RM has always been a highly diverse school, something that its students and staff hold in high regard. RM’s diversity was showcased in its its annual Common Grounds assembly on December 16, 2016. Every year, many RM students present their culture through a fashion show, traditional dances, and other performances.

“It kind of shows that we’re not just one body. There are different components. I mean, I knew we were diverse, but it’s nice to see like, this is how we’re diverse,” junior Heather Konan said.

Many performers were returning members to the Common Grounds stage, such as the RM Dance Club. This year, the girls danced to La La Latch by Lia Kim, Whatta Man by I.O.I, and Very Nice by Seventeen, incorporating American hip hop with K-pop dance. Sophomore Rebecca Jang, who performed in her second year, spoke about the Dance Club’s performance. “I’m hoping to convey that we love to dance and we want to show the culture of Korean pop and how that brings us together as dancers,” she said.

Another member, sophomore Nimah Nayel, agreed, noting some improvements in their performance from the previous year. “I think we improved this year. We had a lot more time to practice and we put more work and effort into it,” she said.

Junior Jack Liang, a member of the Future Shock DC dance troupe, also showed his dancing talent. He performed a hip hop routine to upbeat music, earning a positive reception from the crowd.

Senior David Ramarui also reprised his performance from previous years, bringing a traditional Irish stepdance to the stage with a complete traditional outfit. Seniors Sofia Bhalwani, Shreya Sudhir, Sindhu Iyer, and Reet Goraya also performed a traditional Indian dance along with a couple of their friends. They added a modern twist by wearing sunglasses and including characteristics of modern Bollywood dance.

Newcomer freshman Lucy Ji dazzled the audience with her elegant traditional Chinese dance performance. She also used her dance background in the Dance Club performance, showing her versatility in multiple genres of dance.

Freshman Jessica Lee and senior Pin-Hsuan Wu left the crowd in awe with a performance new to the Common Grounds stage, a Chinese yoyo routine, showing off many different tricks and skills. “I’m hoping to show the students that there is a lot of cultural diversity in our school, and they all have their own cool talents and traditions.” Wu said. “This was the first time I performed, but it went pretty good, because you usually see Chinese yoyo on TV and places like that, but it’s cool to see that someone in our school can do it too.”

The BBoys, comprised of seniors Marcus Suzuki, Sherman Lien, Hugh Le, and Thawng Thang, also gave a great performance, showcasing a ninja-themed breakdancing number. Each of the members showed off their individual moves in their solos. They also incorporated the new members of the group into their performance.

“It’s fun to perform, and we wanted everyone to be able to experience the feeling of performing in front the entire school. Also, the four main members of the group are seniors, so we want someone to carry on the legacy,” Suzuki explained.

The group’s main message was to show that the ability to dance is universal. “Breakdancing is not just about strength or skill, it’s to show your character. I always like to add comedy, because it’s fun to see the reaction when I dance, that’s what I’m always going for,” Suzuki added.

Once again, the fashion show was a big success, with students wearing traditional dress originating from countries in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia. RM’s media specialist Michelle Alexander even featured in the show.

This year’s assembly was split into three different shows and this format presented a few challenges. “It was kind of disorganized, we didn’t get to perform in all of the shows, and I know some of the other performers didn’t get a chance to perform all three shows either, because there were timing issues,” Jang explained.

Nevertheless, all of the performers put on a great show once again, and RM continues to applaud the diversity of its students.

“I think, right now, especially, there’s a lot of polarization, and difference is commonly looked as a negative thing, but this assembly shows how our differences are really cool, they define who we are,” Nayel said.