you head to the stage is completely unbearable! I can't explain it however, that when your foot steps upon that stage, all nervousness and self doubt goes away. Maybe it's gotten to the point where my nerves were so bad they numbed themselves, or maybe it's the lighting that's so bright we can't see our audience? 

Being the first portion of our group up, we danced to the infectious tune of GD&TOP's Don't Go Home. 

Ricky was GD in our dance cover, whilst Calvin was TOP. Zoe, the one with red tights, played the girl who Ricky vied over. Calvin was the wingman and we, the backup dancers, played the role of trying to get them together.

As our portion ended, miss A's I Don't Need a Man was up next. So appropriately, all the girls pushed us guys away. Talk about harsh! 

 Joined by Sara; Nicka, Cassie, and Zoe's performance was all about girl power. 

After their performance, we cut the lights and headed to the next part. EXO's Growl. 

I think one of the highlights of this performance was the dynamic lighting the Tech department had done. All the lighting was possible thanks to one of my dear friends, Kimmy Kinan, who single-

handedly organized the best lighting possible. 

See what I mean? The silhouettes created by the lighting was phenomenal.  

The dancers who participated in Growl were split up into two factions. Kinda like how they did in the music video!

 

And as our finale, we had our friend Kayla sing Ailee's U&I that left the audience speechless. 

 Kayla's black and gold dress looked absolutely majestic on her. She looked like a superhero songstress. 

Our big finale! 

Afterwards, we all walked out for one big role call/bow. 

I cannot express how proud I am to be Historian for Korean Club. Seeing my members put their all into the performance made my heart swell. It was such a fantastic thing to see their progress from day one of the many practices we had. Thank you again to Leo Club for putting this event together! 

Oh and before you shut your browser off, I'm sure you're wondering how the performance exactly went. Well, the ever so wonderful Tiffanie recorded it for us. Take a look! Be sure to watch in 1080p HD for the full in yo' face experience!

Happy Saturday!