Jesse Auditorium was full of international culture, from dances to skits to a Taiwanese toy called a diabolo, during International Night on Saturday.
The Taiwanese Student Association opened the night with a dance routine that centered around the theme of freedom. This was merely a warm-up for Chris Chen’s diabolo routine, which elicited applause and excitement from the crowd. The diabolo, a juggling prop balanced on a string, wowed the crowd as Chen tossed the props in the air and caught them on strings and created a fluid web of shapes that had the crowd gasping after each trick.
“The guy with the diabolos, Chris Chen, he was amazing,” said Greg Andi, president of the MU African Students Association.
Next up was the Cultural Association of India, which opened with a dance routine to Western dance music. Following this was a fashion show featuring simple, yet intricate outfits from the Indian region.
The Friendship Association of Chinese Students and Scholars performed next, displaying slow, graceful dances featuring young girls, college-age students and older Chinese women. This was followed by an unnamed, college-age Chinese student playing a pipa, a Chinese lute-style instrument. The short performance had slow melodic parts followed by blistering passages that drew audible reactions from the crowd.
Following an intermission, the multi-ethnic dance troupe Missouri’s Official Dance Crew performed to music by Drake and Rihanna.
The MU African Students Association’s skit titled “Africa’s Got Talent” followed. The dance group African Attraction kicked off the skit, with a slow, rhythmic dance routine. The next performance in the skit was Nigerian rapper The Arsonist. With a good rhythm, flow and speed, The Arsonist provided a welcome alternative to the many dance routines. Keeping the theme of non-dances was an African a cappella duet The JJs, who performed “African Queen” by 2face Idibia.
Next up was a three-part performance by the Vietnam Student Association. The first was a Vietnamese dance, featuring women dressed in three tops of traditional outfits who danced with props in a fluid, calming manner. A wedding was then put on, with a proposal, families meeting, a photo-tour of Vietnam and finally a celebration and ceremony. This was followed by a bamboo dance, in which dancers jumped between bamboo poles. This portion included volunteers, including spectator Joe Remeika’s grandson.
“It was great whether he was in it or not,” Remeika said. “We haven’t been here in a while and we wanted him to experience it.”
Rounding out the show was the Thai Student Association, performing the slapstick comedy skit, “King Frog and the Rain God.” The skit started with a drought, leading peasants to visit the Frog King and requiring photo ID to see him. The group proceeded to visit the Rain God, who was distracted by playing Angry Birds on his iGod. The skit ended with a sword fight between the King and God, who agreed upon a signal for when to bring rain down.
SpectatorJoshua Puglsey said he enjoyed International Night overall.
“This is my first International Night and I have no complaints,” Pugsley said. “It was excellent.”