Posted on March 31, 2008
It was nearly 9 p.m. when junior Julie Gaven took the stage in the Wilson Hall Saturday. The metallic soles and heels of her clogging shoes slapped the stage floor in a frenzy of steps, stops and shuffles that demonstrated, along with a variety of other cultural exhibitions that night, the ethnic diversity that may at times seem veiled at JMU.
“[Clogging] is an international mix, which makes it very American,” said Gaven, who would later lead fellow performers and many members of the audience in a basic clogging routine on stage.
The dance was a fitting end to “Cultural Fusion,” the sixth annual culture show sponsored by the International Student Association. The show displayed a medley of performances to attendees, including modern Indian and African dancing, Tai Chi, sitar instrumentals, a Belly dance/hip hop performance and poetry readings ranging from the Beatnik generation to more contemporary perspectives.
“We’re trying to show the audience the world in one night,” said sophomore Pratik Banjade, ISA Vice President. “That’s what is most exciting.”
Wilson Hall’s auditorium was nearly full.
Senior Reetika Sethi, ISA President, and Banjade welcomed the audience and introduced a brief video that interviewed a variety of students, faculty and JMU employees about what diversity means to them. They served as Masters of Ceremony throughout the night, introducing the various sets, except when Banjade participated in a mixed Bollywood traditional and modern dance, which is a high-energy dance that combines the traditional, modern and Indian folk dance forms.
“I love when they did the ‘Crank That’ [segment] and the guy in the superman cape jumped off the stage,” said sophomore Adele Smith in regards to the Indian dance Banjade participated in.
This year ISA tried to bring more acts to its show to change the standard from its last show.
“There’s a lot more diversity compared to last year’s show,” Sethi said. “We have a lot of different acts here which makes it a lot of fun.”
Among the changes from last year’s “Mosaic of Colors,” which focused more on India, is the incorporation of student organizations like the Vietnamese Student Association, African Student Organization, JMU Breakdance Club and the Word is Born Poets Society.
“Our goal next year is to get as many student organizations involved to further broaden the show’s cultural scope,” Banjade said.
Most of the competing groups were ready to perform and show off their different talents.
“The majority of people are in the shadows,” said Raphael Villacrusis, former president of the JMU Breakdance Club who participated in both the breakdancing and Bhangra dance sets. “Any cultural show I’m excited about; they’re here to break those stereotypes.”
A Kurdish fashion show, a Capoeira act and an Irish violin performance featuring a mixture of Scottish and Irish songs were also new installments to the program.
“I loved the Kurdish fashion show,” said sophomore Elyse Ritter. “The costumes were amazing.”
Ardalan Mahmood, Jeyhun Veliyev and two other students displayed the colorful skirts, baggy pants and blouses that are traditional Kurdish attire.
When junior Biruk Haregu was asked what he liked most about the show, his answer was simple.
“It was everything: the variety, the mixture.”
