Aimee Teyssier
Daniella Smit
Urvi Kulkarni
Sydney Tao
Adelaide Reinshagen
Rebecca Von Tersch
Heritage Fair 2023
Celebrating the cultural diversity of Carlmont
Photo by Daniella Smit
Video by Sydney Tao
Audio by Adelaide Reinshagen and Piper Diehn
Photos by Daniella Smit and Aimee Teyssier
Visual compiled by Aimee Teyssier
The threads
that bind
Exploring the significance of cultural attire through a historical lens
This year's Heritage Fair transformed the usually dull gym with a brimming vibrancy as students performed for all of Carlmont.
The assorted textures, hues, and fabrics worn by each performer captivated the students and staff packed into the bleachers on that Wednesday morning.
“We went with a very traditional Folklorico dress that is worn by women in Mexico while dancing the Baile folklórico,” said Kara Cruzmonje, a performer part of the Latino Unidos club.
From its origins in the Mexican Revolution, the once simple yet colorful Folklorico dress has become increasingly intricate in its patterns and style. Although, the dress’ ability to bind together color and movement through its full, ruffled skirt has persisted through the years. “Our dress and dance isn’t only meant to look beautiful: it tells a story,” Cruzmonje said. At its root, the Folklorico dress is a celebration of the interconnection of Spanish and indigenous culture, as the Mayans and Aztecs pioneered the dress’ bright colors and cotton material, which the Spanish later modified for colonial wear. The traditional lehenga worn by the performers in the Indian club shares a similar history of being the product of multiple cultures. “Our dress consists of a flowy skirt and a traditional top called a choli,” said Manya Kumar. “We are also all wearing dupattas that are tied in different ways. Some of us have it tied over our shoulders while others have it tucked into our garments.” The three-garment outfit originated from an ancient draping style that was later brought to India with its conquest by the Mughals. The Mughal women’s Persian lineage, along with the tastes of native Indians, influenced the nature of the dress to resemble its more modern silhouette. The traditional floor-length lehenga skirts morphed to stop at the knee by tribal women to accommodate their outdoor work. Also altered for practical reasons, the Wushu martial arts club wore uniforms that strayed from pure tradition. “This outfit is meant for the performance side of Wushu Chinese kung fu. It’s a more modern style meant for impressive visuals and for competitions,” Raymone Cao said. The club chose to represent the performative version of the martial art rather than the fighting, reflected in their slightly modified outfits catered for visual appeal and mobility. Historically made out of silk, the uniforms are crafted to be strong yet loose fitting, and have been believed to allow for the smooth flow of one’s energy. Even with their differences, there are similarities to be found in the many outfits honorably worn by the cultural clubs at the Heritage Fair. “There’s something about watching people that have the confidence and courage to wear their culture with pride. It really inspires you,” said a spectator, Elisa Luo-Wimmer.
Writing by Urvi Kulkarni
Graphic and photo by Daniella Smit
Opinion: Heritage Fair is more than just a performance
For most students, Heritage Fair is just an annual event with exciting performances. It's cool to see what the performing groups have been working on, and it leaves an impression, but many audience members have moved on after a few weeks. After the day of the event, and once its newness wears off, they will not think more about the production.
However, any performer can tell you that Heritage Fair is so much more than just that.
2023 was my third year participating with Korean Culture Club (KCC) in Heritage Fair. One of my responsibilities as our club's president is coordinating our performance. Preparation starts early: in all four years that I've been in KCC, the second club meeting of the year is always about Heritage Fair. Practices are scheduled in the fall and typically start sometime in the winter. We figure out our song choices by December so we can adjust timing before sending the final mix to ASB.
Deciding the songs is one of the more difficult parts of planning, especially trying to fit them together with smooth transitions. We then choreograph transitions, assign center positions, and sometimes modify the original choreography, if it's too complicated. I have a little under 50 rejected demo videos saved on my computer because of this process. Call it what you want, but there's a lot of work to ensure the dance doesn't start on the wrong foot (no pun intended). Adding a fan dance last year was another difficult process. I love fan dancing, but last year was my first time choreographing one alone. This year, I ended up choreographing two while we figured out the songs for the medley. The amount of time I spent on it almost matched the timeline of finalizing the K-pop part.
The first time I participated, in my freshman year, I thought it would be so much easier. After I signed up, I thought "just learn six dances; that's relatively easy!" but forgot that K-pop dances are no joke. Learning our routines has been the most physically taxing thing I've done in my entire time at Carlmont, but it's also one of the most rewarding. I've had few experiences that resulted in the same satisfaction I've gotten from Heritage Fair — exiting the performing space after completely crushing the dance is an amazing feeling. That feeling comes from all of the work we put into the performance. The hours we spend practicing reflect how much we love doing this and represent the event's significance. They're fun, challenging, and have brought me closer to my fellow performers every year. I wouldn't trade that time for anything else, especially after seeing how excited everyone is on Heritage Fair day. I've heard people say what we do looks easy and that we put too much effort into preparing for it. That it's, again, "just a performance." But it isn't. Heritage Fair brings together people of different backgrounds and skill levels to create something awesome. It's voting on what songs to dance to, deciding which song to add for the fan dance, and figuring out how long the entire performance should last. It's hours of practice to master a deceptively tricky chorus like "Adios" and taking a Starbucks break once everyone has figured out the hand motions to "Back Door" or "Love Dive." It's practicing the choreography to the point where the songs are always stuck in your head. It's making sure everyone's having fun during practice by sharing stories and cracking jokes about the K-pop groups we like to listen to. It's helping each other put on makeup and going over the choreography three, four, five more times the morning of the assembly. It's trying not to laugh when there's a chorus of "oohs" as I open my fans and then coming off stage with the rest of my group to the sound of applause once we finish. It's looking around and seeing all of them happy about it. It's cheering for everyone else because they performed fantastically, too. It's running around with everyone else at the end of the second assembly, waving a giant flag and smiling because the entire day has just gone so well. Heritage Fair is one of the biggest events in the entire year. It can be exhausting and exhilarating simultaneously, but it's a lot of fun and fosters a sense of camaraderie among the performers. Of all the assemblies in the year, I think it's the most special.