![IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Junior Zalie Mann performs “I Love to Cry at Weddings,” an ensemble piece from the fall musical Sweet Charity, to prospective students during the Fine Arts Showcase on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The showcase is a compilation of performances and demonstrations from each fine arts strand offered at McCallum. This show is put on so that prospective students can see if they are interested in joining an academy or major.
Sweet Charity originally ran the weekends of Sept. 28 and Oct. 8, but made a comeback for the Fine Arts Showcase.
“[Being at the front in the spotlight] is my favorite part of the whole dance, so I was super happy to be on stage performing and smiling at the audience,” Mann said.
Mann performed in both the musical theatre performance and dance excerpt “Ethereal,” a contemporary piece choreographed by the new dance director Terrance Carson, in the showcase. With also being a dance ambassador, Mann got to talk about what MAC dance is, her experience and answer any questions the aspiring arts majors and their parents may have.
Caption by Maya Tackett.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53321803427_47cd17fe70_o-1-1200x800.jpg)
![SPREADING THE JOY: Sophomore Chim Becker poses with sophomores Cozbi Sims and Lou Davidson while manning a table at the Hispanic Heritage treat day during lunch of Sept 28. Becker is a part of the students of color alliance, who put together the activity to raise money for their club.
“It [the stand] was really fun because McCallum has a lot of latino kids,” Becker said. “And I think it was nice that I could share the stuff that I usually just have at home with people who have never tried it before.”
Becker recognizes the importance of celebrating Hispanic heritage at Mac.
“I think its important to celebrate,” Becker said. “Because our culture is awesome and super cool, and everybody should be able to learn about other cultures of the world.”
Caption by JoJo Barnard.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/53221601352_4127a81c41_o-1200x675.jpg)
For many, it’s a dream to have national recognition. Dreams have become reality for senior Seoyoung Kong as she won first place in the United States White House Art Competition.
“I really didn’t think that I would win anything, I just kind of did it for fun,” Kong said. “But I really enjoyed the message, which was different kinds of hands contributing to holding up the White House, and holding up America and raising it up. The reaction to seeing the video of me coming to first place was like, I was ecstatic. And I was like kind of screaming and I was so happy about it.”
Kong has been creating art for years, and the recognition for her work has opened the door to new opportunities and greater exposure to her art.
“It was actually inside the White House visiting area displayed there and I was really proud of that,” she said. “I [also got] an interview with the White House historical association so that was great.”
On campus, Kong participates in 3D art, where she is learning to experiment with new artistic opportunities.
“The level of of art im in it’s like AP art,” she said. “AP 3d art and the types of artworks I like is like storytelling with art and I usually use like watercolor and pastels. But these days I’ve been trying out 3d art because I’m in the class and I am trying out paper mache and cardboard.”
Art teacher Fred Rodriguez has enjoyed seeing Kong’s progression.
“It’s been awesome to see her grow,” Rodriguez said. “She also takes some classes outside of school which is really cool to see even more growth from the work she does outside of class and then in my other classes.”
This story was originally published on Wingspan on December 17, 2021.
