Category: Arts & Culture

  • Dancers En Pointe!

    Dancers En Pointe!

    Courtesy of Ashley Lopez

    On November 16, the Long Beach Poly dance program had their annual winter show. This year’s recital included various levels of performers such as PE 10, Dance 7-8 tech, and the Dance Team. Poly’s first hip-hop dance team, H2M, was also featured in the show and gave a great performance.

    According to dance instructor, Cynthia Negrete, the show was comprised of  “everything, all forms of dance.” The range of performance for the young girls ranged from lyrical and contemporary dances all the way to character dances and even to hip-hop and Bollywood.

    Senior Megan Villaverde stated that this show was different for her: “I was able to immerse myself in a different range of styles.”

    Villaverde was “really glad to work with new choreographers and their dances for the show.” After taking a long break from the spotlight, Villaverde was ecstatic to return to the stage with her fellow teammates and peers.

    Another Long Beach Poly senior, Adrianna Luna, is in her fourth year with the dance program. Luna said that she was “most excited to be the first event performing in Poly’s new auditorium.” Luna, who was featured in a jazz and contemporary piece, couldn’t wait to show “how hard we’ve been working on the final presentation.”

    Long Beach Poly’s new auditorium has been a long time coming– and the performing arts students were more than happy to jump back into the theater lifestyle.

    The hard work paid off in the end. All of the dancers experienced the rush of adrenaline when they were on the stage as well as off. An audience member, senior Natalie Hun, said, “I really liked the different styles of the show… I had a fun time cheering everyone on!”

  • ComplexCon Clambake*!

    Complexcon arrived to the downtown Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center during the weekend of November 4 and 5. Complexcon is a curated festival celebrating urban art and street wear.

    “I loved my time at Complexcon,” said Visalrich Sopha, a JUSTICE junior. “I enjoyed seeing everyone’s style and culture displayed in one concentrated area. I enjoyed seeing some of the artists that performed such as Smokepurpp, A$AP Ferg, and Ski Mask the Slump God.”

    Some famous influencers who showed up were Pharrell Williams, Takashi Murakami, Adrienne Ho, Pusha T, André 3000, and so many others. Although this event contained many stars, it was mostly packed with festival goers.

    “It was very crowded. People were yelling and eating and drinking. I had to wait at least 4 to 5 hours each line,” said Sopha. Many artists had meet and greets such as Takashi Murakami, who signed his art and personally greeted his fans. Despite the craze and masses of people, Complexcon was a great way for fans to get in touch with the contemporary influencers of street culture.

  • Hipp Ripp

    Comic by Brandon Hipp

  • Hidden Talent at Poly

    Jacqueline Garcia is one of Poly’s few signed models. She started modeling at a young age and has stuck with it ever since.

    Garcia got her start by “being in beauty pageants because of the glamour part of it.” She said it really helped her confidence grow and allowed her to get away from being shy. Garcia got her break as a model when she was fifteen.

    She entered and won a beauty pageant called Miss Covergirl and won “scholarship money as well as the cover of a magazine sponsored by Disney,” said Garcia. Thereafter, she had photographers and agencies lining up at her door step.

    Garcia’s love for modeling still remains strong to this day. “I love the creative side of it, especially now that I’ve gotten more comfortable to express my ideas to make shoots fit my personal style.”

    With the help of her modeling, Garcia has decided she wants to pursue a degree in marketing one day. “Modeling has helped me make connections through the industry and make any friendships with awesome people who all have interesting and vibrant personalities.”

    Garcia claims that modeling is not as easy as it appears to be. “You have to be very aware of every part of you as well as your environment. It also depends on the people that you get to work with, luckily I have never had a negative  experience with photographers or designers but I have heard my fair share of horror stories.”

    Garcia has effortlessly managed to balance her social life and her work life. She is excited to see what is in store for her future and is grateful for all the support she has had in pursuing modeling.

  • Horoscopes

    What the Signs Are Doing in the Middle of the Night 

    Aries: On Tumblr

    Taurus: Watching Anime

    Gemini: Playing Mario Kart

    Cancer: Sleeping

    Leo: Admiring themselves in the mirror

    Virgo: Redecorating their room

    Libra: Doing homework they should’ve done weeks ago

    Scorpio: Plotting revenge

    Sagittarius: Fantasizing

    Capricorn: Petting their cats

    Aquarius: Drawing

    Pisces: Dreaming

  • PAAL Students Under the STARS

    On October 26, PAAL had its second annual “Monsters Under the Stars” horror movie night. It took place on the PAAL campus, which is located on Long Beach Boulevard and 16th Street. The hosts of the event had mixed feelings concerning the overall turnout.

    “The night was successful,” said Marisol Ibanez, the Activities Director and a teacher from PAAL.

    “Roughly 75 students attended. That’s approximately 25% of the campus, which is really impressive. However, we only had about two students from the Poly campus show up, which is really disappointing, because we expected a larger Poly audience. ”

    The campus was lit up with orange and purple lights, and the movie was projected on an inflatable screen.

    “The design of the campus quad is like an outdoor amphitheatre, which creates these natural steps for people to sit and chill with blankets and pillows,” Ibanez said.

    PAAL students chose to screen 1408, which is about a father who loses his daughter and becomes a paranormal investigator who stays at a haunted hotel where no one can leave. Before the sun went down, scary short films were played before 1408  started rolling its tape.

    In comparison, “PSC is basically the ASB at PAAL,” Ibanez said.

    “PAAL has no formal representation on the Poly ASB. That’s why we are working together to support one another. Mr. Puth came to show his support for the event, and it was greatly appreciated. It takes a lot of resources to host an event, and we need Poly’s support to transition our events from events that foster a positive campus community and experience to events that generate income.”

  • Camp Flog Gnaw Recap

    The iconic music festival, Camp Flog Gnaw, drew in people from all across the globe to join Tyler, The Creator. They celebrated their 6th annual music festival  at the Exposition Park in Los Angeles.  Myself and a few other lucky Jackrabbits had the honor of attending this world renowned festival. Many look forward to this year’s event, and not only for the astounding live performances, but also its carnival aspect that features all sorts of fun games and prizes.

    The various performances catered to many different genres including Lana Del Rey, Kid Cudi, and many more. The boy band Brockhampton brought to life the main stage performing one of his many great hits, “Queer,” off their latest album SATURATION. Saturday night ended with Lana Del Rey. Many of the audience’s inner 2012 fangirl spirit came screaming out, singing along to all her oldies from the Born To Die album.

    Go big or go home, am I right? That’s how Sunday felt. The energy everyone brought to the carnival radiated through the festival from the fashion and the people, to the weather and the food. Some people were dressed head to toe in all colors of the rainbow and some people were dressed in hardly nothing. Each person had their own voice that projected itself either through the exotic food they were eating  or the vibrant outfits they were wearing.

    It was gloomy, sunny, and cold, but all I could think of was that it beat walking around in 100 degrees and dwelling in my own sweat.

    Another exciting part of the festival was when Playboi Carti’s set had multiple mosh pits, people climbing trees, and  all sorts of people jumpin’ & bumpin’.

    Throughout the weekend, there were several special guests  that made an appearance: YG, Ty Dolla Sign, Mac DeMarco, ASAP Mob, G-Eazy, etc.

    But the set everyone truly looked forward to was ASAP Rocky’s. Known for his amazing performances, all anyone had to say was, it was wild, you just had to be there. 11/10 recommend, it is definitely worth your time and money. Until next year, Camp Flog Gnaw, thank you Tyler!

  • Horoscopes

    Signs As Most Likely To 

    ARIES:  Break a world record

    TAURUS: Become a billionaire

    GEMINI: Win the lottery but lose the ticket

    CANCER: Marry their high school sweetheart

    LEO: Become famous

    VIRGO: Become president of the US

    LIBRA: Win a Nobel Peace Prize

    SCORPIO: Never be seen again

    SAGITTARIUS: Travel the world

    CAPRICORN: Rule the world

    AQUARIUS: Become an inventor

    PISCES: Cure a disease

  • Activists of Poly: Lauren Calderon

    Activists of Poly: Lauren Calderon

    Over the past two summers, Lauren Calderon, Poly PACE senior, has run a successful Power to the Period community service project. Power to the Period is run by U by Kotex and with the objective to collect feminine hygiene products for homeless or needy women. She has collected a remarkable total of 8,792 products for donation.

    Photo above featured on Seventeen magazine. Taken August 26, 2017

    “I became involved with this campaign because I think all women deserve the right to have easy accessibility to menstrual hygiene. This is a campaign that I joined that encourages people, like myself, to collect products like pads, tampons, feminine wipes, etc., for women’s shelters in the community” said Calderon.

    Some of the products from her most recent campaign have been donated to women in the Virgin Islands, who were left without feminine hygiene products in the face of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria.

    Calderon still continues to accept donations and help out her Long Beach community.

  • Letters To Sala: A Preview to the Play

    Tis the Season: Fall is finally here and with that, comes cold weather, big sweaters, football, and most importantly the Long Beach Poly Fall drama production.

    Photo by Ella Christensen Drama student Toni Bravo and Teacher Linda Bon rehearsing for the upcoming fall production

    This year’s play is called Letter’s to Sala based off the book “Sala’s Gift” by Ann Kirschner. It will be showcased on November 8.

    The play is about Sala giving her daughter the many letters she received while in multiple concentration camps. While Sala’s daughter is translating the letters, a major conflict begins to rise. This play is full of thrilling emotional scenes and amazing performances pulled off by Poly’s astounding drama class.

    Be sure to support the Long Beach Poly drama department and watch this amazing play when it debuts. There will be many talented students starring in it and it will be something you won’t want to miss.

    Join us at the Long Beach Poly Playhouse on November 8th!

  • A Catwalk Dedicated to the Runway

    From September 26 to October 3, 2017, high end designers and brand names are showcasing their collection for the upcoming seasons. This is the week that has the potential to make or break a designers career. But often, the most critical fashion of the week is streetwear. Fashion photographer Phil Oh is world renowned for his striking street style photos for capturing the effortless lifestyle of a model.

    Off-White’s high-heeled boots covered in clear plastic. A modern day Diana is perfectly captured through Abloh’s chic catwalk design. Photo courtesy of Google Photos.

    Virgil Abloh, French designer of the Off-White Spring/Summer 2018 collection, revealed his inspiration for this season was the iconic Princess of Wales, Diana. Marking her 20 year anniversary of passing, he searched through the archives to surround the whole collection based off the personality of such a resilient woman. Abloh closely examined key moments in her life and captured them through his designs.

    Anthony Vaccarello, French designer behind Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) Spring 2018 collection, captivated Saint Laurent’s life from the beginning of his Moroccan garden to his self-named, unique, and individualistic brand. The show had such a large audience, some attendees were forced to stand in observation.

    Many spectators of the YSL show marveled in the glistening sparkles of the Eiffel Tower’s evening lights in the background, as well as the contemporary pieces of fashion featured in front of the monument.

    There were five cliques (or featured collection groups) throughout the YSL show. Opening up, was The Nouveau Bohemians. The Softboys, Victorian Bad Girls, Vixens, and Couture Clients With a Penchant for Clubbing continued thereafter. Closing the show were the Women With Drivers. Each portion represented the growth and surroundings Laurent experienced leading up to his designs that eventually took over the fashion world one thread at a time.

    As the hectic week came to a close, all the French designers had successfully accomplished yet another Fashion Week.

  • Poly Musicians Hop Over to CSULB for Concert

    Poly’s Concert Band and Symphonic Winds had their last concert of the year on Tuesday, June 6, at the Daniel Recital Hall at CSULB from 6:30 P.M. to 8 P.M. Most students were bothered that they could not perform in Poly’s auditorium for their final show, especially seniors.

    The concert featured two senior solos, both by Poly trumpet players, and were backed up by the Symphonic Winds band. Soloist Tatiana Tate said, “As a senior I would have liked to at least perform at least one event in the auditorium. I saw a new school building being constructed and being utilized in less time than it is taking to complete the Poly auditorium.”

    Her solo performance was movement two of Joseph Haydn’s trumpet concerto.

    The second senior solo was the first movement of Johann Hummel’s trumpet concerto, played by Justin Short.

    The Concert Band performed five pieces, pulling from several well-known band composers including John Carnahan and Frank Ticheli. Concert Band also featured Malin Hiles in “The Typewriter” by Leroy Anderson. Hiles played an antique typewriter as a percussion instrument. The percussion section played an additional piece, “Scuttlebutt” by Jim Casella.

    After the percussion ensemble, the Symphonic Winds performed a series of five pieces, including the two solos. The other pieces performed were “Noisy Wheels of Joy” by Eric Whitacre, “Inchon” by Robert W. Smith, and “Slava!” by Leonard Bernstein.

    “Inchon” is a haunting tribute to the Korean and Vietnam War veterans featuring the sounds of helicopters, simulated by bass drum heads, and ethereal alto flute solos.

    In post-concert reflection, the musicians expressed their satisfaction with their performance and are eager to begin another great year of Poly music.