2020 Multicultural Extravanganza
Reem Abdelmagid | Feb. 25, 2020 | Student Life
For the past 20 years, Stanton College Preparatory School’s Multicultural Club has produced an extravagant performance which showcases different cultures, along with outfits, music, and dance that reflects different world cultures. This year, the production is set to take place on Feb. 28 and 29, and as the date approaches, the show nears perfection and is almost set for the stage.
Stanton’s Multicultural Extravaganza is a tradition beloved by many students, since it showcases the talent, creativity, and diversity of the student body. Since 1992, students have created a new experience for the student body to enjoy. This new experience comes with new choreography, fashion, and new cultural dance groups.
“The theme sets the tone and style for each year,” said Ms. May Ibasco, head of the guidance department and current sponsor of the Multicultural Club. “ I’m interested on how the whole show will come together. The decoration committee does the tedious work on setting the physical look for the auditorium. So I’m excited to see the whole production come to fruition.”
Along with the new ideas introduced each year, new memories and bonds are forged between the participants, giving the experience a more personal meaning than just a club or organization.
“Multi means family [to me],” said senior Isabelle Delosreyes, president of the Multicultural Club. “From watching the production as a little girl, to being Multi President my senior year here, I’ve grown so close to people and learned so much about them because of this club. I treat all my members as if they were my siblings. I love them all so much.”
Being in the club is significant to each of the participating students and impacts them differently, from meeting new people, to being part of a new family.
“My favorite part of the experience before the show is definitely the close bonding I get with my leaders and group members,” said sophomore Diego Pascual, who is one of the leaders for Filipino Traditional and is part of the Korean Pop group. “Sometimes I think people overlook this very special part about Multi. The family and memories you build up with the people is what makes Multi simply amazing.”
Stanton Multicultural performances have different themes every year, and each group within the club adopts its own take on the theme. Last year, the theme was “Heroes of Multi” and groups took on the identity of a fictional superhero and incorporated it in their dance. This year’s theme, “Legends of Multi” will include groups representing a mythological god or deity.
“I think students can expect a lot of creativity,” said junior Armani Strowbridge, who leads African and is part of West African, Hip Hop, Latino, and Bollywood. “A lot of people don’t know but every dance that is showcased in Multi is student choreographed, and most of the time, some leaders don’t have any prior dance background.”
This unity and inspiration the event fuels in people drives participants each year to come up with a more developed and improved show from the previous year, making more students interested in the club and the creative benefits it offers.
Besides the choreographed and fashion aspect of the performance, the Multicultural Decoration Committee, led by senior Deo-Elyon Agnila, works hard to ensure the stage is set and the auditorium is properly decorated to match the theme. When some people think of the Multicultural Expo, they do not immediately think of the behind the scenes decoration jobs.
“The decoration committee does the tedious work on setting the physical look for the auditorium,” said Ibasco.
The production is scheduled to take place on Feb. 28 and 29 at the Stanton College Preparatory School’s auditorium. The performance will consist of two daytime shows during school and two evening events on Friday and Saturday.