This year’s ACES – Asian Cultural Exchange Society – concert was one of the most interesting experiences I have had at a school event, not even from the performances, but also the circumstances of the event itself.

The ACES event started around 6 p.m. and what was most interesting to me was the amount of Korean performances. I had just not expected it but now thinking back, K-Pop is much more prominent in pop culture than Japanese Pop and Chinese Pop. The performances were all great, though; I found each of the dances very fun as well as the outfits meshing well with each song. It’s clear there was a lot of work on it and I was entertained throughout. 

There was a 30-minute intermission which I found a little long but other than that it was fine. The food they served was great, so I didn’t get hungry.

The second part of the event was what was most interesting to me. When we came back into the auditorium there were a few shows. There were more K-Pop songs, but what I found most interesting was a display by Indonesian exchange students, as they had a video to go along with their dance. I learned a lot about Indonesia besides just being entertained. Overall, this segment of the second part was very fun.

However, this wasn’t all. There were bats in the auditorium and we all had to leave the auditorium. This didn’t end the performances, though – it made them better. The last few performances were set on the Commons stage to a cheering crowd. This was the most memorable part to me, as the announcers and performers took it in stride. They held games with a crowd and someone who wasn’t going to perform played a song on their guitar while we waited. Eventually, the sound system was ready and the last few performances were great. They still gave it their all and the performances were just as good, if not better. 

Overall the ACES concert, despite its difficulties, was a great experience and I’d recommend it to anyone who wasn’t there to go next year, which I imagine will be even better without these shortcomings.