Performances from Around the World

The annual International Student Alliance Greetings and Performances showcases the talents of our vibrantly diverse community.

This year’s celebration featured MHS students and adults from 26 countries offering greetings in their native languages, and 40 students performing dances and music, many in traditional clothing, bringing Centennial Hall alive with the sights and sounds of more than two-dozen cultures.

The event was paired with Global Foods Week, with Chef Russ and the MHS Culinary Services Team amping up the MHS lunch and dinner menus with recipes contributed by students and adults and featuring favorite foods from home.

ISA co-Head Fiona Lu ’26 and junior class ISA Rep Noya Samara ’26 opened the event by welcoming performers and guests. Students and adults from twenty-six countries then took center stage to offer holiday greetings and/or New Year’s wishes in the languages of their home country. Seventeen amazing performances then followed!

Hyeon Jung ’26 performed a Korean dance with traditional and modern dance elements

Sisters Fabi Romero ’26 and Vale Romero ’26 sang “Nunca es suficiente,” a popular Mexican cumbia song often sung at family get-togethers or with friends

Chloe Muellers ’25 and Rose Garrison ’27 (joined by special guest Aibhlinn) performed a traditional Irish dance

Ing Chenkulprasutr ’26 and Ploy Jongjaroonrungson ’26 sang a song from Thailand

Lu Sanchez ’28 performed a traditional Flamenco dance from the south of Spain, with a guitar accompaniment by Izzy Stewart ’28

Paw Nguyen ’26 and Phuong Huynh ’25 sang the Vietnamese song Di Ve Nha

Jane Ye ’27 performed a unique and modern dance that included elements from traditional Chinese dance

Noya Samara ’26, assisted on stage by nine friends, taught the community two dances from Jordan

Aastha Rai ’28 on guitar and Aurora Mills ’27 on keyboard, then played an instrumental piece called “Raabta,” a Hindi song from India

Helena Liu ’27 and Yoyo Xu ’27 performed the song, “Qian Si Xi,” featuring piano and the traditional Chinese zither, called the Guzheng

Anri Teraoka ’25 and Arisa Hirosue ’28 shared traditional Japanese calligraphy, which was captured in-progress and shared via the hall’s large projection screen

Yoyo Chen ’26 and Amanda Xie ’25 sang the Chinese song, “Yi Cheng Shan Lu”

Alice Zi ’28 sang “Fu Guang,” or “The History,” a traditional Chinese song

Sherry Zhang ’27 performed a traditional Chinese dance called “Bi Shang Guan”

Kyana Chainani ’25 and Casey Lai ’25 sang “Semoga Bahagia,” a children’s song in Malay that they sing in Singapore

Ivy Kay ’25 and Becca Kitonga ’26 danced “Amukira Ngatho” to an accompanying cultural gospel song from Kenya

All the performers and greeters then joined on stage for a rousing community dance to “Magic in the Air,” by Magic System.’

Thank you to ISA co-Heads Emilie Coziol-Desy ’25 and Fiona Lu ’26; ISA Reps Noya Samara ’26, Hyeon Jung ’26, Stella Le ’25,Anri Teraoka ’25, Kyana Chainani ’25, Shahla Royesh ’25, Prianka Singh ’27, Arianna Ndongmo ’26, Zuzana Valovicova ’26, Maddie Minkler ’28, Eileen Zhu ’28, and Kaja Knezevic ’27; and Advisor Tanya Kalischer for pulling together this international extravaganza!