Academy students took the aloha spirit to the mainland in the Tournament of Rose Parade on New Year’s Day in Pasadena, Calif.
Kristen Andres, Kristin Barroga, Corrina Joyce Cabantangan, Caitlin Cunningham, Danielle Ho, Kasandra Kitagawa, Christine McCabe, Lei Angeline Ngoap, Jasmine Quinn, Maile Romano and Jamie Suh, and dancers Kara Takahashi and Kaitlen Daoang walked in the six-mile parade with 40 other Hawaii school students. The group also made other appearances at Disneyland and the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Bandfest.
Formed in 2002 and currently led by John Riggle, the Hawaii All-State Marching Band (HASMB), or Na Koa Alii, is a private performing organization open to students from public and private schools with music and performing arts programs in Hawaii. The organization gives opportunities and experiences to performers coming from the entire Hawaiian archipelago.
Band directors and dance teachers are invited to nominate members from their schools for the band.
HASMB made its third appearance in this year’s parade on Jan. 1. The group previously performed in the Rose parade in 2003 and 2009. This was the first appearance for current Academy students.
“Schools on Oahu that participated included Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama, Leilehua, Kailua, Damien, St. Louis, along with schools from the other islands,” said Takahashi.
Through this experience, students made new friends and unforgettable memories.
“I loved the bus rides to and from our practices and the parks because our bus driver, Ms. H, always told us stories about celebrity kids she drove and the things that would happen on her bus and to the kids she drove. Ms. H always interacted with us with jokes and telling us about different things in the city as we passed by,” said Cabantangan. “It was just one of those things that you had to be there to really enjoy the experience and company.”
“Before the parade I was really cold, but I wasn’t nervous because I’ve been in a number of parades before for band. I was certainly excited for the performances. I love performing and I get that adrenaline rush from doing it,” said Quinn. “During the parade, the streets were packed and the crowd was excited when they saw us.”
In addition to the performances, the trip included leisure activities at Disneyland/California Adventure Theme Parks, Universal Studios Hollywood Theme Park, Knott’s Berry Farm Theme Park and shopping at malls.
Suh said, “The parade was the last performance we had for the trip. We had a full day at Disneyland the next day and it was so much fun!”
