On Saturday, February 11, The Albany Academies successfully incorporated culture into their curriculum by hosting many different cultures in the Taste of the World Festival. Students and teachers both contributed to the Festival by presenting ethnic foods from different countries. The benefit of this Festival was not only for students and adults to have a lively, delicious, and enticing event to go to, but also for them to learn about other cultures. All students can benefit from opening their eyes to the way different countries function.
The Taste of the World Festival included not only different treats, recipes, and souvenirs, but also various types of performances. One Indian dance performance was choreographed by me and performed by Dance Workshop. The experience taught me a lot about opening people’s eyes to my culture, and I had never realized how interested people were to learn about India. Through many hours of rehearsing the intricate style of Bharatnatyam, Dance Workshop successfully performed the dance to the song Aaja Nachle, which means “come dance with me.” Other performances included an instructional African performance and various singers. A lot of people spent hours to set up, to prepare dances, songs, and food, which all contributed to the communal quality of the event.
The event was first introduced four years ago by Madame Keegan, who was inspired by all the different cultures she witnessed in the school. She wanted to celebrate and recognize them by showcasing how diverse the community was. She hopes that the festival will carry on for generations to come and become a tradition, similar to Bacon Bat and Senior Speeches. If it were to continue, it would be one of the first joint traditions for the Academies.
Madame Keegan arranged the event this year with the help of many members of the staff, such as Mrs. Wendth, Mrs. Buran, the Parents Association, Mrs. Gorton, Mrs. Guidon, Mrs. Windle, Mrs. Teitelbaum, and Mr. Streifert. This year the event was attended by about 500-600 people, and about 30% of the people were upper schoolers. Many teachers try to make the Festival educational for middle schoolers by including projects regarding the different cultures. Though there is a lot of formal learning, the informal learning simply includes hearing a little about each culture from everyone through conversation. Madame Keegan believes that we can learn a lot about what people value throughout their culture, and the Festival is one good way for that to happen.