On May 19th, 2023, many students all over Virginia Beach participated and watched a very anticipated show known as the Asian Pacific Islander Culture Show (APICS). The show hosted a variety of performances from bands, dance groups, and even singers from different students and groups around Virginia Beach. Tallwood’s very own TFCC, Tallwood Filipino Culture Club, performed a total of 3 dances at APICS!

The president of APICS, Mark Fabillar, expressed his excitement with how the event went and how well his own performance went as well. “This year’s APICS was a banger, I was honestly really stressed managing the show and participating in the band I was in, but in the end, everything went really well”. 

Tallwood’s TFCC performance was a big hit with the crowd especially at the very end when TFCC co-President, Gyzelle Kay Bagsic, and male dancer, Shaun Gervase, danced on top of a three-layer high stack of wooden benches. Gyzelle and Shaun were both dancing about 4 feet high in the air, which is why the crowd had been so surprised. The other dances performed were the Hat Dance and the partner dance.

TFCC Co-President was very emotional about the event because “It was my last dance of the year because I’m graduating soon. I’ve been a part of this for so long and now it is coming to an end. I’m happy everything went well though!”

APICS was not only a celebration of culture but also a celebration of community. Many people came together to make this show happen, even those who weren’t Asian Pacific islanders. So many different people from many different backgrounds were brought together to make this show happen. “It was a banger this year, It was a banger last year, and man it is going to be a banger next year,” Mark said thinking about the future of APICS.