So, it should come as no surprise that my students have been appealing to me to participate (I used that word advisedly; note, I did not say "perform") in their various talent contests over these past few weeks. Or, maybe that is a surprise, or at least should be -- since I've never been known as a dancer (maybe a shuffler, at most) and my singing is best kept within the confines of a large choir.
A couple of Friday nights ago, I was recruited into serving as one of several judges for an "open-mic" evening at the "I-Cafe" (that's the International Cafe that operates within the Student Union especially for those members of the Handong student body who are from countries other than Korea).
There were singers from Mongolia, Thailand, Cambodia, Korea, and the U.S., dancers from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti and Russia, a linguist from Afghanistan (who could translate any phrase posed to him into 8 languages) and even a would-be comedian from the State of Washington (an exchange student from La Tourneau University). To top it all off, the emcee was from Tajikistan. The winners, though, were all singers: third place to a young man from Korea, second to a young lady from Russia, and first to a young man from the States who played the guitar and sang with echoes of Eric Clapton.
[By the way, please do not worry -- The guy in the picture above is not trying to sing. He's actually introducing the winners of the "open-mic" contest and happened to be caught in a somewhat awkward posture. I must note, though, that his attire is quite international -- scarf from Angkor Wat, Cambodia, sweatshirt from The Oakes in Sheffield, England and cap, neatly tucked into the poach of his hoody, from Bray, Ireland].
Well, serving as a judge for the I-Cafe open-mic night was only my initiation into the world of student talent at Handong. The following week, I began rehearsing with a group of Korean law students for the annual "Battle of the Schools" talent contest where each school within the university presents a singing and dancing troupe in performance on center stage, under the lights, and on camera.
The first number our group was to perform was a four-part choral arrangement of St. Francis' Prayer for Peace -- in Korean! Thankfully, I was placed along side a young man with a strong and resonant bass voice, so following the music was rendered much easier. My challenge, however, was to get close enough to a correct pronunciation of the Korean words so that my trembling bass voice did not sound out when it should have been silent. All and all, though, the singing was a breeze compared to what lay ahead of me in the second half of our performance.
Our second number was a dance routine, and I don't mean "dance" as in the style that Bill Cosby was known to display during the opening of his popular TV show. That would have been much more my speed, but oh no! These Korean kids love to jump and kick and spin and even shake their hips and heads, at the same time! In a very smart move on our dance director's part (after she had witnessed my first feeble attempts during the initial rehearsals of the routine), I was placed in the third row center, surrounded by young students who had mastered every move.
I really have no idea how I did. It was fun, but exhausting. We were the seventh group to go on that evening, and I think we made it to the stage around 10pm. I'm told the whole thing was video-taped, but you can be sure that if it was, that video will never see the light of day (at least I hope it never will). I do remember the last move of our routine -- a coordinated salute that I'm fairly sure I managed with my right hand and on the final beat. If the performance is ever viewed again, then whoever sees it will conclude with me that I'm definitely NO song and dance man!
Here's a video I found from last year that features one of the Handong student performance groups. This will give you an idea of the quality of talent that the university displays. (I am no where in this video; it will be quite obvious).
