Northside’s annual International Day and Night a success
by Sony Kassam

“This is it. We’re going to do this and we’re going to be amazing,” Camille Ward, Adv. 104, said as she described the feeling of being an International dance performer.

This year, International Day (I-Day) and International Night (I-Night) were held on May 19 and May 21, respectively. From Indonesian Hand Dance to Belly Dancing, I-Day and I-Night were packed with excitement from both performers and audiences.

“The best part about I-Day was having the opportunity to acknowledge all the hard work that the cultural clubs of Northside put forth all year long,” John Mederich, Adv. 201, said. “I think I-Day and I-Night are really great events, and I hope that future performers put as much dedication and pride into their dances like this year’s performers did.”

Most performers agreed that there was a fortunate lack of nervousness, and instead a new-found excitement during I-Night performances after conquering it on I-Day.

“I felt more nervous on I-Day than I did during I-Night, which was probably because it was the first time to perform the dances,” Ward said. “Overall, I felt extremely excited on both days. The two days just seem to pump up your adrenaline; cheering on other dances, anticipating your performance turn, doing last minute run-throughs, etcetera.”

Several performers also explained that I-Night was much less difficult in terms of changing in and out of different outfits for those who were a part of dance groups performing in both the auditorium and the gym. Nonetheless, other performers ended up having different schedules for their dances during I-Night than they did for I-Day, which still caused disturbances in outfit changes.

“My costume for Polish/Ukranian [dance] was mildly challenging to get out of,” Rowan Quinain, Adv. 109, said, “and the interval between that dance and Samul Nori was shorter during I-Night, so when my leader for drumming came up to me and urged me to go change, I was kind of freaking out.”

Along with speedy costume changes came the time crunching and rushed atmosphere for those who had back-to-back performances with little time to spare.

“[During] I-Night, we were originally scheduled to be second to last,” Anne Layakil, Adv. 101, said, “but then it got changed the day of, so it was more of a challenge because I had Indonesian then one dance in between as my time to change for Indian. It was manageable though because everyone was really supportive and we all helped each other out. Plus, I consider myself to be lucky because I know some people who had back-to-back dances, making it nearly impossible to get ready in time. The emcees stalling made it easier – and funnier.”

Angel Yan, Adv. 107, was one of the performers who experienced such a race with time due to performances that came one after the other.

“For I-Day, I had Saman in the auditorium and Samulnori was the finale in the gym,” Yan said, “so I only had to change for that once. But I had to run to the gym before the crowd of people started leaving the auditorium for the finale, which was tiring. For both I-Day and I-Night, I had my dances back-to-back. On I-Day I had Saman then Samulnori, and then for I-Night: Samulnori then Saman. For Saman, there was more stuff to put on and to take off at the end, compared to Samulnori, so I definitely had to rush for stuff like that.”

Still some performers also found the rush to be exciting.

“During the first show of I-Day, I didn’t get to perform one of my dances because I was shuffling from the gym to the theater,” Ruchi Mahadeshwar, Adv. 106, said. “It was disappointing but that time crunch that happens during I-Day is actually exciting.”

Other difficulties during the duration of the entirety of the event included moving from the auditorium to the gymnasium (or vice versa) on I-Day for performers of more than one dance and managing personal belongings during both days.

“The biggest challenge was keeping track of my belongings,” Dorota Biedzio, Adv. 106, said, “which wasn’t too bad, but things get so cramped and chaotic in the green room when everyone is changing and getting ready in there.”

In the end, I-Day and I-Night were enjoyable experiences for both performers and audience members.

“It was definitely one of the best parts of my year,” Mahadeshwar said. “You get to see the fruits of your labor when you see videos on Facebook of your performances, and it’s great to get all the positive feedback”