YORKTOWN — Batia Seraydarian, a member of Bruton High School’s Virginia History Day club, recently returned from a national competition where she had the opportunity to perform at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
In the Virginia History Day club, each student must select a research topic at the beginning of the school year that becomes a year-long project with students preparing to compete at the Virginia History Day regional competition. Projects can be essays, performances, websites or videos. Each year, the team at Virginia History Day chooses a broad theme, with 2024 focused on turning points in American history.
Seraydarian, a dancer, chose to portray choreographer Martha Graham in a performance piece.
“I chose Martha Graham as my topic because I’ve been dancing for nine years. It’s something I’m super passionate about and love every aspect of. While being in VHD club, I saw this as a great opportunity to choose something I would love researching. I went back and forth between legendary choreographers but chose Martha because my great-aunt shared her with me. She’s extremely knowledgeable in Martha Graham and her technique and was a dancer many years ago. Having my aunt as a resource made me choose her and allowed me to have a great starting point for research,” Seraydarian said.
Seraydarian competed with her piece at the regional competition, and she advanced to the state round of competition after a first-place finish.
“Getting this project done was a big hurdle and accomplishment. It took a long time and energy and nights staying up. Being able to finally go to that regional competition and have it place first was so rewarding, though that would mean that it needed more work for states. Getting to meet new people and see new performances at the competitions was also a great experience,” she says.
With the regional and state competition behind her, Seraydarian got the call to compete at the national competition in Maryland.
“Finding out I was going to nationals was something I never thought would happen. The teachers tell you about it when you join the club, but you don’t actually think you’re going to go there. Just being able to qualify and go was a huge accomplishment in my life and a very memorable experience,” Seraydarian said.
To prepare, Seraydarian focused on watching past winners on YouTube, analyzed judges’ feedback and did even more research on Graham.
While in Maryland at the competition, Seraydarian also had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. and several of its museums and monuments. The national judges enjoyed her performance so much that they invited her to perform it at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
“I’m super grateful that the competition was in Maryland and not somewhere extremely far like it was for others who had to travel. I was also invited to perform my project at the Smithsonian, so being able to do that let us tour the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and the National Museum of African American History and Culture before they opened. Being accompanied by the staff, too, and hearing how everything runs on a day-to-day basis was super fascinating, along with really taking time in these museums to read and walk through incredible exhibits,” Seraydarian said.
While she did not win the national prize, Seraydarian said she was grateful for the opportunity to represent Virginia.
Reflecting on her experiences at the national competition, Seraydarian encouraged students of all ages to participate in Virginia History Day and to find their passion.
“Pick something that you are passionate about. You spend hours upon hours working on this and constantly having to research find out new information about this one topic. Picking something that will help you in your future to know, or that will benefit you right now to know, makes doing the project so much more fulfilling and easy to put together.”
For more information on Virginia History Day, visit virginiahistory.org.