Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2009, Page 133

Description:	wgtofi>trrflAbove: Junior NicoleSmolik sells lemonade at the FourthStreet Art Festival toraise money for the2009 orchestra tripto France, photo byMIRIAM KATZJuniors KevinToutkoushian, PatrickBrown, Vincent Beyer,and Tyler Lentz enjoyFriday night at theLotus Festival, photoBY MIRIAM KATZFar Left: Little Cow kept the crowddancing throughout their upbeattwo—hour show at Lotus. Little Cowtraveled from Budapest, Hungaryto play their music which includedgypsy, Balkan, Ska, pop and danceLeft: Sophomore Christine Berndtand her sister enjoy Saturdaynight at the Lotus Festival. Berndtattended an African drummingshow before seeing Little Cow andFunkadesi. photos by MadelineHAYFORDa loo^af lotusJunior Michael Ipsen was no stranger to Lotus Festival,however this was a new experience forsophomore Christine Berndt. Take a look atLotus 2008 through the eyes of Ipsen,a veteran of the fest, and Berndt, a rookie.Who were your favorite performers?MI: I enjoyed almost everything I saw. I liked the Mongolian Folk music-throat singing. I also liked the Mexicanfolk music with the dancer and the main guy had acowboy hat. French a cappella was cool too.OB: Funkadesi, they were very different and I reallyliked the music.What makes Lotus fun and a great event?MI: Its fantastic that all these diverse cultures from allover the world can convene in one place, with all theseperformers that they can pull this off with communitysupport. Im glad that they had the idea forBloomington.CB: Its a safe environment where you can have fun andlisten to music from other countries.Why is Lotus so vital to our community whenthe performers are from around the world?MI: It promotes awareness of other cultures. It enlightens people well because in the Midwest area wereculturally isolated. The fact that all these performers canbe physically seen makes music more real. It expandspeoples horizons and opens them up to new experiences.OB: We have a lot of different people here, a lot ofcultures and different backgrounds. A lot of people whoare one minded dont understand Lotus and the peoplethere.Will you go to Lotus next year?MI: I wont be in Bloomington, Im moving to Berkeleysenior year. If I could I would. My suggestion is to lookat the schedule, dont just go to dance. Try to find theoddest thing and you might like it; if you dont you canjust leave. The good thing about Lotus is that its open.CB: Oh, yes! I love music and spending time with myfriends.fourth street and lotus \| COMMUNITY \| 133
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/8155
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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