"Our Classmate Clarah" | Student with Cerebral Palsy steals the show at Polyfest
On the morning of the last day of Polyfest 2020 was a performance that touched the crowd. It came from the Marcellin College Samoan group that had a star among them.
During Marcellin’s performance, there was an extremely special part that stood out. The students parted their dance formation down the middle and made way for their classmate Clarah Tuimavave-Gerrard. Her classmates made their version of a runway on stage, and down walked Clarah. She bowed to the crowd and began to Siva (dance). The audience went wild in cheer and her fellow classmates began singing even louder for their peer.
Clarah, also known to some of her friends as “Lala”, has cerebral palsy. A congenital disorder of movement, muscle tone, and posture. Although this condition can hold many challenges, there are tenacious people in the world who live loudly and proudly whilst navigating all the difficulties that come along with it. This special group of the community chooses to flaunt their abilities and what they are able to do instead of focusing on what they can't. Clarah is a shining example of one of these incredible people. She doesn’t let what the world would see as her “disability” stunt her shine. Instead, she lets her ability to passionately dance, sing and pridefully represent her Samoan culture be the thing that the world sees.
This star of the Marcellin College Samoan group has been preparing for Polyfest this whole year. Her English teacher said that she would often see her watching old Polyfest videos on her device every time she had a break. She prepared for this day to come and when it finally came she made her classmates proud. After the performance, their group walked backstage and all congratulated each other. “Clarah you were the star of the show!” one of the mothers said as she tightly hugged Clarah. After that hug came another, a congratulatory wish from the Marcellin principal. All her classmates, teachers, and tutors were grinning with joy for an amazing performance.
Clarah's mother expressed her emotional pride for her daughter and her friends by saying “I'm so proud. I'm proud of all of them. I'm proud of the students, teachers, tutors, and parents. Most of all I'm so proud of how they’ve embraced Clarah”. We tried to catch a comment from Clarah after her performance but she was occupied taking photos, receiving hugs, and celebrating the day with her friends. Clarah's Samoan group tutor Leki Jackson-Bourke shared "when Clarah first joined the group we feared she wouldn't be able to execute the choreography. She proved us wrong and stole our hearts. Every time she danced, it lifted the spirits of our students and we knew we had to celebrate and make space for her to lead the way!".
We hope that Clarah will be amoung a list of more students with special abilities to preform onstage at Polyfest. Our children and youth with disabilities contribute so much joy to our Pasifika community. Although we may not see them front and centre often when they do, they steal the show! Clarah was a shining example of this. She has inspired many with her preformance at Polyfest this year and we are hopeful that she can pave the way for more youth with disabilities in the Polyfest space.
