The SIS Dance club (D$Q) made an appearance at the inaugural 24 Hour Race in Seoul on Sept. 12. Clad in black tops and jean shorts, Jenny Lee (12), Elle Kim (12)—co-captains of D$Q—Victoria Hahm (12), Eugene Sung (11), Janice Roh (10), and Lynette Kim (9) danced in unison to the songs “Party Favors” by Tinashe and “How’s This?” by HyunA.
The 24 Hour Race Facebook page shows that this year’s 24 Hour Race in Seoul included 136 runners from 4 different international schools and raised KRW 6.7 million in funds. Starting at 7:00 a.m. on Sept. 12 and ending at 10:00 a.m. on Sept. 13, the 24 Hour Race, according to its published schedule, had various activities, including a whip cream fight, water games by the stream, live dance performances, and a midnight vigil, all events students could participate in while running their laps.
According to Jenny, co-captain of D$Q, D$Q signed up to perform at the 24 Hour Race, eager to showcase its passion and talent. Because there was only about a week given between the notification that D$Q would be performing and the actual performance, the dancers had to piece together a lineup under significant pressure. The club met during activity periods and on the weekend to memorize the choreography for its first performance.
“Each member had to invest a significant amount of time outside of school,” Elle said. “We often struggled to coordinate and find a day and time that everyone could come to practice. Though it is always fun to perform outside of school on a larger stage with a larger audience, out of school events also mean that we are not informed in advance and that it is also more difficult to communicate with the officer who is in charge of the external event.”
Despite the serious lack of time to prepare and the various communication issues that sprang up, D$Q gave a memorable performance. D$Q was met with a responsive audience, students and tourists alike, whether they were just passing by or a part of the race.
“At the race, when we were rehearsing on the street because we had no practice rooms, tourists started crowding around us and recording us,” Jenny said. “After all of the performances, a lot of students from other schools asked about D$Q and complimented us as well. A tourist in the crowd even asked to take a photo with me, which was weird, because made me feel like I was almost famous. The recognition we received made us all realize why we love dancing and performing, and that feeling was worth beyond all of the struggles that we had had while preparing.”
Many of the runners from various international schools and other D$Q members showed their support for D$Q during and after the performance by making time to attend the performance and cheering while the six girls danced.
“D$Q showed their class through their music choice and routine, preparedness, and overall talent,” said Sabin Macklin (12), D$Q member and spectator of the performance. “For a first performance, the execution and cohesiveness that the performance displayed was really on point. Since the music and routine were a good fit for the performers, the quality of the performance was further improved. Watching the performance and knowing that they represented SIS made me proud.”