ISB participated in a series of IASAS Cultural Conventions (CC) last week along with the five other schools in our IASAS conference: Jakarta Intercultural School (JIS), Singapore American School (SAS), Taiwan American School (TAS), International School Manila (ISM), and International School Kuala Lumpur (ISKL). IASAS CC comprises Music, Dance, Drama & Tech, and Speech & Debate. 

ISB hosted the Music convention this year, with Dance, Drama, & Tech traveling to SAS and the Speech & Debate teams to TAS. Together, IASAS CCs made for events that truly celebrated the many unique disciplines and talents students embody.

Music (ISB)

Throughout the Music CC weekend event, 160 solos were performed in three days, in addition to multiple ensemble performances. Music is a way for people to connect. The emotions and pride that well up during performances are the same felt during the entire event.

For Junior Jeein Ahn, a two-year band delegate who plays the flute, the highlight of the event was having to learn a new group piece a day before the concert. “It was the highlight because it was so impressive.” 

On the other hand, Junior Emina Udagawa, a three-year band delegate who plays the clarinet, found the connection between teams the most memorable. “We bonded a lot with the other delegates especially the team from JIS,” she says. “They were super kind. We played games and ate snacks with them. It was super fun.”

Similarly, Sophomore Jimin Kim, a two-year strings delegate who plays the cello, says the bonds she made with other delegates is what she will remember. “Since we were hosting, it was fun to show my hostess [from] last year the campus since they did the same last year,” she says.

Freshman Jessica Im, a first-year choir delegate, thoroughly enjoyed the event, especially the Saturday performance. “The best part was when all the schools and everyone’s voices came together for the final piece,” she says. “I also loved watching the strings and band [group] … perform together. It was a terrific experience.”

Music is a powerful tool. It’s a universal language that can move anyone from any place or culture. Because of this, celebrating music in all different forms at IASAS is how it continues to be honored. “Music [such as classical music] is becoming less and less mainstream, and it only stays alive if young people perform it,” Choir Director Lindsay Fuson says. 

Drama (SAS)

This year’s IASAS Drama play, Anon(ymous) by Naomi Iizuka, is an adaptation of The Odyssey by Homer. The story follows Anon, a young refugee embarking on a tumultuous journey through America to reunite with his long-lost mother. 

The play was originally going to be performed for IASAS CC in 2020. However, circumstances driven by the COVID pandemic led to the event being cancelled. Director Augusta Harison Denby wanted to try Anon(ymous) again because, for her, it was always going to be known as “the show that never was.” Now, with the current political climate and the right team of actors, she felt she was ready to return to it. “It’s kind of painful in a way that it was timely in 2020, and it’s still timely now five years later,” she says. “[Bringing back the show] was my little way of highlighting that … we need to have more empathy and kindness rather than hate.” 

With the many enemies and friends Anon meets, it is important that the characters feel true to the audience. “I played pretty disgusting male characters that had to be very touchy with other characters,” says Senior Yaga Dudzik, a three-year drama delegate. Within the show, she plays Yuri Mackus, a sweatshop owner, and Strygal, a smuggling truck driver. “The most difficult part was getting comfortable with doing that on the stage.”

Junior Kimaya Wijesuriya, a first-year drama delegate, faced similar challenges when portraying Anon’s mother, Nemasani, as a real character. “It was such a big role to take because you’re representing all mothers who lose their kids to such a real issue,” she says. 

When performing the play at SAS, the highlight was the audience’s reaction. “Everyone just cheers as loud as they can,” says Dudzik. “It really encourages the actor to keep going.”

Tech (SAS)

IASAS Tech represents the people behind the scenes of drama and dance performances. Although they are not the most visible people in performances, the Tech delegates have one of the most crucial roles in the performing arts. For example, all of the bits outside of the actual performances such as the lighting, sound, and props fall under the responsibility of IASAS Tech. The tech team are the people who keep the moving pieces working so that the actors and dancers can shine on stage. 

“As a techie, you need to focus on everything,” says Sophmore Elie Choo, a first-year delegate for tech. “You need to focus on how the actors deliver their lines and, therefore, how to support them through sound and light. And if you’re working with dance, you need to know how they move, and when they move.” Due to these responsibilities, being in IASAS Tech can feel extremely stressful. “If you mess up, then chances are it’s gonna be on you,” Choo says. 

Despite this, being in IASAS Tech still allows for lots of fun. Senior Evangeline Choo, a three-year delegate, says her favorite part of IASAS is the social aspect. “[Tech] is interconnected with IASAS Drama and IASAS Dance [and because of that] I get a lot more connections with people,” she says. “It’s fun to meet like-minded people …who appreciate what I do.”

For Choo, the highlight of being a Tech delegate is appreciating the behind-the-scenes work even more. “I feel like being aware of how the show runs and how to convey emotion and … nuance through tech allows me to appreciate it more.”

Dance (SAS)

The theme for IASAS Dance this year was the Grotto. The piece takes the audience to the Grotto: a place filled with sirens, their songs, and a world of enchantment. 

“The audience was stunned,” says Junior Doga Ceyhan, a two-year delegate on the Varsity Dance team. The interactions with the audience, which included acrobatic elements and unique solos, made the performance extremely memorable and eye-popping. 

In particular, Sophomore Ori D’Onofrio-Johnston, a first-year dance delegate, found the audience reaction elevating. “Whether we were watching or performing ourselves, the other teams were so encouraging and into every performance,” she says. “They cheer while you perform — something I’ve never experienced before. It’s so uplifting and feels amazing. Feeding off of their energy helped me get through 18 minutes of dancing.” 

A highlight of the event was the IASAS CC tradition of the “support tunnel,” wherein each performance is celebrated by loud cheers and a tunnel formed by the other IASAS school teams. 

This was especially true following ISB Dance, which performed last at the event. While the dancers felt a sense of pressure due to the high expectations IASAS brings, ultimately the performance was a success.

“We knew we had to end the convention off strong,” D’Onofrio-Johnston says. And they did. Eighteen minutes after they began, the ISB dance team took a bow — and was immediately showered with hugs and cheers from everyone surrounding them. “It was such an incredible experience with amazing people, and I cannot wait to host next year!”

Speech & Debate (TAS)

This year’s Speech & Debate team was co-captained by Senior Jaya Baluci and Junior Charlie Doherty. Together all disciplines of Speech & Debate brought home a total of eight medals; five gold medals, one silver, and two bronze. With this, ISB won the most gold medals by any individual school in the history of IASAS Speech & Debate, a momentous achievement. 

Original Oratory 

Original Oratory (OO) is the delivery of a pre-written speech made by each delegate in advance of the competition. Speeches can range from personal experiences to opinions on current events. “I really like [OO],” says Senior and two-year delegate Jaya Baluci. “There’s complete creative liberty, and it can be something that really reaches out to the audience and touches their soul.”

Baluci,  alongside first-year delegates, Junior Sierah Georgy and Sophmore Hyolom (Kelly) Lee, represented ISB for Original Oratory this year. Each delegate wrote and delivered passionate speeches, with Georgy winning the gold medal. 

“It was genuine catharsis [to win],” says Georgy. “My speech was such a personal topic to me. It felt like I was healing a part of myself.” Georgy’s speech focused on the generational disconnect she has felt being Lebanese but growing up in Australia. “[Immigrating] created a lot of confusion for my family; not knowing where they stand with their culture, not feeling Lebanese, but not feeling Australian,” she says. 

Original Interpretation

Oral Interpretation (OI) is the delivery of a pre-written piece of literature. Delegates select and edit pieces of text, including poems, books, and plays, to fit in a six- to seven-minute speech. OI often includes engaging voices and comedy. Due to its relation to drama, delegate hand movements are restricted to prevent “acting.” 

This year, two out of three OI delegates won medals. Junior Zachariah Hall and Junior Tarit (Matt) Amatayahul received gold and bronze, respectively. They were accompanied by first-year delegate and Sophomore Weewarin (Wii) Roongtanapirom. 

“It was nice to win again after not getting on the podium last year,” says Hall. Despite winning, the highlight of the event for him was making the judges laugh. “Making people laugh is basically my job, and I think I did it very well.”

Extemporaneous Speaking

Extemporaneous speaking (Extemp) is the delivery of a political speech on current events. Delegates receive 30 minutes of preparation and two questions. They may refer to a bank of articles they have previously downloaded to answer one question in a seven-minute speech. 

This year in Extemp, two-year delegate, Junior Charlie Doherty, won gold and competed alongside first-year delegates Neil Colaco, and Raheel Parvez, who was a finalist. 

“I really enjoyed my experience and all the people I’ve met and will continue to see,” says Doherty. When it comes to “training” for Extemp, a lot of it is simply researching, talking, and giving speeches. “It’s really the practices that matter,” he says.

Impromptu Speaking

Impromptu Speaking is the delivery of a three- to five-minute speech with one minute of preparation time. Delegates are seated in front of their audience and are given two prompts — one phrase and one word — that they can choose from to frame their speech. 

This year in Impromptu, first-year delegate, Senior Aidan Menon, won silver. Together with first-year delegate, Junior Simone Liu, and two-year delegate, Senior Min Runginsapom, they made up the ISB Impromptu team. 

“For some the highlight of Speech & Debate IASAS was the extraordinary victories,” says Impromptu Coach Caroline. Hazel. “For me, it was working all together. Not only did we have amazing wins across the board, but we were widely regarded as the most friendly team.”

Debate

IASAS participates in world schools debate, a format with three speakers and a reply speech. A team will be assigned a proposition or opposition for a given motion to which they must create three substantive points to support. 

This year the team walked away with an impressive number of awards. Four-year delegate, Senior Nami Piroonhapat, won gold for Best Overall Individual Speaker, while four-year delegate and Senior Ella Wilner won bronze for the same award. Their three-person debate team, which included Senior Pam Klipbua, bested SAS in the finals to win gold for best debate team. Junior Duncan Fitzgerald and Klipbua were both ranked among the top 10 individual speakers.