GIIS SMART Campus hosted the annual dance competition Jhankaar this year, themed “Dancing like Stars”, on August 14th and 21st.

Th event was conducted virtually, with students from GIIS schools around the world as well as non-GIIS schools across Singapore enthusiastically joining in to participate. A whopping 165 participants made it through to the semifinals, out of which 90 students moved on to the finals.

The competition consisted of four categories in which competitors were classified into – Sub Junior, Junior, Sub Senior and Senior. In the Sub Junior category, Adwita Sachdev from GIIS Abu Dhabi Campus, emerged winner. The Junior, Sub Senior and Senior categories were further classified into two themes, namely Classical and Freestyle dance. The Junior category was won by Shreyanshi Pradhan of GIIS East Coast Campus in the Classical category and Abhishree Gawade of GIIS Hadapsar Campus in the Freestyle category.

As for the Sub Senior category, Swetha Raj from GIIS SMART Campus emerged winner in the Classical category and Vedant Sinha from GIIS Balewadi Campus secured 1st prize in the Freestyle category. The Classical dance category in Seniors was won by Khushboo Tiwari from GIIS SMART Campus while the Freestyle category was won by Keertana Ramanujan from GIIS Tokyo Campus.

The students were judged by reputable personalities who are experts in their fields, and after careful deliberation, the winners were chosen in their respective categories. Ms Melissa Maria, Principal at GIIS SMART Campus, expressed her enthusiasm about the event. “GIIS has always aimed to provide students with opportunities to showcase their talents and Jhankaar is one of the many such platforms given to our students. It is always refreshing to see students showcasing their talents and honing their skills through these competitions.”

Ever since its establishment in 2010, Jhankaar has been a popular annual competition for students to display their skills and talent in the field of dance. GIIS has always believed in providing a conducive environment for holistic development of the students, which helped them excel in academics as well as other aspects of life, creating global citizens out of every student. The 9 GEMS model, that GIIS follows through closely, celebrates this holistic development. One of the GEMS, The Visual and Performing Arts, stands to provide the right opportunities for development in the arts field, and the annual Jhankaar competition is the prime example of this GEM.