Colonia High School’s annual “Fusion” took place May 8th, 2014 from 6-9 in the school’s gym. “Fusion” is a multi-cultural club within the school for people of all different cultures. The club has a night for all of their members and they offer food, performances, a fashion show, and even henna tattoos for $3. The night is full of people from all different countries showing the rest of the school where they come from. Tickets were $8 in advanced and $10 at the door.
I have never had the chance to experience “Fusion” in all my years at Colonia, between work and different clubs; I was somehow always busy the day of Fusion. Because it is my last year, experiencing Fusion was something I definitely wanted to do. A mixture of comments – both good and bad – were being made about the previous events but I wanted to experience it myself.
I walked in and paid my $10 and was a little iffy because the only decoration I saw was a blue poster that was decorated and said “Fusion” but that opinion was turned away when I walked into the gym and saw a mixture of reds, oranges, and yellows. There were flags of various countries on one wall, balloons that spelt out “Fusion,” and more. The DJ, senior Brittany Martins, was playing the latest hits and really worked well throughout the entire show. The night had a great turnout – all of the tables were filled – to the point where I sat on the floor for the first couple of minutes until a seat opened up.
Around 6:15, it all started with the Emcees for the first half of the show – seniors, Geoffrey Glinn and Gurvinder Sidhu – they really pumped up the crowd and anyone can tell that the rest of the night was going to be eventful. The National Anthem was then sung by Brielle Frage and Selah Sassone and both of the girls did a fabulous job to the point where the audience started clapping before they were even done. The AcaPatriots were on next and the program indicated that they were supposed to be singing a Michael Jackson medley but that wasn’t the case when they started to sing a different song. Although I didn’t get to jam out to MJ, I did thoroughly enjoy the performance. The AcaPatriots were loud enough for the entire gym to hear and they all really put on a great act.
More performances came and went. A duo of dancers – Niharika Padala and Nicole Sinanan – put on a beautiful and graceful dance. Although the song started off wrong and the audience was incredibly loud during their performance, they knew exactly what they were doing and it was exciting to watch. Senior Anastasiya Kaspruk was next and sang a Ukrainian song and although I had no idea what she was saying, the audience got really into it and one could tell that she was just having a really good time performing.
Next were the magicians and I was completely mind blown with their multitude of acts. Junior, Isiah McCall opened up the show. He was explaining how he promised his friends that he was going to wear a suit but just came from work and didn’t have time to change. Within a matter of time, he turned around and was wearing a completely different shirt. I, as well as the rest of the audience was amazed. McCall then chose a volunteer and told him to do exactly what he did. They shook a little piece of toilet paper around and then McCall put the piece in his mouth, as did the volunteer, but when McCall started pulling it back out, it was a long string of paper while the volunteer only had the crumble up piece. His partner Giancarlo Paone was next and continued the mindblowing performance. The audience was really involved now when he introduced his act “Déjà vu.” Paone started tearing up a newspaper, to the point where it was in pieces, then he threw it up in the air and the newspaper was back together. It was truly amazing.
The “J-Poppers” were next and to be honest, some of the members were more into the dance than others. Some were so involved that they dropped their glasses from dancing so hard while some were leaning towards the back. The audience was really into it. Then a duo of singers, Christine Silvana and Keiko Kereh, came up and once again, the program said something different rather than what they actually sang so it was a little confusing. The microphones for both girls were going in and out so it was hard to hear at points; but overall, the girls were just there to perform and they did a good job.
Dinner was next and this is where everything started to get discombobulated. The emcees announced dinner so everyone was ready to go but then they announced they were going to call up tables. Calling up tables was difficult because the numbers were being pulled out of a basket. So at times tables 1, 14, 22, 23, and 7 were going all up at once and it was hard for people to get through. At one point, I think they just stopped calling numbers because everyone got up and went to get their food. The lines were long even though they had two lines for food. Apparently they had pizza and a variety of other entrees, but by the time the last couple people reached the front, there was hardly any food left. People were going up for seconds before others even got their first serving. But it was nice because some of the individuals serving food dressed up as their cultures so it was nice to see where they’re from.
I think dinner took longer than planned because I just about got back to my seat and they were already starting the second round of performances. The audience wasn’t paying attention as much as they were the first half, which was disappointing because the performances were really entertaining. Senior, Elizabeth Ilelaboye, sang “Tattooed Heart” and although it was hard to hear, it was a pleasant performance. Selah Sassone and Brielle Frage were back for round two with a Spanish song. These girls sang well beyond their years and the crowd reacted well. Next came Nazia Choudry, sophomore, with a dance medley. Although she was a great dancer, because it was a medley, there were different songs that had played but they would stop and then start when the next song came. Naz looked almost confused because even she didn’t know when the next song would come.
Senior, Taylor Salotti, performed a beautiful rendition of the song “Human” by Christina Perri. Salotti really took the stage and the audience was cheering her on the entire time. Geraldine Pampo was next and she sang the new Disney classic, “Let it Go.” Pampo brought in her guitar to help but the guitar was so low, I couldn’t tell she was using a guitar until the person in front of me got up. During the performance, one of the emcee’s brought a microphone up to the guitar so the audience could get the feel of what she sounded like with the instrument. At the end, the audience’s clapping was so loud, it overpowered her voice.
Around 7:45, the anticipated “Dragon Dance” occured. With the traditional Chinese music playing in the background, the “dragon” came out for a little surprise. The entire crowd really liked it and the even though, it was a quick thing, it was really exciting to watch.
The Fashion Show was next and there was a variety of different outfits showed. From American to Indian, many outfits were well put together and it was interesting to see what other cultures wear. In the beginning, the lights were off but when it was realized that it was hard to see, they came on and it helped a lot. The couples paired together would do a cute little routine at the end and it was just really enjoyable to see how happy the members were. At the end, the entire club bowed and the advisors thanked everyone for coming.
The last round of performances really set the bar high. Junior, Sam Arencibia, put on a high-energy performance with a mixture of color guard and dance. It was incredible to watch and the audience was in awe with every move he did. Next came a band that did covers of rather new alternative songs. Members Jeffrey & Anisha Cherian, Ezequiel Orellana, William Cortes, and James Cavalieri put on a really great set. In the beginning, there were technical difficulties and when they finally started, the band was overpowering the singer but the crowd was really involved with it and at the end, they received a standing ovation.
The next dance, “Do it Desi,” included Shyama Shah, Janki Shah, Pankti Shah, Shivani Shah, and Bijal Patel. It was well-performed and everyone knew exactly what they were doing and were all in unison. It was really cute. The next singing duo made me feel like I was at a concert. Tiffany Arokiaswamy and Meme Cisse were made to be performers. They interacted with the audience and made the stage their own.
Anastasiya Kaspruk and Sam Arencibia were back with an amazing dance performance of once again, the new Disney song, “Let It Go.” I was in awe as I watched Arencibia flip Kaspruk in the air and all of the other moves they did. They were followed by the “Jinglets” – Geraldine Pampo, Madison Kaye, Kaitlyn O’Donnell. They sang Cee-Lo’s “ Forget You” and it was loud; I think they weren’t aware of how close they were to the microphone.
Then was the moment everyone was waiting for – the senior dance. The performance started off with all of the seniors dancing and then they split up into little groups. Watching the little groups was like a cheer competition and seeing who does better but it was fun. Anyone could see that the seniors really enjoyed the club and the performance was well put together.
In the end, an event that I personally thought that I wouldn’t enjoy turned out to be something I wish I went to every year. The members really put a lot of time and effort into making this “Fusion” a wonderful night for students, parents, and teachers.
