International Night is WS’s annual display of cultural diversity. For several WS cultural clubs and societies, I-Night is one of the biggest events of the school year, giving students the opportunity to share their traditions with a large audience and to see their identities reflected on stage. For the Eritrean Ethiopian Club (EEC), I-Night is the highlight of the year.
Even though I-Night is on March 27th, EEC has been diligently practicing several times a week for the past month. This is especially important when coordinating several different performances as it gives students a chance to perfect their choreography before getting up on stage.
“We try to have practices three times a week, but if not it’ll be around two times a week,” said senior and EEC officer Semawit Varghese.
While EEC hasn’t performed in I-Night every year, the club officers felt motivated to organize performances this year in order to carry on the tradition that previous club officers have established, allowing the club’s presence to be continued at I-Night.
“The people that ran the club every year beforehand, I’m pretty sure they did every single year except for sophomore year, but we just decided to carry on the legacy and just to represent Ethiopia and Eritrea,” said Varghese.
Currently, EEC is doing nine performances. Saho and Tigrinya to represent Eritrea and Hiderab, Tirri, Shagoye, Eskita, Wolayta, and Guarage to represent Ethiopia. Multiple performances allows EEC to reflect the cultural diversity within Eritrea and Ethiopia, as both countries are composed of over 90 tribes and ethnic groups in total.
Some students opt to perform multiple dances, giving them the chance to represent multiple regions. However, performing multiple dances comes with a large commitment. Students often have to stay after school for several hours while also balancing academics and other extracurricular activities.
“Since I’m doing four dances, it can be a little bit difficult because staying after school for such a long time, it kind of takes away from the time that I need to study and focus on my other goals,” said junior and member of EEC Rebecca Samuel.
However, the process for preparing for goes the fashion portion of I-Night is slightly different then the work that goes in to prepare for dance performances. Rather than choreographed performances and rehearsing dances, those participating in the fashion show walk the stage by themselves or with a partner, and they do a small informal performance.
“[The fashion show] is a matter of finding out what you’re doing, and then completing it. We just pick out the music and then we go over how we want to walk out or do a dance,” said junior and EEC member Feker Kebede.
In spite of the rigorous preparation, students are still fulfilled and find participating in I-Night worthwhile. Since students gather together for multiple practices a week, they are able to build community within their cultural diaspora and bond over their culture.
“I met people who are also from the same culture and we’re able to represent our culture together,” said freshman and EEC member Etsub Showgande.
EEC is proud to represent their culture, and all their preparation will culminate at I-Night. If you’re interested in seeing their performances, come support EEC along with other clubs on March 27th.
