Extravaganza
Last night, Epsom’s talented musicians and dancers took to the stage for the Black History Month Extravaganza. The evening was a celebration of extraordinary black artists with renditions and routines inspired by Alicia Keys, the Jackson 5, Prince, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Jackie Wilson, TLC, Rihanna, and many more.
The evening kicked off with a short introduction from Sir Anthony Seldon, before Nyla Obeng-John gave a heartwarming speech about the importance of Black History Month and celebrating Black culture. Billy Maguire served as an excellent hype man at the start.
Notable performances included Samara Sarprong’s drum solo of the Jackson 5’s Blame in on the Boogie which had the audience clapping along; Jacob Potter’s rendition of John Legend’s All of Me got the audience waving their arms to the soulful lyrics; more clapping during Bill Withers’ Lovely Day performed by Ellie Vetch, Lucy Hughes, Isla MacGregor Watson, Sophie Bustard, and Cat Burns; Love the way you Lie by Rihanna performed by Olivia Gioffredo; Prince’s Sometimes it Snows in April performed by Jayen Navamani; People Pleaser performed by staff members Celine Winmill, Iryna Christyakova, Rebecca Brown and Mark Bishop.
The performances perfectly demonstrated how this event brings the whole community together, with staff and students performing together to a packed audience of day pupils, boarders, parents, and teachers.
Next up were the stunning dance performances, starting with Raquel Williams, Kimberly Costa, and Angel Chan with their sassy performance of TLC’s classic No Scrubs, and then Noemie Winmill and Abi Hill performing stunning solos to Cynthia Erivo’s Stand Up and I’m Here.
The grand finale was the Dance Company’s performance to a Dreamgirls’ medley, starting with a beautifully emotional dance which transformed into a fun, upbeat performance with dancers flooding the stage. The boom of a silver confetti canon brought the evening to a close with a bang!
Epsom was honoured to host such an incredible event, and props must go to Mr George Royall, Head of Contemporary Music, the EDI team, the sound and lighting technicians, and of course the performers, without whom this event would never have been possible.
Come Taste Week
This week began with Come and Taste Week, a yearly initiative that allows the entire community to sample food from some of the pupils’ and staff members’ countries of origin, nominated by members of the EDI Society. Our outstanding Head Chef, Andy Trowell and Chef Lito researched the recipes and came up with some delicious delights, enjoyed by all.
This year, once again, the Jamaican day proved the most popular with all food gone in a flash. Chef Andy handmade over a thousand beef and vegetarian cocktail patties!
The Art Show
The Art Show showcased striking work from pupils and Old Epsomians, all budding contributors to the British Art Scene. This year’s student contributions came from Sifa Wasunna, Seyi Osinubi, Raquel Williams, Alysha Advani, Leonie Olu-Williams, joined by Old Epsomian Victoria Smirnova who is currently at UCL.
