Macleans College debut Bollywood and Chinese Dance at ASB Polyfest
Posted on June 01, 2021
Macleans College showcased two successful debut performances in the 45th year of ASB Polyfest.
The popular annual festival is a showcase of New Zealand’s diverse cultures and a celebration of youth performance. This year, following a two year cancellation due to the COVID-19 epidemic and the 2019 Christchurch Mosque tragedy, the festival had 49 schools, 160 cultural groups, and 8,000 student performers on six stages with one common theme: "Mā roto mai i te Ahurea whirikoka, ko te whakaora tinana, hinengaro, wairua me te ira tangata" / “Healing the body, mind, spirit and soul with the strength of Culture”.
Two groups that performed on the Diversity stage were both led and choreographed by Macleans College year 13 students. The Bollywood/Indian Dance Team was led by Medha Penneru (Kupe House), Aditya Nair (Batten) with support of Mrs Raewyn Ashby; and the Chinese Dance Team was led by Peggy Pang (Batten) and Doris Li (Kupe) with support from Mrs Doris Xu.
The ASB Polyfest, as one of the most recognised events on the Auckland calendar, features traditional music, dance, costume and cultural speech competitions, and provides an opportunity for youth to confidently express cultural identity and celebrate the diverse cultures that exist in Aotearoa.
Students competed on five stages, performing traditional items from the following cultures – Cook Islands, Maori, Niue, Samoan and Tongan. The Diversity stage featured performances from a range of cultural groups including Fijian, Tokelau, African, European, Asian, and African.
