Despite low participation in an academically challenging year, the junior class carried out their sweet, “Candyland”-themed quad day performance on Oct. 17.
With only around 25 students participating in their skits and dances — and difficulty coordinating various dance formations due to even lower rehearsal attendance, the Class of 2026 managed to execute an exciting K-pop, all-boys, all-girls and group dance.
“There wasn’t as much participation as we thought there would be,” said Sophie Qin, who wrote and participated in the skit and several dances. “It wasn’t optimal. But I feel like we made the most out of what we had, and we still had really cool dances.”
The juniors chose a number of songs related to candy and sweets for every dance, such as “How Sweet” by NewJeans, “Sour Candy” by Lady Gaga and “Sweet But Psycho” by Ava Max.
The juniors also had an action-filled skit, featuring an epic quest to save King Candy — played by Bryan Zhao — from the grapples of the evil Lord Licorice — played by Nila Venkataratnam.
To add an interactive element to the skit, the performers also threw candy at the audience near the beginning of their show.
In between the dances, the skit team — composed of Sophie Qin, Lavanya Bose and Patrick Keogh — went on several “side quests” in Candyland, exploring the expanses of Peppermint Forest, Licorice Lagoon and many other candy-themed settings. They captured the setting and characters with candy cane props, inflatable costumes and a real Candyland board game.
Despite challenges surrounding scheduling conflicts with several of the participants, many of the juniors — including Qin — are eager to participate again next year, saying they enjoyed the experience and look to leave a mark in their senior year..
“Just doing [quad day performances] with my friends and having creative freedom to try and express myself through dance was really fun,” Qin said. “I love spending time with my friends this way.”
