By Nomawn Shahzad
On May 6th, 2016, the arts council at Centennial Collegiate and Vocational Institute held their 2nd annual arts showcase event, featuring a silent auction and performances by the school’s students. The event was also a fundraiser for those in need in Syria. The silent auction included work created by current students as well as former students of Centennial. Artwork created by students over the semester was also part of a larger display. The performance section of the night started at 7:00pm and lasted until 8:30pm, with a 15 minute intermission to allow guests to buy refreshments and place bids on auction items. The performances consisted of dance, theatre and musical displays. It was overall a very welcoming atmosphere, and it brought together many people who shared the same passion, and allowed them to show their talent to other people.
The silent auction was filled with eye-catching pieces. A few notable artists were Shehryar Saharan, Tarin Karunagoda, Hanna Hill, and Catherine Meng.
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| “Flowering”
Catherine Meng |
“Blue Lamp”
Shehryar Saharan |
Untitled
Tarin Karunagoda |
A selection of the works done by grades 9, 10 and 11.
What I found really admirable is not only the technical skills displayed by the artists, but also the strong use of theory of colour, composition, and proportions. Erin Mulcahey, an art teacher at CCVI describes this group of junior students as competent, talented, and comparable to previous senior art students.
The performances were fascinating to watch. Many of them varied in style (musical vs dance vs theatre) and they each had their own flair to them. An example would be the very first performance, CCVI’s very own Kpop dance group. For those of you who don’t know, Kpop is a musical genre of Korean Pop music. It is often described as upbeat with precisely choreographed dance routines, and fashionable, colourful outfits. Kpop has started to become popular all over the world and is continuously rising on the charts. The group of Centennial students performed dance covers of the songs Boy in Luv by BTS and Me Gustas Tu by GFRIEND. Other dance performances were done by members of the CCVI dance team, and included contemporary and jazz-based choreographies.
The KPOP dance group owns the stage with confidence
There were many drama performances, with different plots and settings which made each of them unique and captivating. One of the most notable skits was written and performed by Olivia Johnston, and Shehroze Saharan. The skit was titled “Free As a Bird” and was about a couple breaking up, but the actors cross dressed, and Shehroze was playing the role of a rather unbalanced and misbehaving teenage girl who is contemplating breaking up with her boyfriend (played by Olivia). Megan Brandt’s “mime” scene was also very engaging and effectively performed.
Megan Brandt cracks up the audience with her mime performance
The event overall was a very fun experience, and it was exciting to see so many talented people come together. The arts showcase has only recently been introduced to the events calendar of CCVI, so it is not a very public event. It occurs near the end of the semester (beginning of May) so mark it down on your calendars, and you can contact CCVI at (519) 821-0360 in the coming weeks prior to the event to find out more details as well as the set date. We hope to raise the publicity of this event, because not many people know about the arts programs in high schools and it would be a very engaging and educational experience for everybody, as well as an opportunity to let high school students develop their skills, and further their interests. We hope to see you next year!
