Bruton High School 10th grader Batya Sereydarian presents her Martha Graham piece to a panel of judges at Virginia History Day. (The Sereydarian family)
YORKTOWN — Bhatia Seraidarian, a member of Brewton High School’s Virginia History Day Club, recently returned from a national competition where she had the opportunity to perform at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
In the Virginia History Day Club, each student selects a research topic at the beginning of the school year that becomes a year-long project leading to competition at the Virginia History Day Regional Competition. Projects can be essays, performances, websites or videos. Each year, the Virginia History Day team selects a wide range of themes, with 2024 focusing on a turning point in American history.
Dancer Seraidarian decided to portray choreographer Martha Graham in her performance piece.
“I chose Martha Graham as my subject because I have been dancing for nine years. Dance is something I am very passionate about and I love every aspect of it. When I was in the VHD club, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to choose something I wanted to study. I thought about all the legendary choreographers but I chose Martha because my great aunt taught me about her. She is very knowledgeable about Martha Graham and her technique and was a dancer many years ago. With my aunt as my source, I chose her and it gave me a great starting point for my research,” said Sereydarian.
Sereydarian competed in the regional competition with her piece, winning first place and advancing to the state competition.
“Completing this project was both a big hurdle and an accomplishment. It took a lot of time, energy and late nights. Finally competing in regionals and coming in first place was a great feeling, but it meant more effort was needed for the state competition. It was also great to meet new people and see new performances at the competition,” she says.
After completing regional and state competitions, Sereydarian was invited to compete in the national competition in Maryland.
Batya Seraidarian dressed up as Martha Graham during a performance at National History Day. (The Seraidarian Family)
“I never thought I’d be able to compete at nationals. My teachers told me about it when I joined the club, but I never thought I’d actually be able to compete. Just being able to qualify and compete was a big achievement in my life and a very memorable experience,” Sereydarian said.
In preparation, Sereydarian focused on watching past winners on YouTube, analysing the judges’ feedback and researching Graham further.
During her time in Maryland for the competition, Sereydarian also had the opportunity to visit Washington, D.C. and its museums and monuments. The national judges loved her performance so much that she was invited to perform at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
“I was really grateful that the competition was held in Maryland and not somewhere other contestants had to travel far away. I was also invited to present my project at the Smithsonian, so I got to tour the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the National Museum of African American History and Culture before they opened. I was accompanied by the staff and got to hear about how the museums operate on a day-to-day basis, and it was also a really interesting experience to spend time in the museums reading and looking at the amazing exhibits,” Sereydarian said.
Although she didn’t win the national championship, Sereydarian said she was grateful for the opportunity to represent Virginia.
Reflecting on her experience at the national conference, Seraidarian encouraged students of all ages to get involved with Virginia History Day and find their passion.
“Choose something you’re passionate about. You’ll be spending hours working on the subject and constantly researching new information on the subject. Choosing something that will be useful in the future or right now will make the project much more fulfilling and easier to put together.”
For more information about Virginia History Day, visit virginiahistory.org
