NEWS RELEASE
CENTENNIAL CVI
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Centennial CVI had its first ever Diwali formal dinner and dance on Friday. While school dances are common, to our knowledge, this is the first time a Guelph-area public high school has had a large-scale cultural school dance specifically centred around Diwali.
CCVI has a variety of student affinity clubs, including "Desi Club" which welcomes any and all students who are interested in Desi culture. "Desi" refers to South Asian cultures and includes Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Nepali, Bangladeshi and Afghani cultures. At CCVI, Desi Club is open to ALL students – anyone who is interested in Desi Culture. Desi Club's goal of this event was to share South Asian culture with everyone - the whole student body – and to share the positive message of Diwali with all – light over darkness, hope over despair, love over hate, knowledge over ignorance. This was explained by the program MCs, Ava and Harsharan, as follows:
"As you may know, Diwali is a South Asian Festival that has Hindu origins but is now celebrated by a variety of South Asians including Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists and non-religious South Asians as well. Diwali is celebrated all over India, Canada, the US and a variety of other countries such as Pakistan, Indonesia, Fiji, Mauritius, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Singapore, just to name a few! Diwali comes from Deepavali – which means row of lights. This festival is known as the Festival of Lights. Light represents so many things! Light represents hope, goodness, love, positive energy, knowledge and all good things!”
This was then followed by a variety of dance performances by students. Performances included a Kuchipudi Classical Dance from South India by guest dancer, Pavitra, from Guelph's own Laasyam Kuchipudi Dance Academy followed by a variety of performances by Centennial students including a Garba (Gujarati) dance, a Tamil (South Indian) dance, a Bollywood Fusion Kathak (North Indian) dance and a Bhangra (Punjabi) dance. The positive energy and excitement was palpable and contagious as students loudly cheered on their peers as they performed.
When CCVI principal Heather Pierce spoke at the conclusion of the cultural program, she praised the students for coming together to put on this event and was impressed by the talent of the student performers. She commented on the vibrant colours along with the sheer joy and the positive message of Diwali – spreading light and love to one and all. By the end of the night, it was obvious that everyone who attended the program was pumped full of this light and positive energy!
Once the stage program concluded, the dance floor opened and the students all danced for the rest of the evening to their favorite Desi songs. It was incredible to see so many students of many different ethnicities come together as they danced and partied together throughout the evening. While the event was attended by many South Asian students, a large number of attendees were of non-South Asian background and they enjoyed themselves, while learning about Desi culture.
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