2018, A Year Worth Remembering

By Yahli and Meila

For many, the year 2018 has been a great success and a great year to achieve new goals, and though some of these successes and goals were more individual, others had a more global impact on larger associations. To analyse the extent to what was achieved, this article exhibits specific categories suggested to be of utter importance. Among these categories, science as well as sport are portrayed, and topics such as the ban of the letter “N” within China, and the US coffee company Starbucks announcing it will stop using plastic straws by 2020.  

Science

• Chinese researchers report they have cloned two monkeys, using the same technology as for Dolly the Sheep.
• The first bionic hand with a sense of touch, for use outside a lab, is unveiled in Rome
• Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology awarded to James Allison and Tasuku Honjo for cancer treatment innovations (see Jackie’s November article).
• Cervical Cancer could be eliminated in Australia within decades because of the government’s vaccination program, according to a report in “The Lancet Public Health”.
• NASA launches the Parker Space Probe, its first mission to the Sun and its outermost atmosphere, the corona.

World Politics

• North Korea accepts a South Korean invitation for high-level talks.
• The Indian government announces plan to give 500 million people free healthcare.
• China briefly bans the letter ‘N’ as part of widespread censorship efforts, like with Winnie the Pooh (see Arnav’s May article).
• 5 million Spanish women mark International Women’s Day by striking over gender inequality and sexual discrimination.
• World Happiness Report names Finland as world’s happiest country.
• First commercial flight between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 20 years, the “Bird of Peace”, lands in Asmara, Eritrea, reuniting families.

Environment

• It snows for 2nd winter in a row in the Sahara Desert – 15 inches reported in Aïn Séfra, Northwest Algeria beginning of January.
• Sydney, Australia, has its hottest day since 80 years as Penrith reaches 47.3 degrees celsius.
• US coffee company Starbucks announces it will stop using plastic straws by 2020, reducing use of more than 1 billion straws a year.
• Moscow has its heaviest snowfall in a day on record, killing one and bringing down 2,000 trees.
• Cold weather nicknamed “the Beast from the East” hits Europe, killing 7 and covering Pompeii in snow.
• Environmental report finds China on track to reach new emission targets, but carbon dioxide emissions have risen – 9.2 billion metric tons in 2017, more than US and Europe combined.

Kardashian Births

• Kim gives birth to Chicago West (January 15, 2018).
• Kylie gives birth to Stormi Webster (February 1, 2018).
• Khloe gives birth to True Thompson (April 12, 2018).

Sport

• XXIII Olympic Winter Games open in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
• Winter Olympics: Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall become the first Americans in history to win a cross country gold medal (team sprint).
• Novak Đoković beats Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the Cincinnati Masters to become the first player to win all 9 Masters 1,000 tennis tournaments since the series started in 1990.
• French Tennis Open bans Serena Williams’ Nike catsuit following birth of daughter.
• New Zealand claims 6th overall, and 3rd straight Rugby Championship.
• The 2018 European Athletics Championships were held in Berlin, Germany, from August 6th to 12th.

BBIS

• The Paw Print website has the most visits in the HISTORY of the Paw Print!
• BBIS is leading in GISST: Owing to the recent volleyball tournament for both varsity boys and girls, and the recent wins against BerIS, BBIS has officially achieved to be one point ahead of last years’ GISST scoreboards winners!
• The Class of 2018 takes on the world after graduating this year in May representing BBIS in over 30 countries globally!

“At ESC the team was really discouraged because we worked really hard but the results were disappointing. We also played three practice games against BerIS, which we lost, and they were also going to attend GISST. The first day of the tournament we did not play our best again but we managed to edge each game with 2:1. We had one set that we won by 25:8, which was the turning point for our team. The second day we had a slow start, but after the first set we played extremely professional and the results of all the hard work became obvious. We managed to win two games and that sent us to the finals where we played BerIS. In the first set we came back after losing 11:16 to winning the set with 25:19, which set us up for a good start for the second set. We were playing point for point in the second set when at 16:15 we managed to gain an advantage and end the game in two sets. After the game our coach told us that a BerIS player asked him if we were ready to lose, which made our victory worth even more than it already was. Since it is the last year for a big part of the team it is really important for us to win GISST overall and this trophy was one step towards our goal.” -Stefan Popdonchev, Volleyball captain.

 

How to Solve the Antibiotics Issue

By Liza Rogova

Bacteria have existed on Earth for a long time and thus developed into many different species. Some became pathogenic (disease-causing) to human beings, and some (the vast majority) became beneficial to us. In the 1940s the first antibiotics were discovered to kill the pathogenic types. Antibiotics revolutionized some of the treatments of infections caused by bacteria, saving countless lives, and also decreased the pressure on scientists working on finding the newest therapies. As a result, besides more people surviving diseases, many of the concerns regarding the sicknesses caused by bacteria were dismissed. More research on antibiotics was done recently, and the new studies showed that somehow the bacteria are becoming more resistant to drugs on the market, and in fact according to the Scientific American “more Americans died from drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections than from HIV/AIDS” in the past few years (Wenner).

So, what are the issues with antibiotics, and why did they work before and not now? To understand antibiotics, it is a key to understand what bacteria are and how they function. To start with, bacteria are prokaryotic (single-celled) microorganisms. Sicknesses caused by bacterial infections happen because these microbes get inside one’s body and begin to multiply. The symptoms are felt by the host when the body’s cells become damaged as a result. The bacteria communicate in a colony by means of signals that they send to and receive from surrounding cells, known as quorum sensing. How they behave is based on these signals, and when a decent amount (quorum) of the bacteria emerges, they can begin producing proteins (virulence factors) that sicken the host (Wenner).

Antibiotics worked and revolutionized treatments, since these chemicals blocked processes like division in the bacterial cells, not posing any danger to the hosts (made of eukaryotes). Briefly killing the bacteria by not allowing the populations to grow in size and affects the processes inside of the bacteria. In spite of that, as it often happens in science, it took a few decades to see antibiotics work in a long-term perspective, and it was realized that, due to the fact that only the fittest species can survive, these microorganisms developed some mutations to resist antibiotics. What is more, these mutations were passed amongst many different types of bacteria, and thus the microorganisms like MRSA (Staphylococcus aureus) developed resistance to antibiotics. According to a study, MRSA developed resistance to methicillin (a type of antibiotic based on penicillin) by being exposed to methylin (penicillin), and because the resistance genes were passed to MRSA before it even met the antibiotic (Intagliata).

A question that arises is: What is being done to stop this? Scientists have been struggling to develop second-generation drugs that attack not the bacteria themselves, which promotes resistance, but are now shifting the focus to developing drugs that will inhibit cell-to-cell communication, the quorum sensing. The positive sides of that are that the drugs that disrupt quorum sensing can potentially spare the microbes’ lives, simply preventing them from causing disease or building biofilms. The problem however is that the process of quorum sensing is often species-specific, so developing universal inhibitors is difficult, and the disruptors can also be toxic to humans, thus more experiments and trials are needed before any of the results can be considered valid. The second method proposed is more ecological. The scientists working on this one are aiming to manipulate the native populations of microorganisms living in human guts and on the skin to make them less welcoming to the pathogens. It will make people’s immune responses more effective, which is a beneficial aspect of the treatment. On the other hand, the problem is that so far it is only an idea that has not been fully developed. Lastly, there is an alternative method offering to apply viruses, known as bacteriophages, to fight off the bacterial infections. It is a reasonable approach, since viruses have always been preying on bacteria, so using a virus to kill off the bacteria can be efficient, but the disadvantage is that there is no evidence that the viruses won’t cause problems to the host.

To summarize; there is some evidence today that there are issues with antibiotics, namely that the drugs are becoming less effective, because the pathogenic microorganisms mutate to gain resistance towards them. There is also an emphasis on this topic in the scientific community: It is “one of the greatest threats” (Sidebottom). Nevertheless, there are no reasons to panic just yet, and in fact only good reasons to take action. Our technology is evolving and gaining momentum, and there are several promising solutions to the problem of antibiotics under development. If these are successfully verified within the next decades, they have a potential to fully eliminate infections caused by bacteria.

Movie Review: Is it really worth it to go see Bohemian Rhapsody?

By Jessica Yun

I have to admit, I didn’t really know Queen until last week. I know some of you who are reading this may go, “WHAT?!? How is that possible?” Well, to be exact, I didn’t know that ‘We are the Champions’ or ‘We Will Rock You’ were Queen’s music.

Last week, scrolling through YouTube, I saw the trailer for Bohemian Rhapsody, the movie that reenacts Queen’s history, from its formation to its vocalist Freddie Mercury’s death. After watching the trailer, I found myself searching for more of Queen’s music and last week, I was singing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ and ‘Under Pressure’ and ‘Somebody To Love’ constantly.

So obviously I had to go and watch the movie. And this is how it went.

*This may contain spoilers, but if you know anything about Freddie Mercury’s life, you are already spoiled. So go ahead and read the rest.

Exposition

The beginning of the film showed Freddie Mercury’s passion for music (which leads him to join the band), his conflict with his family and his romance with Mary. I was personally unhappy with how the storytelling was done in the movie.

I understand that it is hard to extensively show the whole history of Queen in a two-hour-film. However, it seemed to me that everything was very briefly elaborated. I genuinely think that if the film had more details about Freddie and the band members’ relations, the spiritual connection with Mary, and Freddie’s musical brilliance, the film would’ve been more coherent with the details that are given later on in the movie.

Rising Action

The film continues to show the process of producing some of Queen’s most famous songs, such as ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘We Will Rock You’. Queen becomes an international star, touring America and many other countries. We also witness how Freddie Mercury struggles with his sexual identity, leading to a clash with the press.

I thought Freddie’s emotional state after experiencing divorce with Mary was well conveyed, that the audience could commiserate the loneliness and emptiness that Freddie would’ve felt at that time. On the other hand, I didn’t like how the film didn’t explicitly develop the extent of Queen’s fame. For our generation, who are obviously born after Freddie’s shining era, it was hard to grasp Queen’s widespread popularity, just by watching the movie.

Climax

Freddie’s loneliness makes him stray away from his former modest, humble life, towards people who try to benefit from his fame. He abandons Queen, throws extravagant, drug-filled parties, and has countless sexual interactions with strangers. As a result of Mary’s consultation and learning that he has AIDS, he decides to come back to Queen and devote his life to music.

At this point in the movie, I had to try my best to quietly crunch my popcorn because everyone, literally EVERYONE was crying. Once in a while I accidentally chewed on a corn kernel, and the girl sitting next to me, while crying, gave me a death stare. The scene where Mary comes to Freddie and Freddie decides to change his lifestyle was very dramatic but it did its job. So many people cried!

Conclusion

If you like Queen’s music and want to hear it loudly, or if you’ve seen Queen’s Live Aid performance, which is going around social media, and want to see it on a big screen, the last 20 minutes of the movie are for you. Personally, I was impressed by how finely well reenacted this scene was. I heard people singing along a few songs (the man sitting in front of me sang very loudly) but it wasn’t a big deal because since the audience in the film was singing, they blended in with the sound coming from the movie.

Overall Comment

I personally think that the movie is a great mix of really good soundtracks (*cough Queen’s music *cough) and superb acting. It was moderately dramatic and had a mediocre storyline but hey, the video of Queen performing ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ during the ending credit made it all worth it.

 

OPED Statue of Unity – a Boom or a Bane?

By Arnav Singh

India now has the tallest statue in the world: The statue of Unity.  It is a tribute to Sardar Vallabhai Patel, who played a key role in the country’s struggle for independence and successfully integrated British colonial provinces to the newly independent nation of India.

The question remains — is the statue beneficial to the Indian society? Personally, I see it as a complete waste of money.

“Wow! We have now the tallest statue in the world, this will increase tourism, jobs and generate revenue!”
These are the reactions of many who are exposed to advertisements in newspapers or on TV promoting this statue. If you think that the statue will attract millions of tourist into the country, let me ask you a question. Which was the tallest statue in the world till now? If you said the Statue of Liberty, then you would be incorrect. The tallest statue in the world is, in fact, the Spring Temple Buddha in China. But don’t be embarrassed if you have never heard of it; it is not even listed in the top 10 tourist attractions in China. Conversely, the Great Wall, Forbidden City, and Terracotta Army make up the top 3 tourist attractions in China. Historical sites tend to attract more tourists than modern constructions. The Eiffel Tower for instance, attracts 7 million tourists every year, compared to the Burj Khalifa which attracts 2 million despite being the tallest building in the world.

On the other hand, those in favor of the statue provide economic justifications for the the construction of the monument, arguing that it would repay its investment in the long run. I disagree, however; the Taj Mahal is the most visited tourist attraction in India, and it earns an annual revenue of $3.5 million from 8 million tourists. It would be optimistic to hope that the Sardar Patel Statue of Unity could earn even a tenth of that revenue. But even if we assume that the Statue of Unity were to become as popular as the Taj Mahal, it would take more than 120 years to just break even with the costs of construction. Add to that the costs associated with maintaining the massive edifice, and it will likely never even become profitable. One can argue that visitor centers, museums and restaurants would help generate revenue, but how much of that money will end up in the government treasury?

Economically speaking, the cost of the statue does not make sense relative to its size. The cost of the 182-meter statue itself is approximately $200 million. The cost of constructing the 128-meter Spring Temple Buddha in China, on the other hand, came out to just $18 million. Even accounting for inflation in the 10 years since the Buddha was constructed, the vastly increased cost of the Statue of Unity.

An additional complaint against the statue has been tendered by the tribespeople, ready to protest against the Statue because their lands were taken to build the statue. These populations are against the loss of their ancestral homelands, despite the Prime Minister’s promise of guaranteed jobs to the indigenous peoples. However, ahead of the 2019 election, it is no surprise that the statue was built for political clout.  Furthermore, the fact that the Statue was made with the labor of Chinese workers acts to flout the Prime Minister’s boasts about the Statue being a symbol of Indian economic growth and prosperity. With so many question marks, it appears that the only people truly in favor of the statue are the massive political lobbies that often vote against the best interests of the general populace.

Ask yourself: If Iron Man Sardar Patel was alive today, what would his response be to this gigantic blunder?Would Sardar Patel have ever let a 182m statue be built of himself?

This is my perspective.

 

Results of the US Elections 2018

By Isabelle White

In early November of this year, Americans took to the polls to make change. It has been two years since Republican president Donald Trump took office, and the majority of Americans are not pleased with his term so far. With an approval rate of only 41%, Donald Trump is definitely not performing up to Americans’ standards. This year the midterm elections brought hope to many doubtful Americans. 49% of eligible voters cast their ballots this year – the greatest voter turnout since 1914! Millions of Americans encouraged citizens to cast their vote to change the way the government is currently being run, and this led to a powerful step forward. The most significant change seen through the elections was that the House of Representatives switched to being predominantly Democratic. For context, the United States legislative branch is composed of two sub-branches. These two sub-branches, the House of Representatives and the Senate, are responsible for creating and passing laws into government. After 8 years of Republican control of the House, Democrats have managed to flip the important legislative branch to blue. This is significant because it is the first step for Democrats to regain control of the government, and it additionally has the power to ensure the continued progress of the ongoing investigation into Donald Trump. The House being Democratic will make it more difficult for Donald Trump to pass his conservative orders into law. However, the other branch of legislation, the Senate, remained under the control of the Republican party. Several state Senate races were extremely close in results. In Florida, the incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson lost a tight race to Republican Rick Scott. This race was so close that it ended up going to a recount. The margin in some elections were so narrow that the states have still not declared a winner. In Mississippi, there will be a special election on November 27 to decide who will represent the state in the Senate. Several records were also broken in the midterms. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 29-year-old Democratic candidate from New York, is officially the youngest woman ever to be elected into Congress. The number of women in both the House and Senate will be a record high at 113. This election year has been considered ‘the year of the women’ in America because of the strong female presence in politics. The citizens of America have also elected a more diverse group of leaders this year. The first Muslim woman, Democrat Rashida Tlaib, was elected in Minnesota. Also, the first Native American woman, Sharice Davids, was elected to Congress in Kansas. The first openly gay candidate to run, Jared Polis, was elected to Congress in Colorado. This is monumental for the country because increased diversity, especially in government, will lead to a more successfully run country. Overall, both political parties found success in this 2018 midterm election and millions of Americans are already looking forward to the presidential elections in 2020.

The Genetics Craftsman: Who is He?

By Luca Pistor

On November 26th of this year, the scientific community received word that He Jiankui, a geneticist at Shenzhen University, claimed to have just performed the world’s first instance of genetic modification on human embryos that were later carried to term. Dr. He’s experiment ⎼ conducted on twin girls without the informed consent of their mother ⎼ was intended to replicate a well-known mutation present in some regions of the world  that can confer immunity to HIV/AIDS by preventing the synthesis of a protein present in certain cells in the immune system.

However, the removal of this protein may increase susceptibility to other diseases such as the West Nile virus and influenza, and it is likely to have other unforeseen effects as well. Dr. He faced worldwide criticism from the scientific community for keeping his unethical research hidden for two years, and for violating major health codes and ethical guidelines. Additionally, although Dr. He has not published a research paper detailing his findings, preliminary analyses of the materials presented in his speeches and social media statements have made it clear that the sloppy procedure likely did not even have the intended results. It appears as though at least one of the twins remains susceptible to HIV and may have been given several unknown, potentially dangerous mutations instead. In addition to this, scientific consensus agrees that this procedure was harmful to the overall health of the twins, as HIV/AIDS is a disease for which robust prevention and treatment methods already exist.

In conclusion, the controversy that shrouds this milestone in genetic modification is likely to result in calls for increased oversight in scientific research as the genetic innovation race between China and the rest of the world heats up.

 

BTEC takes Edinburgh!

By Yahli Bibi

IBCP is a program for those who enjoy and benefit from practical learning, real-life experiences and engagement in their subjects. In order to further incorporate these wonderful aspects of IBCP learning, Travel & Tourism and Art & Design students took a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland. Accompanied by Ms. van der Pol and Mr. Brodie, we got a glimpse of the beautiful city through a special lens. Travel & Tourism students enjoyed a trip to the VisitScotland office where an interesting and informative presentation was showcased to us. We also got to visit the Museum on the Mound, a museum located at the Bank of Scotland head office, where we learned about money and its origins. We even got to forge our very own replicas of 13th-century Scottish coins. Art & Design students, accompanied by their trusty sketch books, went to several workshops: including their very first nude drawing class. We also had joined activities where we got to see Edinburgh with our friends from the other BTEC group including a trip to Napier University where we visited both the business and arts campuses and made a visit to Camera Obscura, an optical illusion museum. The trip was a great experience and the perfect way to start off October.

 

Festival of Lights

By Isabel White

The Festival of Lights in Berlin is one of the biggest events of its kind in the world. Each year in the first few weeks of October, the most famous landmarks of Berlin are illuminated with photographs, artwork, and vibrant colours. The most popular destinations to view the lights are the Brandenburg Gate, the TV Tower, and the Berliner Dom. Art and photographs are shaped into the festival by famous artists around the world. In recent years, less known local artists have also entered their work into the event to be projected onto buildings to increase their prominence. These new artists see it as an advertising opportunity, while also contributing to the palette of the festival. The best way to see all of the lights in the festival is to start at the smaller, lesser known buildings, and then walk towards the Brandenburg Gate to finish. The Brandenburg Gate is the epicenter of the festival. In front of the gate there is live music, dancing, lit-up balloons and flower crowns, and an overall joyful atmosphere.

After walking around the city and seeing over five different pieces of art, my favorite was found near Alexanderplatz. This piece of art featured a tiger on the side of a building. I really liked the intensity and colours used in the art. The tiger’s tail was moving back and forth, which added to the intense effect. Several people stayed to watch the tiger for several minutes: all staring in awe at the astonishing piece. My favourite aspect of the festival was watching hundreds of people from different parts of the world come together and share a common appreciation for the art. There was abundant positive energy at every location. I would definitely return to the festival next year, and I strongly encourage everybody to experience the Berlin Festival of Lights.

 

Life Behind Supermarkets: Review of Berliner Tafel

By Meila Heidt

 

Imagine a swathe of land as large as China, an area of 9.597 million km². Now imagine that entire area being used to grow crops, to grow our food. Except, what if all of the food produced on this large scale of land is never even eaten? In fact, the annual food wasted globally weighs around 1.3 billion tonnes, and has a value of about $1 trillion. That’s the market value of Apple – the California-founded company that as of January 2016 operated more than 450 retail stores around the world.

By putting it into the context of statistics, this means that an entire third of the food produced globally goes to waste. And the demand for the production of these crops is only rising, as the growing world population, predicted to increase to a total of 2.3 billion by 2050, requires more nutrition.

With this in mind, more grocery stores are required to consider their actions, their habits of throwing out the enormous amounts of food. Germany is very well known for its recycling practices, and it is also home to a nationally known non-governmental organisation (NGO) founded 25 years ago by several women willing to change people’s lives: The Berliner Tafel. When this organisation was still new, the women who launched the initiative needed to explain their efforts each and every time to different grocery chain stores, to hotels, until they received sponsors who allowed them to expand. Now, in 2018, this organisation has managed to save enough food to provide for 125,000 low income people at homeless shelters. With 45 stations in Berlin, more than 2000 volunteers take part in rescuing food that is collected from over 600 grocery stores in the capital city (e.g. Edeka, Lidl, Penny, Aldi) and help distribute it around, as far as to homeless shelters. Not only does this NGO focus on hiring anyone over the age of 16, they also have a programme called “KIMBA” where each week, a school class takes a trip to formerly abandoned and now renovated train wagon in Berlin, in which they learn how to cook. Around 4000 children take part in only using rescued food to make fresh meals from scratch.

When volunteers are asked why they help out at this NGO, they say: “My work required me to sit a lot, and when I was presented with the opportunity to help with a good cause, and at the same time get some physical movement, I jumped at the opportunity”, as explained by Wolfang, a retired judge in Berlin and current volunteer who has been part of the two-decade-old-NGO for three years. “It’s overwhelming and shocking how much is thrown away, and still so much that is sorted is still thrown out again,” he mentioned, when asked about his first reaction about the piles of food that are collected from supermarkets. “What the Berliner Tafel achieves is useful from A to Z,” he continued describing, “but there is still so much to do.”

Because there are additional costs for throwing out compost, the Berliner Tafel allows farmers to come buy and pick up food for their livestock, and they cooperate with a project carried out by a university in Berlin to turn freshly thrown out food into soil, that can give back to Earth. Scientists at the Freie Universität Berlin cooperate with the redistribution organisation Berliner Tafel, as well as with the local horticultural farm Bebra to look at how “biochar can be used to reduce burden on the environment”. Within this investigation project, “the researchers will design educational materials and hold workshops in the composting facilities in the Environmental Education Center Berlin, the Botanic Garden, and the Gutsgarten Hellersdorf” (fu-berlin. 2017).

And so the question remains, how can NGOs such as the Berliner Tafel and scientist such as those at the Freie Universität Berlin help reduce food waste, even by a little? The answer is simple; by spreading their message. With more awareness comes greater action to rescue the environment. The Berliner Tafel only contributes to a small part of the whole, yet it has already achieved so much through its redistribution programme. Food waste is not a myth, and it’s not getting better with time. Unless we are able to recognise its consequences and effects, it is hard to take action.

 

Never Too Late to Learn Ballroom Dancing

By Chantal Materne

From the annual Summer ball in your hometown (Photo 1), across a relative’s wedding, and all the way to a night out in an exotic country, you might stumble across a ballroom dance floor or two during your lifetime. In these scenarios it will come in handy to know a few more steps than just the running man or moonwalking. So bear with me to take your shuffling to the next level!

Conventionally, ballroom dancing involves a “leader” and a “follower” and is praised by teachers and students alike for improving physical as well as mental health. Aside from having a new CAS activity, you will be able to adopt an upright posture and delve into the benefits of communicating and socializing. For me, it’s the perfect combination of my love for both music and sports.

Ballroom dancing is a broad term for a plethora of Latin and standard dances, so it’s likely for you to find one that corresponds to your taste. Some of us students at school have been attending dance classes by Daniela Jordan where we learned the basics of slow waltz, wiener waltz, foxtrot, memphis (line dance), “Friesenrock”, rock’n’roll, swing, boogie, Argentinian tango, rumba, salsa, cha cha, paso doble, merengue and bachata. The weekly classes occur between November and April of every year and lead up to a final formal ball in Spring (Photo 2). All you need for the latter is to pick a dance partner, wear an evening gown, and you’re good to go! You can always spice it up with a cute pair of dancing shoes from “Zeller Tanzschuhe”.

Daniela Jordan offers a beginner, intermediate and advanced course, the “Jugendclub”. There, you can also learn proper ballnight etiquette and pass a bronze, silver and gold dance diploma to reward your hard work. After having completed a season in one of the courses, our recent graduate Alice Hamberger founded a ballroom dance ECA during her senior year at BBIS. She was supported by her fellow student Sasha Schutt as well as by the avid dancer and our beloved mathematics teacher Dr. Tatiana Uspenskaia. Our new geography teacher and former competitive ballroom dancer Ms. Emma Clack is planning on running an ECA again after Winter break.

If Dancing With The Stars or Le Bal des Débutantes in Paris inspires you to dance, you can also simply go to the open-air dance floor in the Monbijou Park in Summer (Photo 3), to Clärchen’s Ballhaus in Winter, or the the occasional dance events at the Mall of Berlin. And if this motivates you, ballroom dance might be considered to be included in future Olympic Games!

On a final note, before you start, I’d like to share with you one of the tips that our dance instructor gave us: “You and your partner should maintain a tension that is Al Dente. A solid frame at the inside that is soft on the outside”.