A variety of cultural events flooded the Union as RPI’s 19th International Festival kicked off Family Weekend on Saturday afternoon. Numerous tables were set up that showcased foods and information from different cultures. Each table had its own style of delectable dishes, to the degree that for some of the visitors it became difficult to choose which foods they wanted to sample. Bubble tea was brewed in a corner table from the Hong Kong Student Association, different sweets were being distributed by the Russian Club, and the Pakistani Student Association and Rensselaer Bengali Community were selling samosas outside of the McNeil Room, to name just a few. To entertain the guests while they browsed the tables and munched on a few edibles, performances were held in the McNeil Room.
The Philippine American League opened up the performances by dancing aray, a traditional Filipino dance that involves some work with tambourines. After finishing the aray, Liz Balmores ’08 and Julian Llorente ’08 demonstrated tinikling to the audience. This dance involved skilled footwork amongst clapping bamboo poles as traditional Filipino music played in the background. Once the demonstration was over, daring volunteers went to give the dance a try to the amusement of the onlookers. Kudos to them, though, they tried their best!
Next in the string of performances was the Turkish Student Association. The audience clapped to the beat of the baglama (Turkish flute) as the traditional harmandali dance was performed. Afterwards, the room was filled with upbeat Turkish music and before you knew it, the rest of the members joined in for a final circle dance around the center of the room. The Iranian Student Association followed it up with a traditional Iranian dance—baba-karam—which involved a flirtatious dance with a stylish cowgirl hat.
The list of dances did not end there, however. In fact, guests crowded into the McNeil Room just as the Fotia Greek Dancers began their act. Ten traditional dances were performed to showcase the dancers’ fancy footwork; in addition to that, the lead males executed tricks that brought about loud cheers and applause from the crowd.
It was then time for the group D.R.E.A.M.S. to perform their dance. To promote Asian awareness, the performers chose to start with a typical Chinese fan dance. Pink fans fluttered in the middle of the room as the music began to play. However, by the second dance, the fans were cast aside and hairs were let loose as the ladies showcased their hip-hop moves in a more contemporary performance.
The Rensselaer Bengali Community’s President Shankar Kar ’09 then mixed modern dance to traditional music played in the background. The performance part of the festival was closed by the showcasing of a variety of songs from Bangla Desh.
Among other participating clubs were Alianza Latina, the African Caribbean Student Association, the Japanese Student Association, the Chinese Student and Scholar Association, the Indian Student Association, the Black Student Association, the Taiwanese Student Association, Sigma Delta, the Nepal Club, the Chinese American Student Association, the Armenian Student Association, and the Malaysian Student Association. Tables were also set up for Asian Awareness Week and the Abada Capoeira/Brazil group.
With the entertainment, the food, and the wide array of cultural information, it was definitely a small travel around the world, and you didn’t even have to leave RPI to do so!
