The Chinese and Vietnamese fan dance has existed for centuries. It was developed to share stories, preserve culture, and communicate feelings without words. Here at Renton High School, we value what is important to our students and staff. Each year during Multi, students perform different dances to express their culture and connect with their peers. The fan dance is a fan favorite! I interviewed Makayla Diego, a Junior at Renton High School, a member of ASU, and a participant in the fan dance, to get an insight into what it is like to be part of Multi.
What made you want to do Multi?
“My friend inspired me to do multi even though the dance was not from my country, I still enjoyed learning about it and performing. At practices you have a chance to make new friends, which I wanted to do, I like talking to new people, socializing as well as hanging out.”
How has your culture been represented here at Renton High and in Multi?
“There is a club here, Filipino Student Union, I see my culture being represented through the performances. There are a lot of Filipino dances in Multi, I just haven’t had the courage to join them.”
What is your favorite part of Multi?
“Performing in front of students and showing my family that I can do something that I like and am proud of, also that I’m not lazy.”
What is your least favorite part of Multi?
“What happened this year was we had snow days which ended up cutting the dress rehearsal time. Which had me worried. It was not that I was unprepared, but practicing is different from being on stage. I was worried that I would not know where to stand on the stage, and when people looked at me, they would think, oh, she is doing bad or that she messed up. Another thing that I did not like was when people dropped out last minute and others that did not put in any effort to do anything.”
What does your schedule look like with Multi and practice?
“I’m not much of a busy person, my practices were two times a week, which was not that bad, they were on Wednesday and Friday. Fridays, I also had Key Club, it did overlap, but practice was long enough where I could still go to it after one meeting. Overall it wasn’t that busy for me.”
Do you have advice for anyone interested in doing Multi?
“You should do it because I wanted to do it my freshman year. I said I would do it my sophomore year, which did not end up happening. I never did it because I was too scared to actually join so I got to do it my junior year.”
What events/dances are you doing?
“I am doing fan dance for ASU, both modern and traditional. I’m also doing traditional umbrella dance for ASU as well.”
Is there anything you would like to add?
“Do things that you want to do before you look back and think oh I should have done this sooner and have regrets about it. Also come watch the show please.”
Here at Renton High, Multi is a week that students and educators all look forward to every February. It is a way to learn and experience the different cultures of our fellow students. It’s a celebration of creativity and cultural expression. The week concludes with a series of performances that is open to the public, allowing everyone to witness the memorable performances that highlight the hard work and dedication of our diverse students.
