The IASAS Cultural Convention brings together dance teams from six big international high schools in the region — Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei, Jakarta and Manila — for a 3-day meet at one school once a year. Each team of up to 10 dancers creates their own 20-minute work for performance. It’s a showcase, not a competition, although there’s always a certain amount of circling and sizing up going on. On the whole, however, the kids are a supportive and responsive audience for each others’ work, and what great work it can be. Whether their school has a fully-fledged dance program offering several dance classes for credit during school hours or only an extra-curricular after-school dance program, the dancers (and their coaches) bring their A game to Cultural Convention.
