Celebrating Asian Culture Across CPS-Annual APITAC Showcase 2024

The Annual Asian Pacific Islander Teen Alliance of Chicago Showcase was presented by the Asian Pacific Islander Teen Alliance of Chicago, an organization working towards the representation of Asian culture throughout CPS schools. The showcase was a vibrant celebration of cultural diversity and artistic expression. Ohana, Viet Mua, and Soran Bushi captivated the audience with their performances, showcasing the richness and beauty of Polynesian, Vietnamese, and Japanese traditions through dance—students from Northside College Prep, Whitney Young, Walter Payton, and Lane Tech.

Northside’s Viet Mua

Northside’s Viet Mua Dance collaborated with Lane Tech’s Vietnamese Club to perform this year. The dancers performed separately and then alongside each other in vibrant purple and teal traditional Vietnamese outfits, Ao Dai’s.

The Viet Mua girl dancers beautifully move their nón trúcs

Preparing for the Show

The weeks leading up to this day were much work, and the dance captains and APITAC coordinators spent hours preparing. The boys’ captain of the Ohana dance, Steven Tran (Adv. 406), explained how the group prepared for the big performance. He stated, “The most important and difficult thing we had to do was get everybody in sync and do the moves at the perfect time.”

Dance Styles

Dance groups captivated the audience with their renditions of timeless music, costumes, and moves from traditional cultures and more modern music. The performances showcased a contrast of traditional Chinese umbrella dance alongside contemporary K-pop style, allowing the audience to appreciate the timelessness of Asian culture.

Northside’s Korean Dance Troupe (KDT) takes over the stage

Northside’s Soran Bushi, a dance celebrating Japanese culture

Dancer Perspectives

Noah Hong (Adv. 505), a Junior here at Northside, is the Secretary of the APITAC board. He handled a great deal of the event’s planning and communication. He explained, “While being a collective of different high schools is one of APITAC’s biggest strengths, the lack of a centralized school was also the biggest challenge.” They begin planning for the annual event almost immediately after the school year starts and hope for a perfect show by February.

Noah Jacinto (Adv. 409), another member of an APITAC dance, explained, “The best part about APITAC is being able to spend the whole day with other members of the team and our friends from other schools, too. It is a really long day, but we make it a lot of fun.”

This year’s showcase was a success, and student dancers highly anticipate next year’s APITAC, expressing Northside’s diverse community.