Packed auditorium celebrates the 7th International Language & Culture Festival
The 7th International Language & Culture Festival’s pre-qualification, sponsored by the Turkish Cultural Center, was held at Felician College in New Jersey on Sunday, March 9, 2014.
Leila Kurbanova, first place winner of last years poetry category of the competition and Nureysan Eygoren were the hosts of this year’s event.
Over a thousand guests enjoyed live performances in different languages including English, Turkish, Chinese, Russian and Spanish. Due to limited amount of seating many guests were watching without a seat.
Students who participated were from 9 different states between the ages 12 and 18 years old and competed in singing, poetry and cultural folk dance. Students showed their signing skills not only in Turkish but also in Chinese, Spanish and English. The program opened with the American National Anthem and Turkish National Anthem.
Mr. Senturk, president of Turkish Cultural Center welcomed the guests and pointed out the importance of the value of knowing additional languages and how crucial it is to organize events that motivate students to learn foreign languages.
We express our appreciation for all performers’ willingness to participate in 7th International Language & Culture Festival. This initiative is a great opportunity to bring together diverse cultures. We are gladly announcing results below.
Qualifying Round Results
*Top performers from each category will perform LIVE at the Final on March 9, 2014.
Poetry Recitation in Native Language (Turkish Language)
1- Zeynep Akpinar *
2- Melisa Gencer
3- Nalan Aydin
Poetry Recitation in Turkish
1- Mannela Iparraguirre *
2- Emily Feliciano
3- Nia Arrington Seward
Singing in Chinese
1- Madeline Miller *
2- Yiliyasi Yibulayimujiang
3- Ali Younes
Singing in Russian
1- Ogulshat Amanova *
2- Mira Yeskenderova
3- Aigerim Yeskenderova
Singing in Spanish
1- Alexander Harris *
2- Genesis Ramirez
3- Aysel Dernek
Singing in English
1- Tunasia Hurt *
2- Shana Lovine
3- Yasmin Silveria
Turkish Language Speech Contest
1- Rebecca Armadi *
2- Amir Edris
3- Sneha Satish
All the finalists below will have live performance on March 9, 2014.
Top 3 will be announced after their live performance.
Cultural Folk Dance Finalists
Bergen Art & Science Charter School
Brooklyn Amity School
Passaic Arts & Science Charter School
Paterson Charter School
Singing in Turkish Finalists
Mikhail Velez
Hear Shiksa
Ivana Lash
Meryem Konjhodzic
Yasmin Moses
Jazzlyn Ortega
**Utica Academy of Science Folk Dance group invited for the Award Ceremony on April 10, 2014.
All performers have to be in at 10 am for the rehearsal at Felician College.
