Athenarts Day!

Yesterday the 15th of March, we had our first Athenarts Day. It was a suggestion that the students gave me and I thought it's actually a very good idea. We planned the outing over a few weeks, starting with some suggestions of what we could do. Some of the ideas include:

1) Going to Sentosa
2) Playing Telematch
3) Watch Movies
4) East Coast Park

Anyway, the majority decided that they wanted to watch movie and more specifically the movie, STEP UP 2. At that point, I didn't know what they movie was about as I haven't watched STEP UP 1. Anyway, it seems like the movie has lots of dancing and they seemed really insistent on watching it, so I said OK.

So what does it mean to have an Athenarts Day? For me, starting Athenarts has been a journey. A journey to find out what Athenarts is really about. A few weeks ago, I shared with the students Athenarts' Mission: BE SEEN, BE HEARD, BE RECOGNISED!

Have a face, have a voice, have a heart to care about things in the world and what's around you! We've lived too long in a world that is filled with fear... We're afriad to speak up, we're afraid to say what we really want to say. For today, don't be a nobody, be a somebody... Be a somebody who cares. Be a somebody who dreams. Be a somebody who fails. Be a somebody who fights for what you want. Be a somebody who can change the world... Yes, it sounds really big, but it all begins with a voice. It all begins with daring to be who you are, not somebody else. TO be seen, instead of hiding out, TO be heard instead of staying silent, to be recognised instead of being small. Today you shall all rise above the stars and to be one among the stars, to shine, Be SEEN, BE HEARD, BE RECOGNISED! That's what it means to be in Athenarts. And we shall have a Athenarts Day. And that day will be a day when you can be seen, be heard and be recognised. People will know who you are.

Watching Step Up 2, I feel that the lead actress in the movie really showed what it meant to be a somebody. To have the courage to speak up about what is really important to her - That the Streets is something that started to bring people together through Dance and not something that was meant to seperate people, classify them or to prejudice them just because they're not from the same background.

And to be a great performer is really to embrace the world, to embrace all of life and to dare to be yourself! That to me is really what it means to have an Athenarts Day!!!