On Thursday, April 21st, Yacine Boulares, a well-known French saxophonist and composer, held a performance at St. Jean’s Theatre. A group of students from the French Heritage Language Program (FHLP) performed a play called Amidou & Toya. Boulares composed this musical about the French speaking Haitian and African communities in America.

The French Heritage Students Performing. Credit: Mr. Kochyan
The French Heritage Students Performing. Credit: Mr. Kochyan

The musical shows the conflicts of young Francophone characters immigrating to America and the challenges they face with integration, relationships, and love. In the musical, a young girl named Toya immigrates to America from Haiti. She arrives at a school in Brooklyn, where she meets and falls in love with a boy named Amidou, who is from Senegal. We see some of the tensions and challenges that come up between their African and Haitian communities.

thumb_IMG_8875_1024
Mr. Kochyan leading the Hewitt French students in the songs. Credit: Amanda N ’18

Yacine Boulares put on the performance on Hewitt’s stage last week with only a few members of the cast. Mr. Kochyan, Upper and Middle School French teacher, played a big role in supporting the performance. He helped the Hewitt French students learn the songs in the show so they were able to perform in the chorus. Some of the songs the Hewitt girls performed with the cast were “La Chanson Du Depart, Bienvenue à New York,” and “Ta Nouvelle Famille Le Rap Au Lycee.” Boulares had a rehearsal with the Hewitt French students to prepare the songs and understand the story. There was a question and answer session after the performance, where the characters revealed insight into the show and their experiences leaving their homes to come to America.

Everybody enjoyed the experience. Mr. Kochyan said, “I was really thrilled to see the positive interactions between our girls and the French Heritage students, and there was so much joy on stage throughout the entire event! With both great music and important discussions, it was truly a meaningful afternoon for our community.”

unnamed-1
The French Heritage students performing Amidou & Toya Credit: Mr. Kochyan

 

Leave a Reply