*Antonia Bilodeau dances to “Creep” by Ember Island. Photo by Keren He.*

Malden High School’s Class of 2022 took the stage on May 14-15, 2021, to showcase the incredible talent of the students in their graduating class. This was the 81st Annual Junior Varieties, titled Mystery at the Met. Throughout the school year, students typically fundraise for the production of Junior Varieties, but during the past school year, the pandemic dampened those fundraising opportunities, which led them to having to charge more for tickets.

Malden High School Step Team performing “Swag Surfin'” by F.L.Y. – Fast Life Youngstas; a performance calling for justice of people of color killed by police. Step Team Members include: Christina Pierre-Rene, Arianna Alexandre, Tiannah Macharia, Gelila Lemma, Myrvline Giles, Melissa Calixte, Micaela Henry, Tatiana Pierre-Rene, Moesha Joseph, Stephanie Larrieux, Alex Boisette, Neissa Blass, Krishany Marius, Deborah Yennah, and Kearah-Denae Gomes. Filmed by Alyssa and Vanessa Ardai, Edited by Keren He.

The showcase included an assortment of different performances, such as interpretive dance and music, as well as a display of activism, social justice, and BIPOC excellence by the Step Team. Malden High’s Step Group will be performing at the Malden City Juneteenth Freedom Celebration on Saturday, June 19th. You can register for the event here: http://bit.ly/MaldenJuneteenth2021/.

The hosts of the showcase included students Tivian Nguyen, Jason Ong, and Whitney Jean Baptist, who offered introductions for each performer, as well as comedic commentary between each performance. Other performers included singer Gabriella Frois, pianist Massimiliano Lam, dancer Leila Imani, and an array of other wonderful performers.

You can view the full 1.5 hour performance on MATV/UMA’s Education Channel throughout June on Tuesdays at 7:30pm EST or Saturdays at 3:00pm EST. View more photos from the event by Keren He below.