HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Students of Harvest Christian Academy were among the first on island to see what the inaugural Mariana Islands International Dance and Art Festival has in store for residents this weekend.
On Friday afternoon, the auditorium at Harvest Christian Academy was filled with pupils in awe of performances by two foreign dance groups that were flown to the island to showcase their culture at the inaugural weekend long event being put on by the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency.
The two groups, Ryu Dance Company from South Korea and Ensemble Sofia 6 from Bulgaria, each drew cheers and applause from the students. School Principal Joshua Taylor said he thought it was a privilege for his diverse ca”When we have a chance to bring in extra cultural experience for the students, it’s a privilege to be able to host and you can see the way our student body reacts to the excitement of being able to be exposed to a culture that they’re familiar with, South Korea, and a culture that is completely new,” Taylor said.
In fact, although not commonplace locally, one Harvest student has a connection to Bulgaria.
“I had a student that came up to me in high school and said, ‘Hey, my mom’s Bulgarian.’ So it’s very cool to have those types of experiences,” Taylor added, before saying it was an “easy decision” to approve the performance, considering a representative from MIIDAF who coordinated the event was an alumnus of the school.
‘Something I would’ve wanted to see’
The alumnus was 2015 graduate Isiah Lagutang, the head of hospitality for MIIDAF, who told The Guam Daily Post bringing a part of the festival to the school was just another way to fulfill the purpose of hosting it.
“We thought it would be a great idea to visit the schools like Harvest to increase the exposure of the arts to the community, which is something we’re trying to accomplish by having the festival go to different parts of the island,” Lagutang said of MIIDAF, which had its first show at Astumbo Gym in Dededo on Friday night and will continue Saturday afternoon at Tiyan High in Barrigada and at St. Joseph Church in Inålahan on Sunday.
Being one of the first to see what MIIDAF has to offer this weekend, Taylor encouraged the rest of the community to take the opportunity to see the arts on display.
“I would highly recommend going. … I encourage them, there are multiple performances that are going on, so please go and see it,” Taylor said. “It’s going to be fun to watch the Ryu Dance Company from South Korea and then being able to experience Sofia 6 of Bulgaria – a completely different flavor. It’s going to be very exciting.”
Along with the two dance groups, the island can expect to see a collective of local bands and musicians from The John Dank Show, KPV and The Homies, Mix Plate and Joemoru providing a special performance at each site as well as all forms of art that include photography, food and arts and crafts.
