ISA’s ‘Bollywood Boulevard’ takes the stage
November 24, 2014
Naperville Central’s Indian Student Association (ISA) lit up the auditorium stage with its show, “Bollywood Boulevard,” on Nov. 22 to share Indian culture, dance, songs and more with Central students.
“Everyone knows what India is, but not a lot of people know about the tradition,” senior Sanjana Kommera, ISA board member, said. “We just wanted to show everyone how we celebrate our culture.”
Though organized by ISA, the production was not limited to only Indian culture.
Senior Cheska Bañez sang “Settle Down” by Kimbra a cappella with a looper, a piece of equipment that allowed Bañez to loop supporting vocals in the background while she sang the melody.
Central’s Urban Arts Club (UAC), an urban-style dance group, also performed. In one act, seniors Catherine Chang and Alie Charmoli, UAC members, collaborated with ISA’s seniors Maha Awan and Sindhu Pazhampally to integrate Indian and urban-style dance into one routine.
R41N, a Korean Pop dance group, was also featured in the show to highlight a part of Korean culture.
Shared Indian culture united students and put the high school rivalry on hold as Naperville North students Sarah Kristy, Megha Patel, Angel Hatia, Vidhi Raythatha and Blessing Christian performed among Central students in the production as well.
Amidst all of the dance routines was a fashion show in which students sported traditional Indian clothing as another way of expressing culture.
The ISA has been planning this show since the beginning of the school year, and it’s been quite the process according to senior Suraj Narine, support analyst and staff member who helped with the production.
“When I first heard about [the show], it was like a tidal wave since it’s so hard to organize,” Narine said. “But I let [the students] take the lead and they did a great job.”
Not only was the show enjoyable for audience members but was also fulfilling for those who performed.
“[Culture] shows you who you are,” Kommera said. “Everyone [in ISA] has their own story and everyone [in ISA] is linked to India somehow and it’s really great to support who we are.”
