Last month, the annual Festival of Nations (FON) season officially began. The FON kickoff happened on December 5, and Harrisites are already working on various unique dances and selecting attire for the occasion. This season, many new FONS have been introduced, including Brazilian, Turkic, Greek, and Pakistani FONs.
The Classic spoke to the new leaders of Pakistani FON to learn about their plans for the event. The leaders are seniors Aalieza Jafri and Maliha Mahdiyat Mosharraf.
When asked about their expectations for their FON, Maliha said, “[In FON,] I am really excited about meeting new people since that is what FON is all about. I am looking forward to being a new leader, especially, and to seeing how many people will join.”
Aalieza said, “I really wanted to see representation of Pakistani culture in the school, and it is just really exciting to see how this new FON will thrive in the school community.”
Assistant Principal Ellen Fee, who is the main advisor for FON said, “It’s always exciting to see all these new types of FONs come to life, and it [also] opens up variety for our students to pick and choose [the] different cultural dances they want to be a part of.”
As for specific dances that Pakistani FON leaders plan to do, they include dancing to both folk and modern songs. Since the dances are more energetic, Aalieza said, “We have incorporated more modern songs that are more popular like “Jhol” and “Vasl.” We know that the dances might be faster to keep up with but the moves are easy to comprehend and will allow everybody to follow along.”
Maliha said, “We definitely want to provide as much help as possible, so we hope to help students practice during our free bands or during the practice sessions after school. ”
Prior to Pakistani FON, both Maliha and Aalieza had been involved in other FONs. Aalieza said, “I really had no school spirit, and I did not like staying after school. My first time in FON was actually in junior year, and I joined because my friend was a FON leader. I quickly grew to genuinely love dancing as a hobby and just making new friends.”
Maliha also explained, “I have been in FON since freshman year, and I remember just playing this really fun game with my friends and making the funniest memories. It’s not just the actual dancing that is fun but what happens behind the scenes during the show as well.”
Sophomore Tabassum Mizan, who is joining Pakistani FON this year, said, “Last year, I felt like I was missing out on the fun. My friend is also in Pakistani FON, and I wanted to join her since she is excited to do it as well. She introduced me to this FON, so I am so excited about the dances and the new experiences to come.”
On joining FONs, Ms. Fee said, “FON can definitely be intimidating but the leaders of every group will provide all the help that students need to make a smooth performance. This is surely my favorite part of FON since it builds strong bonds [in the school community].”
