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To
help locally promote the October 2010 opening of the I-Lion
Hawaii School, Sendai Ikuei's Cheerleading Team participated
in the 31st Annual Pan-Pacific Festival in Honolulu.
Ikuei's Cheerleading is a
big hit
The
Pan-Pacific Festival takes place every year in Honolulu, where
both locals and international visitors alike showcase their
traditional performance arts. This year's festivities took place
from June 11th to June 13th. While there were many taiko drum
and hula dance performances, as one of the few cheerleading
groups Ikuei's students generated a lot of interest.
The coach for the Ikuei Cheerleading team, Ms. Yukiko Akama,
arranged their routine. "For our performance we wanted
to use an Iconic Japanese song that audience members of all
ages would enjoy." She said. "We ended up choosing
the Dragon Ball Z anime theme, which ended up getting lots of
positive feedback from the audience members. With our students
at the event, it was a great chance to raise awareness about
Ikuei's new school."
A Host Family Reunion
3rd
year Foreign Language Course student and cheerleader Itou felt
good about the Cheerleading team's performance at the festival.
"Over the three days we were there, we all were very focused
on giving a good impression for the school, even when walking
down the street. We made sure to say hello and 'aloha' wherever
we went, and I was impressed at how friendly the people we met
there were." said Itou. While at the festival, Itou's old
host family from her last visit to Hawaii came to cheer her
on. "They told me that they were very impressed with the
performance."
Meeting a Local Audience
"It
was my first time performing overseas, so I was very anxious
to see how the audience would react. I was a bit nervous but
at the same time also very excited." Abe, a 2nd year Foreign
Language Course Student, related her experience of going to
the festival. "I felt that the people there were very empathetic,
and when I rose up they rose up with me. I've never felt anything
like that before." "Afterwards" said Abe, "I
got to take pictures with the audience members and cheer together
with the little kids. Everyone there was so warm and friendly;
I will always remember my experience there. "
Hula Dance Team Performance
Shukoh students in the
Ikiiki Hula Club also participated in helping to raise awareness
of the I-Lion Hawaii School's opening. Along with Shukoh teacher
Ms. Azumi, 6 students gave a performance over two days at the
Hula Festival, wining a Spirit award from the judges.
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