The Young Americans visit Upper Primary

By Gene Cheh, Upper Primary Associate Principal. Photos courtesy of Bonnie Bajaj.

A number of years ago, a friend and colleague at Canadian International School (CDNIS) invited me for a visit. He noted that the school had invited the Young Americans, a traveling group of talented singers and dancers, to work with their grade 6 students. Not knowing what to expect, I made the trek to CDNIS, and within seconds of being together, I was amazed at the level of energy, excitement, joy, and fun that this group of 40 performers brought to and engaged with the students. The cast members showed such great care, youthful enthusiasm and sincere warmth that it allowed all students, including those who appeared shy or less motivated, to experience the joy of music, dance and working together. I knew that this was simply a must-have experience I wanted for our HKIS students too!

And finally, after four years of thinking, planning, negotiating and organizing, it was deeply satisfying to see our grade 3, 4 and 5 students walk into Church of All Nations and be flanked by 40 bouncing, hooting-and-hollering, high-fiving Young Americans. Students were given a quick introduction before being treated to a choreographed song and dance number that was met with awe and thunderous applause. Immediately afterward, students were shocked and in disbelief as one of the group leaders promised that the students would be able to perform the exact same song and dance routine in about 20 minutes. And true to what I had witnessed at CDNIS four years ago, students were soon up on their feet, working in small groups to learn the different parts of the dance led by individual cast members and performed the very same dance after 20 minutes. Amazing!

Grade 5 students continued to work with the YA cast members for three more days culminating in a dynamic evening performance on Friday, January 17 in front of a full house at Church of All Nations. The Young Americans performed a wide variety of popular hit songs and high-energy dance numbers for the first 45 minutes and then for another 45 minutes with our talented students. Students performed originally composed songs written by them throughout the week, humorous skits, individual and small group harmonies, and a number of whole-group (260 performers!) highly-choreographed routines and show tunes.

Among the amazing and many unforgettable memories I have for the week together, my favorite might be the end of the final evening when the homestay families met with their YA cast members for the last time. These families hosted our Young Americans guests, introduced them to various sights and sounds of Hong Kong and spent time together, something that parents commented as one of the highlights of the whole experience. The joy shared from performing together made for a perfectly satisfying conclusion to a week of hard work. Thank you Young Americans and we look forward to making this an annual event at HKIS Upper Primary!