Class of 2025 closed a series of childhood TV-themed Homecoming skits with its performance on Thursday, Oct. 3. The “Phineas and Ferb”-themed skit followed the main characters of the show — Phineas, Ferb and Perry the Platypus — as they ventured to save the 2025 graduation from super senior Dr. Doofenshmirtz, who kidnapped Assistant Principal Mike White as the last ingredient of his villainous “Graduatinator.”
Performances by MV Dance Team, Andaaz, Bhangra, Color Guard and Korean Culture Dance Club were interspersed within the skit. Additionally, the skit featured main girls and boys dances and a solo by senior Kartik Patri to the Michael Jackson classic, “Smooth Criminal.” The Homecoming performance ended with a large co-ed dance to a mix of the “Phineas and Ferb” theme song and trending pop music like “Disco” by Surf Curse as cheers erupted and cold sparks and confetti shot up in the air.
Senior Yujin Um, who has participated in her class’ Homecoming skit every year since her freshman year, participated in the girls dance, co-ed dance and color guard performance. Reflecting on her final Homecoming performance, Um says the camaraderie in preparing for and performing the dances were the most memorable aspects.
“All of the lunches and after-school sessions that we spent practicing were the biggest part of what made Homecoming because we spent hours together thinking about and creating what was performed today,” Um said. “I think that aspect of being able to interact while on this stage and having someone to perform with is so special.”
Senior Nathan Chiang, who played the role of Phineas and also participated in the girls and co-ed dances, is satisfied with the performances of himself and his peers. Chiang performed the protagonist role in his class’s skit last year as well and believes that this year’s higher turnout and stronger commitment from all participants made a staggering improvement.
“Last one, best one,” Chiang said. “It’s your last year, so you want to do the best that you can, and I think all kinds of people joined because they feel the same way. I think we knocked this year out of the park — the artwork was great, and the choreography was too.”
Chiang mentions some difficulty with last minute changes to the script and structure of the performance. He was requested to participate in the boys dance preparation when it was struggling to amass participants, but ultimately chose not to perform it when more dancers joined. The skit also initially experienced discontinuity because of technical audio difficulties, which necessitated impromptu rearrangement of dance and acting components. Early on, KCDC was unable to begin performing during their allotted time because their music would not play, leading to Patri performing his solo in place of them and shifting KCDC’s performance to his initial slot.
“The changes were rough, but I see why they needed to happen,” Chiang said. “The show must go on, and I can’t let the disruption show too much. I’m going to try my best, but if I don’t hit every beat, I won’t be too hard on myself for that.”
Senior Krish Lariya, who co-choreographed and coordinated the boys dance, notes another obstacle. He explains that the boys’ dance initially fell through due to poor communication and low commitment among participants. However, after watching the junior boys’ dance at the beginning of Homecoming week, Lariya says he and the rest of the dancers were motivated to pull together a performance one last time, with only three days to prepare.
“All the guys who came up to us after the junior skit were super motivated to do the boys’ dance,” Lariya said. “They thought we could get this done in three days if we really committed, and it’s our last Homecoming, so we had to go all out for it. The guys put in a lot of effort — one night we stayed after school until ten. They really went out there and excelled, so I’m really happy that it turned out the way it did.”
