Professional Documents
Culture Documents
IASAS
Feb. 28-March 2
2013
The 2013 IASAS Dance, Drama, and Art Cultural Convention was a melting pot of eclectic personalities that were fused to create an inspiring atmosphere. It created an ideal platform for unbounded passion and free-spirited creativity. Manila, with its colorful history and diverse offerings, was the ideal breeding ground for fresh ideas and new talent. This years theme, Its More Fun in the Philippines is the Department of Tourisms campaign to introduce the Philippines as a vacation destination where visitors can experience the country rather than merely soak in the sights. This slogan is apropos of ISMs CulCon experience as various workshops were scheduled throughout the day to introduce new concepts/skills and to create unforgettable memories. Prepare to smile and reminisce as the floodgate of wondrous memories pour out of each page as you recall the painstaking hours of preparation, the mad rush of practice, the exhilaration of the performance, and the friendships either created or fortified. I would like to thank everyone for their dedication and patience, especially Mrs. Hillman and her fine arts team for organizing the event and the CulCon Bulletin team for toiling endless hours in order to make the Bulletin a reality.
Editor-In-Chief
Edit s Note
Daniel Um
Numbers
49 Dancers 52 Act s/Actre es 30 Artists 143 Delegates 12 Technicians 13 W kshops 7 W kshop Leaders
DANCE
DRAMA
Dr ama Tr oupes
13 19
10 11
ART
Ar t Teams
22 Ar t : 2 8 29
30 31 33
Ph Pho t o Blas t
Dr ama 2 0
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With three seniors, JIS dance team has strived to make this year memorable for both the audience and the soon-to graduate members. Despite the population of seniors, the team was also made up of several underclassmen underclassmen that were neither rowdy nor shy, but engaged and willing to participate in the creative process. Among the rookies, the prevalent dance style was ballet, resulting in a challenge for all the non-ballerinas. Despite having only four returning dancers out of eleven, upperclassmen and lower classmen worked together to effectively generate ideas, perform pre-show huddles, and finalize their dance. To create their stunning stunning piece, the members of the JIS dance team spent hours after school and sacrificed precious Saturdays rehearsing. All the sweat and hard work, however, was necessary in order to construct what dancer Hannah Wolff described as the strongest IASAS piece [she] has been a part of so far.
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The ISKL dance team founded the theme for their Mad As Hell performance unintentionally. ISKL dancer Carmen Kromhout said we originally had other ideas in mind, but when the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting took place (on the 14th of December), we were moved by the event and decided to change our theme. In spite of this spontaneous idea, the construction of the ISKL piece was a long process. The group chose specific newscasts of shocking events, such as hate crimes and 9/11, and integrated them into their music. The most significant factor about the ISKL dance this year was the energy that was required for the long-term preparation and the actual dance performance. The unification of the ISKL dance long-term troupe was exemplified both on and off stage, as Chris Tabassi (the only male dancer of the ISKL Team) notes, before we perform, we say a little prayer, and then shake it out.
The Mad as Hell dance piece, was inspired by the movie Network (1976). The dance encom- passed the most traumatic and recent criminal events, and illustrated individual civilians reac- tions to them. The entire piece was performed as an ensemble, as there was never only one person in the spotlight and, throughout it all, the team stood united. It began with a newscast medley; each member danced to a different broadcast and current event, and conveyed the general publics shock and terror to the news through emotive choreography. In the middle of the performance, the dancers used props; blindfolds, earmuffs, and mouth covers, to represent the hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil concept. The contrast between the red props and white costumes showed that despite these events, willpower and positivity perseveres. Through the use of runs, jumps, and flamboyant movements, the ISKL Dance Team conveyed the importance of creating change and inspiring action.
Even before they chose their topic, this years SAS dance team knew they wanted their per- formance to be based on a historical theme. After listing major historical events, they eventu- ally narrowed it down to the Holocaust. Member Jackie Benfield added that after the topic was focused, we dedicated our first week of practice to researching in the library, to the extent of watching the film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, which is a moving story about a young boy who befriends a Jew living in a concentration camp. The group then used their research to decide on the specific roles and themes that they wanted to include in their dance. As an all female team, the SAS dancers perceive themselves as not just a troupe of dancers, but also a group of close friends. Attesting to this, one of the teams members, Rachel Liem, said we give each other lots of hugs before we go on stage.
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A team comprised entirely of seniors, the TAS dance troupe came together like binding molecules to produce their last, and arguably best, IASAS dance yet. Before the performance, they aimed to develop friends, fun and laughter from this final CulCon. As a result of their tightly knit team dynamic, the dancers were comfortable being silly, but still worked hard to collaborate and assemble a 20-minute dance piece. Before normal performances, all members congregate to execute their regular warm-up to Diary by Alicia Keys a song they might even sing for you if you ask! They then get into a team huddle, piling feet instead of the tradi- tional hands, uniquely a dancers addition. It is their wacky yet insightful ideas that distinguish tional them from the other dance teams. This laughter party of seniors has surely put all their energy left into finishing this year with a POP!
Despite the deceptively complex scientific title, TAS dance piece O2 CO2, is in fact about the most basic of themes. While the title refers to oxygen, the essential ingredient of life, the dance was not centered on the molecule, but on the importance of breath. A dance that integrated humorous, intense, and free-flowing styles of dance, allowed the audience to be thoroughly engaged throughout the performance. The TAS dancers chose to include a comedic aspect to differentiate themselves from other dance teams. The piece opened as the entire ensemble simultaneously and audibly held their breaths. The sea-like blue background and soothing piano piano accompaniment supplied a calming effect to the mainly contemporary piece. Later in the dance, the background switched to a red gradient along with fierce music and sharp move- ments from the dancers, depicting life deprived of oxygen. Overall, the TAS dance was packed with impressive lifts, jaw-dropping rising handsprings by Daniel Lin (12) and contortions of all sorts.
After a day of jazz and contemporary dance accompanied by live drum beats, the dancers had only experienced an inkling of 2013s IASAS CulCon. Breaking away from the typical mold, the morning of Friday proved to be another surprise as dancers were led through an improvisation workshop that was was taught without music. Divided into pairs, the dancers mirrored their partners move- ments, trying to determine their counterparts next action while maintaining a high level of grace and fluidity. The workshop also focused on flocking, another improvisation activity where dancers mimicked the group leaders movements, which alternated depending on the direction that the group was facing when dancing. Tracks like Swedish House Mafias Dont You Worry Child elicited excited cheers, which further ex- pressed the unshakable high-energy atmosphere of the afternoons jazz funk workshop. As elements of hip-hop infused into the pop music choreography, dancers buzzed with enthusiasm. The choreography itself was great and really easy for me to get comfortable with, says JIS dancer John Hernandez. Though the workshops provided dancers with the opportunity to showcase their own talent, the group performances proved valuable. In Johns opinion, As an observer, you get to experience and appreci- ate other peoples style. Its [the workshops] more of a learning experience than anything else.
Day 2 - March 1
Art
his years ISM CulCon Art Team was a group that stood apart from the rest. Made up of five 11th grade all-girl delegates, the group worked with a certain sort of cohesion that other teams may have struggled to achieve. Artist Fatima Mannapbekova said having an all-girls team was advantageous, as each of the participants were already familiar with each other and comfortable working together. Ac- cording to fellow bearcat Mercy Arndt, the commonalities between the girls contributed to the teams dy- namic, as there was no friction within the group, which allowed them to be naturally at ease with each others work. Mercy said that the delegates were always laughing, even as we worked on our pieces. However, she adds that at the same time, its a bit of a shame; I think its terrible that more boys didnt do art. Regardless, the all-girl team moved forward without qualms as each delegate asserted that the team was unified, and worked well together. Perhaps this came from having to undergo the same process in the art classes that most of the delegates share, or the team bonding from painting and photographing each other for the CulCon Art brochure, which was put together before IASAS. When asked about their preparation preparation for CulCon, Mercy responded, IB Art is kind of the preparation in itself. This course fos- ters innovation in its students, who have the liberty to pursue different thematic focuses through a range of mediums. This can be seen through the diversity of the students work. Joanna Hirsch stated that lately, her inspiration has arisen from different cultures, as she recalled I went on a trip to Bangkok, so I did a piece inspired by that. My most recent piece is about Philippine culture. With a variety of per- spectives, these delegates have brought a large array of colors to their palette.
riginal. If only one word was used to describe the ISB Art CulCon Delegation, it would be orig- inal. The majority of their pieces, those from the non-travelling artists included, stem away from the usual techniques. They were creative representations of a wide-range of emotions and experiences. In fact, most of the non-travelling art pieces were photographs, which was certainly something that makes their works different from those of other schools. Artist Prairie Yooprasert uses photography in her piece, The Thai World to show the background that she grew up in and to capture famous temples like no one has ever photographed them before. However, instead of taking one striking picture, she com- no bined fourteen pictures of different temples to create a panoramic globe. Upon further examination of the work, the themes portrayed are dark and brooding, which is a testament to the delegates intense artistic thought process. Audrey Farnsworth, for example, found the connections between human bodies and modern technology intriguing, and thus allowed her to create something very new. However, the artists themselves remain happy and joyful, especially when talking about how they got interested in art. Anoth er recurring theme in the artworks is the exploration of different cultures. There are pieces created by art- ists from a range of different countries from Thailand to the United States. This shows that many of the delegates preferred to take their influences from closer to home, but within their own cultures, they were able to find a unique anchor. Gunn Chaiyapatranum, a non-travelling artist, combined a variety of Indian and Thai influences to convey the lack of modern justice in modern Thai society. Though there was no single theme that connects all artworks together, it can be said that the high level of diversity in all pieces was the most constant aspect.
he JIS Art CulCon Team was composed of five girls, most of whom came from different grades. Despite this, they all got along exceptionally well and had an incredibly positive outlook on each day. When asked about the difference between this years CulCon compared to ones of previous years, Beatrice Karabaczek replied that its much more organized, and also the people are really friendly. I love Manila. Despite Despite having a new teacher coordinator, the team was able to adjust well and have now developed a good relationship with their mentor. Thus demonstrating their ability to adapt to changing situations. Team captain Soo Yeon Lee said [she] is leading the team so [she] feels pressured yet motivated. Luck- ily, their team dynamic was very cohesive, as delegates relied on each other for support. Instead of argu- ing over ideas, they were able to come to well-thought out conclusions without any arguments. An exam- ple of this is the team photo that they had to take. Instead of fighting over how it should be taken, they agreed upon using an artist reference to use as the basis of the photo. The overarching style of their art- works bordered more on the observational. Many of the pieces were realistic representations of objects and forms, and were expressed through a variety of media. Unlike other IASAS schools, the JIS CulCon Art Team seemed to have a heavier anchor that united their individual artworks.
he ISKL all-girl delegation worked with quiet concentration, while maintaining a mellow and friendly aura. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the team was their passion for art. Participating artist Kayla Cook was so deeply involved with the artistic process that, [She didnt] think there ha[d] been one day this entire school year where [she] hadnt been in one of the art rooms working on a project, sketchbook page, or ceramic piece. This truly says something about her dedication and passion to art. The ISKL panthers passion was not only shown through their pieces, but through the artistic process as well. Min Jin Kim, a junior and first time delegate, can focus so intensely on her work that she can well. spend hours on one painting without noticing how much time had passed. Another aspect of this schools delegation that set them apart from many other schools was the diversity of each delegates background. Together, the delegates represented an assortment of different countries. Ranging from Aus- tralia to Japan, the teams viewpoint was very international. According to delegate Ayumi Fukuda, this allowed them to view different works in different ways. Furthermore, the identity of each piece was unique to the identity of the artist who created it, resulting in an array of different approaches and styles. One would expect that the vastly different backgrounds would create a void between delegates, but re- turning delegate Sara-ling Maltesen disputes this, as she commented [they] are all friends, and get along really well. All delegates were exposed to art from a young age, such as Ayumi who used to dress up [her] Barbie dolls. As senior Samantha Beatty said, I met people who were involved with art, and thats how my circle of friends developed.
he SAS CulCon Art Team consisted of five senior delegates: four girls and one boy. Most of the delegates have been taking art classes together since freshman year, making them a closely-knit batch. Many of them gained an interest in art at a young age. SAS eagle Claudia Vesga grew up in an artistic environment, as her uncle sculpted animals out of clay, and her mother pursued art as a hobby. Similarly, artist Rachael Hyde started becoming interested in photography at a young age, and was encouraged by her family to pursue art. The SAS Team was selected based on their versatility, which was demonstrated through through their ability to create a range of artwork. The emphasis on diversity was something SAS has been known for, as shown by the many 3D ceramic pieces SAS often brings, compared to the other IASAS schools, who tend to stick to 2D. Although this desire to branch out into distinctive mediums came with a consequence, as one of the sculptures required that the delegates disassemble the piece in Singapore and reassemble it upon arrival. The intricacy of the SAS art pieces was truly a testament to the artists commitment to their work, and the creativity that drives them. Furthermore, the multifaceted artistic artistic talents of the SAS delegates was exemplified further in the unique styles of each of the CulCon delegates. As Rachael said, We take our passions and put them into our art. I wouldnt say that our art, as a team, is similar at all, but within each of our individual art there are similarities. As differentiated and contrasted the delegates and mediums of work in the SAS CulCon exhibition seem to be, their art was united by the common passion to explore creative boundaries and pursue profound ambitions.
lthough the delegates of this years TAS Art Team did not know each other well prior to IASAS, they agreed that they got along well and were able to learn from one another, as their styles were all very distinct. While there are no themes that encompass the work of the whole group, each students style of art was particular to their personal dispositions. As delegate Hae Jin Park put it, I show my emotions with art. She has often been told that her artwork reflects her personality, as she favors pen or pencil on paper as a medium. Fellow tiger Cinthia Chen, on the other hand, described herself as very freestyle, and said that she likes things that are outside of the box a bit crazy. She strives to evoke emotions in and people, as she felt when she was recently exposed and inspired by modern art in New York. David Yu is another delegate that was inspired by his recent travels to countries such as Vietnam and China. In his experience, David stated, You learn so much from different cultures. When Im traveling, I love captur- ing genuine, candid expressions. IASAS CulCon not only enabled the different artists to show off their work and personality, but also practice talking about their pieces seriously, which is good preparation for the IB showcase that the TAS students will have later in the year. However, with the imminent exhibi- tion, the students feel added pressure. Cinthia says it can be hard to balance what you like to do in art, and what people are expecting, as pieces may be considered as controversial, or may not adhere to the norm. In spite of this, the TAS delegates have graciously offered their unique personalities to CulCon, whether with a paintbrush or a lens.
The artists filed into the Fine Arts Theater lobby to proudly hang their own artworks as the first day of IASAS Art Cultural Convention began. Don Salubayba, a Filipino artist, hosted the first workshop of Art CulCon 2013, and gave a brief lesson on photo transferring to the eager faces of the delegates gath- ered around. As the process was demonstrated, questions shot up: How long do you rub the paint in for? How can you tell if its dry? Even several jokes were made, reflecting the light and casual at- mosphere. Sara-Ling Maltesen an artist from ISKL, described Art CulCon as chill and mellow, as you can have fun and create your own piece. Joanna Hirsch from ISM described her first Art CulCon as a lot less stressful that [she] thought itd be. Joanna highlighted the perks of the individual work- shops, which were like a large art class with people from different schools, where they were able to get to know each other and see how other students approach things. At the end of the first long and fruitful day, students went home with a wider array of ideas to start the next day
Day 1 -February 28
Highlights
Day by Day
Day 2 - March 1
The The second day of art CulCon 2013 began with a walk around Fort Bonifa- cio, a means for students to gain inspira- tion from city sculptures. Filled with many large sculptures made of different styles and media, Bonifacio Global City was the perfect place to showcase con temporary Filipino art. The walking tour was followed by Filipino Rencie Santos jewelry-making workshop, which JIS artist Miki Matsuyama said she looked forward to, as it [was] fun, especially for girls, because the jewelry can actu- ally be worn. The atmosphere of the workshop was very relaxed and merry, with frequent jokes, such as, Im gonna make this for my wedding ring! being accompanied with a chorus of laughter. Furthermore, students learned new tech- niques from the various workshops, and gained new insight into different styles of art. JIS artist Sooyeon Lee learned that some schools value 3D works more than others, whereas JIS is heavily weighted more on 2D and illustrational works, and hoped to apply her new- found 3D art skills from the workshops to her future artworks. Once again, the day concluded with open studio projects and shared critiques from the student artists. From these unique experiences, gifted artists from all six differ- ent schools were able to create a network of ideas.
Honestly, its the IASAS group. I really loved everybody. All the support from Ms. Mo nsod and everyone is just amazing. I couldnt ask for a better team. Michelle Rabaya, ISM, Grade 11
and being inspired by g other performances Watchin them. de 10 Justin Smith, SAS, Gra
Traveling, learning
ures.
emselves. I finished s and other peers th Our coache st so excited for shows and now Im ju watching all the year. what we're doing next Liz Kang, JIS, Grade 11
Carrie Dwyer
4 Year Particip
International School Kuala Lumpur Dance
Carmen Kromhout
Seira Fujii
Sanders McMillan
Taipei American School Drama
Anna Masecar
Credits
Daniel Um Andie Ayala Almira Silva Head Graphics Designer Editor-In-Chief
Dance Section Editor Isabel Benares Charlene Mamaril
Graphic Designer: Head Photographer
Managing Editor
Jennifer Lim
Writers:
Joshua Sorono
Writers:
Panchalee Perera
Writers:
Anton Delgado, Ashley Miller, Daniella Mutuc Jacob Hobbins & Christina Park & Sami Um Photographers: Photographers: Siya Piparsania Mika Limcaoco & Julian Taruc & Kristen Mirhan