by Carolina S. (LK Englisch, Q1)
The 20th anniversary of SESB, an event which took place in the Russian House and brought together many participants from the SESB schools. On the 27thof September the Russian House became an assembly point for Berlin’s multicultural schools, each one of them having prepared their own show. Songs and theatre scenes were performed in different languages, as well as international dancing and poetry. Speeches were given by acknowledged personalities, amongst them the representative of the Russian House himself, to form a prelude to the event and many thanks were expressed.
A musical performance on drums started off a series of entertaining contributions, by a Portuguese school which included rhythm of all kinds. After that Year 7 students from the Peter Ustinov English-German ISS school performed a play about a homeless musician. One of the famous songs from the movie ‘Les Choiristes’, “Voir sur ton chemin” was sung by a Franco-German choir, which afterwards also performed Zaz’s “Je veux”. Both songs were evidently well rehearsed and the sound was enchanting. A second play was performed, called “The Cooking Competition” which included more than three different langu ages including German, Italian and Turkish. From time to time the script was spontaneously changed, due to actors who forgot their text or left the stage. This, however, didn’t at all disturb the audience, since some actors were indeed very talented.
The next school’s representatives had Italian as their second language after German and recited poems written by Primo Levi, an Italian author who lived during WWII. This part of the event truly evoked profound thoughts among the audience. After that the song “Back or White” by the King of Pop, Michael Jackson was performed by young singers and a self-made rap was added to it.
Of course the Schiller-Gymnasium couldn’t be missing on such an event and scenes of Shakespeare’s most famous plays were performed on stage by a few 12th graders who acted more than fabulously and entertained the audience with typical Shakespearean language. A Russian school offered three very well rehearsed performances, one being a traditional dance with long, sparkling dresses. The second one was a quicker dance including electro swing music and acrobatic elements. The school’s third performance was a song, sung by two older women accompanied by a choir. Talented representatives of the following school sang Polish songs, while their teacher accompanied them on the piano. Identical clothing added to their image as a group. Last but not least students from a school in Steglitz ended the show by dancing to Greek music.
Altogether the show indeed celebrated this special event and the variety of performances not only entertained the audience, but also showed how much can be achieved when different cultures work together. A worthy show in honour of the SESB’s 20thanniversary and indeed an entertaining afternoon.
