10 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
THE BULL’S EYE
Charm
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
harlie Brown
BY EMILY WONG ASST. A&E EDITOR
XING YEN QUEK
SAY MY NAME - Senior dancers from Dance Team pose during their fierce performance of “Say My Name”.
Working the Floor
BY XING YEN QUEK PHOTO EDITOR
With suave male dancers dressed in suits and sassy girls in chic costumes, this year’s annual winter dance concert “Dancers At Work” showcased a variety of pieces. All dances were student choreographed by Advanced and Intermediate Performance Ensemble, All-Male Dance Crew, and Taurian Co. Dance Team. The show also featured a wide range of dance styles, including ballet, hip hop, and jazz. “Both nights came together very well. We had some technical difficulties Thursday that we were able to come back from,” Dance Director Janna Lindenberg said. The entire dance company opened the concert with “Emotions,” choreographed by AllMale alumnus and 2013 graduate Derrick Sy. It was immediately followed by group dances choreographed by dancers from Advanced and Intermediate Performance Ensemble, All-Male, and Dance Team. One performance by seniors Elijah Ang, Siham Ayoub, Alex DaSilva, Tiffany Ding, Taylor Raymundo, and Tiffany Wood to “Say My Name” showcased Ang’s attempts
XING YEN QUEK
DANCING AROUND THE WORLD- Seniors Jeremy Chan and Phillip Lee and junior Peter Kang find trouble in Paris with junior John Kim. to dance with each girl only to be rejected. DaSilva and fellow dance team members ended the first half of the concert with a Broadwaythemed piece “Thataway.” After intermission, juniors Peter Kang, Austin Kim, John Kim, John Oh, and Kelvin Pang choreographed a playful compilation of theme songs from “Teen Titans”, “Teenage Mutants Ninja Turtle”, and “Power Rangers”. The highlight of the show was senior Jeremy Chan’s piece “Around the World in 80 Days” which was Chan, senior Phillip Lee, and junior Peter Kang’s reenactment of the movie as they lead the audience through their adventures. The only soloist was senior Tiffany Ding, who cho-
reographed and danced to “Call Me Old Fashioned.” Although she ran into some technical difficulties on the first day, Ding managed to gracefully finish her piece. Following Ding’s solo was “Jungle Drum,” the traditional Tahitian dance performed by freshman Gizelle Adams and junior Megan Tse. Both nights ended with Advanced Performance Ensemble’s “Toxic,” choreographed by junior Mary Aguirre and sophomore Jason Lin. “All of the dancers did a fantastic job. There were even dancers that have never performed in one of our concerts before and ended up doing an outstanding job,” AllMale captain junior Peter Kang said.
As a child, I thought Christmas was a time of receiving a plethora of well-deserved gifts. Although we have been told since elementary school that Christmas is more of a time of giving than receiving, I, and I’m sure many others, only looked forward to unwrapping those gifts delivered by “Santa” under the Christmas tree. However, watching a certain television special put me in my place. One of the most famous Christmas specials of all time, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965) opens up with Charlie Brown confiding in Linus that he is depressed by the materialism associated with Christmas. Lucy eventually asks him to direct the school nativity play. However, Brown has trouble focusing on the true spirit of Christmas since the others want to commercialize it with dancing and music. He then tries to find a Christmas tree as a prop and settles for the smallest tree on the lot, which is symbolically the only real tree. Everyone laughs at his choice and Charlie Brown storms off. Realizing they were a little harsh, Linus and the others come back to decorate the tree and make it beau-
tiful. Charlie Brown returns and all of the characters embrace and sing “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” I was more profoundly impacted by this short than I expected, and rightfully so. As adorable Linus (the ironically bright kid who sucks his thumb) taught Charlie Brown the true meaning of Christmas, which is that the holiday is about being with the ones you care about the most, he taught me too. That pathetic little tree was a humble reminder that Christmas is not about big gifts or lavish decorations but about surrounding yourself with love and camaraderie. This 30-minute special, comprised of adorable, philosophical children, made me a little tearyeyed. Suddenly, the value of those presents under my Christmas tree diminished and my annual Christmas family dinner seemed much more important to me. This animation deserves an annual spot on the Christmas TV lineup. It is no wonder “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is a timeless short film. I hope it will continue to teach other children what it taught me: the true meaning of an overly-commercialized Christmas. “At last, the season seemed 100 times brighter. And for Charlie Brown, it was truly the merriest Christmas ever.” Just like Charlie Brown, I, too, have reached an epiphany.
Photo courtesy of blog.urbanbohemian.com
GETTING INTO THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT - “Peanuts” characters merrily sing “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT:
Amber Farago
BY VRINDA CHAUHAN STAFF WRITER
Amber Farago was born for the mic. Fueled by ambition, drive, and talent, Farago is now only inches away from becoming a superstar. From attending red carpets to recording demos for Carly Rae Jepsen, DBHS Senior Amber Farago, who goes by stage name Amber Marie, seems to be living the celebrity life. But her path to success didn’t fall into place overnight. It took years of dedication, hard work, and resilience. Farago’s performing career began at age five. She danced at Showbiz Performing Arts Academy studio for a few years, where she competed and performed at various places throughout Southern California including Knott’s Berry Farm and Disneyland. It was during this time that she discovered her passion for singing. At Showbiz Performing Arts Academy, her instructor noticed that Farago had talent and potential as a singer—potential that even Farago herself then was unaware of. Though she had no prior experience in singing, her instructor sent
eight-year-old Farago on stage to sing a solo piece. With nothing but an eager crowd and a mic in front of her, Farago began to sing. Little did she know that this experience would change her life forever. “That day, my entire family was shocked. Even I didn’t know I had that in me. When I came off stage, I had decided that this is what I wanted to do with my life… It’s crazy how far I’ve come in such a short time,” Farago recalled. Farago then began to work with a private vocal coach to refine her voice. After switching between two vocal coaches, she finally decided to work with her current coach, Lydia Mouton, a former coach to Michael Jackson and current coach to Solange Knowles. A few years later, after countless rejections from different record labels, Farago was finally signed to Impact Entertainments Co. Her love for performing didn’t end there. She auditioned for many roles for Disney Channel, including the role of Baily Puckett from “The Suite Life on Deck.” Even though she made it to the top 10 candidates for the role, Farago realized that her passion was music, not acting, and decided to pursue wholeheartedly her passions first. Due to the hectic schedules,
Farago’s life isn’t always glamorous. She has been in countless situations where she was forced to abandon school to report to the studio and is often not informed until the very last minute. Her chaotic schedule often demands her to make her career her top priority. “Sometimes my manager will tell me to meet him at the studio immediately. [Even if] I’m in the middle of something and I have plans, I have to drop all of that. It doesn’t SOFIA FARAGO really upset me RISING STAR Farago fi lms her fi rst music video, which premieres this Janurary. anymore, though, because when you look at the bigger picture, you have lease her new album and music and friendship. I know I’ve gone to know what your priorities are, video for her song “You’re My…” through a lot of tough times myand my number one priority right in January. This new album will self, so I want to let them know that now is definitely my career,” Farfeature all the songs Farago has co- they’re not alone,” Farago said. ago said. written over the past year. For more information on Amber She is currently working with “I really want to inspire girls my Marie, go to: www.AmberMariImpact Entertainment Co. to reage or even younger about life, love eLive.com