Graduation 2021 Edition

The Blue and Gold
June 2021
Local News
maldenblueandgold.com
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background projected behind him
only heightened this. In addition
to Ford, both Massimiliano Lam
and Alyssa Littlejohn played classical
music pieces, Rachmaninoff
and Chopin, respectively.
Another notable act was Micaela
Henry singing “Leave Me
Lonely” by Ariana Grande and
Macy Grey. In addition to this,
Henry also performed with the
All’gether One’gether Step Team.
Captain Christine Pierre-Rene
stated that “they wanted to leave
a statement or impact” so they
ended up going with security
guards, which also tied it to the
police brutality protests that went
on last May. Pierre added that this
was the first time the team was
“actively trying to incorporate the
show’s theme into their act.” The
complexity of their performance is
undeniable with the use of lighting,
switching colors, warmth,
and intensity. After Friday’s show,
there was a heartwarming moment
where the captains were given surprise
graduation gifts. Pierre stated
that “[she] was so confused” since
she was ready to walk off after the
act. Traditionally, team captains
get their solo at the end, but Pierre
believed that “[she] didn’t need a
captain’s solo because [she] felt the
statement [they] were making was
bigger than that.” Henry added
that they had a “secret group chat”
to coordinate the moment.
There were a total of four
dance routines throughout the
night, the first one being Leila
Imani dancing to “War of Hearts”
by Ruelle. A bit after, CO ’22 Social
Media Coordinator Lauren Mallett
(who is also our Managing Editor
of Print) danced to “Bring Me To
Life” by Evanescence. The third
was Suiyenah Chen dancing to a
medley featuring “Superlove“ by
Tinashe and “Black Mamba” by
Aespa, among other songs. The
penultimate act was Antonia Bilodeau
dancing to Ember Island’s
cover of “Creep” by Radiohead.
In addition to Frois and
Henry, many other singers flexed
their vocal skills during the show.
Leila Imani performed for a second
time with Christine Dumo,
in a duet singing “Minefields” by
John Legend and Faouzia. Luana
Paniago accompanied not one but
two singers during the show, the
first being Kearah Gomes singing
“Never Enough” by Loren Allred,
and during the final act, Isabella
Geronimo singing “Falling” by
Harry Styles. In addition to this,
Oliveira performed “Put Your
Head on My Shoulder” by Paul
Anka, which she chose due to the
fact that it would highlight the
lower range of her voice. In addition
to this, she wanted to create
a “warm atmosphere” to set the
mood, which she achieved not
only with the song but with the
stage lighting as well.
The return of JV’s really symbolized
the return to normalcy
for Malden High and its students.
For over a year the community
has been stuck at home and just
recently the MHS doors have
opened up. The process has been
slow but it’s likely that the end is
near. Nie stated that “it represents
the school quite highly so [they]
wanted something inspirational,
and to keep the bar high.” Even the
storyline was linked to this idea as
the hosts solving a mystery “represents
us jumping over hurdles.”
Nie added that the ending where
they discovered they found the
wrong painting was meant to signify
that “our obstacles are never
going to end, there’s still gonna be
hurdles, but we can still overcome
them,” which was incredibly poetic.
Photos by Carlos Aragon and Brandon Wong.