In tribute to National Foreign Language Week, Walt Whitman’s World Language Honor Society recently hosted their annual International Night. This year’s theme of “Languages Link Us Together'' was beautifully represented by Whitman’s talented students. The yearly event held after the Winter Recess aided in fundraising for Unicef with an array of great international foods to sample, while guests enjoyed dance routines and musical numbers in the high school’s Performing Arts Center.
The evening began with a Kung Fu performance by Ten Tigers Kung Fu Academy, donning beautiful dragon wear in their routine. Following this grand opening the audience was treated to songs from Thailand performed by WWHS orchestra students and conducted by senior Andrew Fogel. After the beautiful string pieces was Sarah Bruzual singing the Italian song “Io Si,” followed by Irish Step Dancers from Mulvihill-Lynch Irish Dance Studio who brought great energy to the stage for another year. On the alto sax was Nicolas Castillo playing the Portuguese tune “Chega de Saudade'' before a number of dance pieces were performed by Whitman’s Latino Heritage Club.
Back by popular demand, the Latino Heritage Club put together a Quinceañera Fashion Show, giving students the opportunity to strut across the stage in their beautiful dresses. We were also pleased to welcome back the WWHS Hellenicats as students and staff performed a number of traditional Greek dances. As for a first time appearance, we welcomed Kiery Garay Portillo, Darlyn Rosales Barahora, and Jennifer Mendez for a Maria la del Barrio Telenovela performance that everyone certainly enjoyed.
The crowd was impressed by the number of musical performances as well, including Emily Butterfield singing “La Vie en Rose” in French, Porter Chetty and Anthony Lopez singing “Obsesión,” as well as multiple musicians grouping together to perform “What is Salsa?” and the crowd favorite “Suavemente” that had spectators out of their seats and dancing in the aisles of the PAC.
The evening was a tremendous success as celebrations for National Foreign Language week and fundraising donations for UNICEF continued. Thank you to all who participated and shared their talents, and to our community for their generosity! Great job by World Language Honor Society officers, President Eliana Montague, Co-Vice-Presidents Kaitlyn Guttler and Sara Duffy, Assistant to Advisor Erin Conlon, Co-Treasurers Jillian Kobel and Shayaan Siddiqui, Co-Secretaries Lindsay Alms and Josseline Bautista, and Publicity Director Tiziana Orona-Gaber. Thank you to the club’s advisor, Ms. Aileen D'Addario, and to our World Language Department and Building Administration for all of their support!
See the show again at https://www.youtube.com/live/jJklkuTC628?si=JsRobOt2ZZu7qdwI
Ten Tigers Kung Fu Academy opened up the stage with their captivating Kung Fu performance.
WWHS Asian Heritage Club Orchestra played “Fan Dance” and “Fantasia on a Theme from Thailand.”
WWHS Junior Sarah Bruzual sang the Italian song “Io Si” beautifully.
We’re always impressed by dancers from the Mulvihill-Lynch Irish Dance Studio!
The Latino Heritage Club performed various dances that wowed the crowd.
Emily Butterfield sang “La Vie en Rose” in perfect French.
Walt Whitman’s Greek-American Heritage Club, the Hellenicats, performed traditional Greek dances by students and staff members.
New to the stage this year was the reproduction of a classic telenovela.
Madeleine Bas honed in on the piano as she played ‘Liebestraum.’
Whitman’s talented musicians joined together to perform live tunes for the audience to enjoy.
The Quinceañera Fashion Show allowed students to show-off their dresses one more time since their traditional 15th birthday celebration.
After the performances concluded in the PAC, everyone was welcomed to the South Cafeteria for an array of cultural treats for purchase in benefit of their UNICEF fundraiser.
Whitman’s World Language teachers proudly attended the annual event.