Fifteen schools participate as … Magicians, acrobats and singers entertain at 2009-10 ACAMIS Talent Show

On February 5, Shanghai American School’s Pudong campus middle school hosted 15 participating schools in a wonderful Association of China and Mongolia International Schools (ACAMIS) Chinese Talent Show event. Approximately 1,000 people were involved in this event and took part in three programs in the competition: Singing dance, Kong Fu and Instrument Performance.  Students also had the opportunity to participate in Chinese cultural activities such as face painting, egg painting, Chinese knotting, and Dragon and Phoenix Calligraphy.   All competing students got a free event T-shirt , free lunch, and all groups received a trophy. 

The opening ceremony began at 9:30am as the Pudong campus middle school welcomed participating students by performing the dragon and lion dances.  It was a thrilling show. Our sponsor, Ms. Leanne, invited a face-changing master from Si Chuan province to entertain and amaze the students with his mysterious mask-changing skills.

The entire competition lasted from 9:30am to 1pm.  Following the competition, students were awed by acrobats and magicians. The whole day was filled with performances enjoyed by all.  

Trophies were awarded at the Closing Ceremony for the three areas of competition.  In singing and dance competition, SAS Pudong campus middle school student, Daniel Kong and his sister, Alisa Kong (elementary school) shared first place in Elementary School dance with SAS Puxi campus elementary school student, Mignon Xu. The other two SAS Pudong campus middle school dance groups earned second and third places respectively in Middle School Dance. Owen Xu performed wonderful face-changing, thus he received the first place as well. Sharon Hu from the Puxi campus high school, and Amanda Li from middle school (Pudong) won first place in the MS/HS singing category. The Pudong campus middle school also received all third place awards Middle School Singing. 

Pudong campus students also shined in Instrument competition, with Kevin Xu and Kristina Zeng taking second place and Tiffany Schnell in third place in Piano competition. Anna and Kelly Wang from Pudong won first place and third place respectively in elementary string.

In Chamber Group competition, Sam Wu and Alex Bi from the Puxi campus were awarded first place. Arial Lee and Jenna Wang from Pudong campus received second place. 

In the Kongfu session, Jaden Kidd, Matthew Easton, and Lauren Johnston from Puxi campus, and Angelina from Pudong campus took second place in the elementary school handset category, while Josh and Noah Murray from Puxi campus received third place. Mr. Yun’s Pudong campus middle school grade 7 students won first place in MS and HS handset, and Nellie Thompson, Matthew Wong, Lyle Kah, Issa Takada, Michael Dong and David Park were awarded second.

All of these awards can only mean one thing: SAS students are the stars of Shanghai! 

Irene Gu, 2009-2010 ACAMIS Chinese Talent Show organizer

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FROM VICE-PRINCIPAL JEFF ROSEN (MS-PUDONG CAMPUS):

You know those times when you’re proud to be working in education?  More specifically, proud to be working in education at SAS?  Well, Friday February 5 was certainly one of those times.  On that day, the Middle School on the Pudong Campus played host to the ACAMIS Chinese New Year Celebration and Talent Show.  Six months ago, our Chinese department stepped up and took the lead in planning this wonderful event which involved hundreds of students from a dozen schools around Shanghai including our sister campus, Puxi.  Proud youngsters from both SAS campuses displayed their physical prowess in the Martial Arts category, their musical talents on their instruments, and their artistic aptitude in song and dance.  But above all, they proved that they have been empowered. Whether in ES, MS, or HS, from SAS Puxi, Pudong or international and local schools around Shanghai kids, kids took centre stage and became the experts and leaders in their field.  The day was also highlighted by myriad Chinese cultural activities in which the SAS students participated.  All in all?  A great day at SAS!

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The gong rang, loud and clear, signaling the start of the Chinese Culture day. All around, students, teachers, and parents watched as two colorful dragons raced onstage, leaving everyone in a daze as they swirled in patterns of their own movement.

For most people, it was a fun day at school where they got to take a day off class and watch some fabulous performances by 15 different schools. However, for us it was a totally different situation.

We were at the talent show, not as audience members, but as an emcees. We both had lines we’d had to practice for weeks, and lots of effort to put in.

My partner, Madeline, and I headed straight for the Library Lecture Hall (LLH) after the opening ceremony, for we would be hosting the instrumental performances there. However, my sister and her partner, Kate, stayed at the high school gym, where they would be hosting the Kung Fu performances. The singing and dancing performances were hosted by Amanda, Wenjie, and Sophie in the auditorium.

Through my perspective at the instrumental performances, the performances consisted of many different sections, each with its own individuality and musicality. I watched as students as young as only six years old got up on stage and presented their piece of music to the eager audience. Each piece struck me as unique, while when two students performed the same piece, each student had their own interpretation of the music, making it sound different.

My sister experienced a similar performance. Each performer had the bravery and courage to go onstage and perform. Many of the performers were extremely young, and she remembers one six year old too nervous to go onstage. However, he mustered up his strength and rose to the challenge.

By the end of the performances, we were in awe, and inspired by the young performers. We found that it takes a large amount of bravery to stand up in front of a crowd of people and perform.

As we read the last words to close the competition, I felt that every student in the competition deserved a gold medal. And not just for playing well either. These students demonstrated empowerment by entering the competition, and held their places strong while we watched them sparkle and shine.

By Carina and Melissa SEAH, Grade 7 and 6,  Middle School, Pudong  Campus

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What a great way to welcome the Year of the Tiger!  If you were at the ACAMIS Chinese Talent/Competition held at SAS-Pudong on February 5, 2010, you would whole-heartedly agree with me.  However, if you missed the event, I hope I will be able to capture the spirits of the event for you here with a few snapshots of the festival presented below.

We welcomed participants from 15 international schools in Shanghai with a warm opening ceremony.  The superb dragon dance and lion dance performed by our own SAS students energized the audience and began our festivities.  We enjoyed the kung-fu performance and marveled at the skills of the special face-changing master from Sichuan province.  If ever there was any trace of anxiety and nervousness in the air when all the contestants arrived in the morning, the tension dissipated and was replaced by a sense of excitement when the opening ceremony concluded.  Each participant went to the venue of his/her event feeling more relaxed and energized.

The competition was divided into three main categories:  Kung Fu, Instruments, Singing and Dancing.  I visited all three events and found it difficult to pick a favorite.  All of them have something unique and wonderful to offer.  I am impressed with the strict discipline and artistry displayed by the Kung Fu participants.  Each and every one of them is able to combine the rigorous physical movements with a unique style of grace and beauty.  The Kung Fu events include marshal arts, stick and sword demonstration, weaponry, as well as dragon and lion dance.

While I was impressed with the skills of the Kung Fu participants, I was equally charmed by the beautiful music produced by the Instrumental participants.  The variety of talents that we had among the group was totally impressive.  The participants demonstrated their skills in piano, saxophone, guitar, violin, gu zheng (a Chinese instrument) and flute.  The audience was fortunate to be entertained by some very beautiful music indeed.

Similarly, the Singing competition brought forth some beautiful vocal music to entertain the audience.  At the same time, the Dancing division provided the ultimate sensory enjoyment of sight and sound with its beautiful choreography, colorful costumes and carefully selected music.

I certainly did not envy the task of all the judges—it was truly a difficult job to select the winners amongst this talented group of students.  At the end of the day, when the winners were announced, the excitement among the winners who brought home their trophies was contagious.  However, even for the participants who did not bring home a trophy, I think they should still be extremely proud of their performance and talents demonstrated.  In my mind, each and every one of the contestants in this highly competitive event is a winner!

By Mui Sin KOH-SEAH, Parent, SAS-Pudong  Campus