On April 29, the French club and classes held their annual French Cabaret event at the STC Patio. This year marks the twenty-eighth year that the event has been held. 

 French and Spanish teacher Loredana Mitescu explained what the cabaret is. Mitescu said, “Students perform poetry, theater, music, all related to French culture.” 

Mitescu added, “It gives me great pleasure to see students putting their skills to practice, seeing them on the stage… using the language… I think it’s a pretty fulfilling feeling for me as a teacher.” 

 French Club President junior Naomi Yasui started working on this event months in advance. Yasui said, “I started planning in November, December..” 

With the help of the French class, PTSA, culinary and ASB, Yasui was able to make a great event. Unlike last year, Yasui  said, “We are going to announce Bulent Inan, the French Consultant of Los Angeles. This is the first year that we’ve reached out to something like this.”  

Yasui  said that the “purpose is to showcase French culture, French language, French music, everything we have is a French composer… It’s really to allow students to perform and get comfortable in other languages.”

Yasui adds that her “dad always says it’s important to speak in whatever language you’re learning, be confident about it, even if you’re nervous. That’s how you learn. That’s how you communicate… I love it.” 

At the event there was a silent auction for the American Cancer Society (ACS). The money raised will be donated to ACS, and some will also help support the future French Club Cabarets. 

Culinary and PTSA supported the future French Club by selling food at the event .

Head Chef junior Michelle Shekhtman helped make a variety of French dishes like pistachio cream puffs, raspberry custard crepes, mushroom gruyere crepes, croquembouche and an apple tart for the Cabaret. 

One of the most difficult dishes to prepare was the croquembouche. Shekhtman explained that “you gotta make cream puff from scratch, make the caramel.. Make a cone so that its stable” 

The culinary team started preparing the food about a week before the event, with the final three days focused on keeping everything fresh and ready. 

Junior Michelle Schmidt performed a poem by Anne de Noailles in the Cabaret . Schmidt said that the poem is “about freedom, about feeling free, about emotions,” and uses “a metaphor about a bird to show it.” 

Schmidt explained that poetry is deeply connected to French culture because “the French have a long history of art, and of poems, and of literature” 

She said the poems reflected the tradition and helped promote French culture through language and performance. 

This year French Cabaret brought together students, teachers, performers and culinary students for a night celebrating French culture, language and art. 

After months of planning and rehearsal, the event highlighted the hard work and creativity of Beverly students. With another successful Cabaret completed, many students are already looking forward to next year’s event.