Congratulating Tarakanita

Last week-end those who were lucky enough to get tickets, were witnesses to yet another enthusiastic initiative by our young generation. Tarakanita I High School staged the Beauty and the Beast (a song of love): A play about true love, inner beauty and peace -- values that certainly come in handy in our troubled times.

"The performance of Beauty and the Beast this year has been the result of laughter, tears, perspiration and physical efforts by all of us, girls who believe in the beauty of the theater," writes Tessa Intanya R.I. Tobing, Head of the production team for the program. This group of high school girls with outstanding talent performed before to a full house at the Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, carrying the audience away with laughter, tears, songs and dancing, while putting through their message that, after all: "True beauty lies in the heart" (as Tessa Intanya put it).

A dynamic script, beautiful original songs (composed by team members), excellent music produced by skillful musicians accompanying an equally wonderful choir (all fellow students), colorful costumes, excellent choreography, dramatic visual effects, and most of all a brilliant performance by the actors (I should say actresses, as all characters were performed by girls) -- great entertainment all the way through!

Thank you for reminding us of the importance of love, true beauty, peace and team work, girls! Most of all, thank you for bringing a cheerful moment into our everyday lives. We look forward to seeing more of your performances in the future.

MARIANA M.G. WAROKKA, Jakarta