Spanish Cultural Night Celebrates Music, Dance and Cuisine

On March 8, Harker’s Spanish Honors Society held its annual Spanish Cultural Night at the upper school gym, which was attended about 75 current and former Spanish students. Attendees dined on eight varieties of paella, made by students Mabel Luo, Anika Gupta and Krishan Kumar, all grade 11, and Maddie Dawson, grade 12, with the guidance of upper school Spanish teacher Diana Moss. Attendees enjoyed a series of wonderful performances, each showcasing a selection from (or their own works inspired by) Hispanic cultural, starting with a poetry recitation by Nathan Dalal, grade 10. Musical performances were given by guitarist Shreyas Parthasarathy, grade 11, pianist Carlos Johnson-Cruz, grade 12, and vocalists Avi Nayak, grade 11, Nina Sabharwal, Nayeon Kim, Isha Patnaik and Rohan Chandra, all grade 12.

The musical acts were followed by a series of dance performances. Vasudha Rengarajan, grade 12, showcased a Latin dance style, while upper school math teacher Jeanette Fernandez and her daughter, Sofia, grade 4, performed a dance in the Mexican folklórico tradition. The final performance of the evening was given by Chandra, Simar Mangat, Sumit Minocha and Maverick McNealy, all grade 12, as well Nayak and Kevin Moss, grade 11, who offered their interpretive take on Latin dance.

Following the performances, Spanish teacher Abel Olivas taught students some rudimentary Latin dance steps, and a salsa dance contest was held in which Johnson-Cruz and Roshan Daran, grade 12, came away the victors.

March 22, 2013Tags: Languages