Along with a few events starting off GM Week this weekend, there was also a burst of Asian culture that eminated from the Student Union and West Hall to as far as Club Lime. It was the Sixth Annual Asian Awareness Weekend, and a various number of clubs participated to represent their cultures’ unique characteristics.
There were two parts to Asian Awareness Weekend: the Night Market took place on Friday at the Union and Asian Night was held at West Hall on Saturday. The events held were designed to encourage a better understanding of the many Asian cultures that can be found at RPI. The theme for this year’s AAW was “REMIX: Unity through Diversity,” which focused on the different cultures and the influences they received from collaborating with each other.
Night Market began with a display of Asian culture in the McNeil Room. Tables were set up around an empty center space, with each Asian club selling different types of their nation’s food. While people would browse through the market-type setting, a few demonstrations were also presented in the center to entertain those who were sitting down and eating.
Clubs like the Philippine American League, the Rensselaer Bengali Community, the Indian Students Association, the Japanese Students Association, the Chinese American Students Association, the Malaysian Students Association, and many others offered samplings of traditional cuisine. I actually had some of the pulut (a type of sticky rice rolled up into a ball) and bubble milk tea from the Malaysian table as well as rice and vegetable korma (a type of mild curry) from the Bengali table. The Filipino table was serving desserts and I also had a bit of the turun (banana wrapped and fried in a spring roll) and leche flan (a kind of moist, custard cake). Needless to say, by the end of the night, I wasn’t worrying about what to have for dinner.
While my friends and I were enjoying the food and the atmosphere of a bustling “Asian marketplace,” the Philippine American League took out two long bamboo poles and placed them on the center to do a demonstration of tinikling (a Filipino folk dance that try to imitate the movements of a Tikling bird dodging bamboo traps set by farmers). To show the audience how to dance to the music and the clapping bamboo sticks, Rayahio Lim ’07 and Levy Hilado ’07 gave a short demonstration. Afterwards, they opened the floor for those who were interested in trying tinikling out. Before we knew it, there was a whole crowd gathered around the clapping bamboo sticks with people wanting to try the dance at least once. Once the floor was cleared, a martial arts demonstration started to take place, and people also joined in for that as well.
AAW did not end at the Night Market; there was also Asian Night at the West Hall Auditorium. The band New BegiNings opened the show up with a few songs—“Standing Here,” “Suffocation,” “Let You Down,” “Come Here When You Are Sober,” and “Deep River.” Afterwards, the Indian Students Association presented a performance composed of two classical dance forms: Bharatnatyam and Kathak. Bharatnatyam is a style that uses hand gestures and movements whereas Kathak is known for its speedy footwork and spins.
Next on the program was a martial arts demonstration. Taekwondo originated from Korea. The RPI Sport Taekwondo gave a small insight of what RPI students have learned during their martial arts experience. The demonstrators jumped into the air and broke numerous wooden planks with their kicks to the Mortal Kombat theme song. After the demonstration, the Hong Kong Student Association performed a short skit about student life after school. This demonstration also gave an insight into Western influences and the modern mix that Hong Kong has created from East and West—in other words, Mickey Mouse does Tai Chi.
The Pakistan Students Association also showcased RPI Raas, which is an intercollegiate team that consists of eight dancers. The women (in green and yellow) and the men (in red and white) came out hitting sticks called dandiya in rhythm with the music. This act was followed by a public service announcement from the Kung Fu Club. The announcement was a humorous skit and a warning to the general public on being cautious near an Asian. The moral of the Kung Fu Club’s performance? Asian people who know Kung Fu should not be messed with, especially when they’re drunk.
Graduate student Manli Chen performed a modern Chinese love song (sung in Mandarin) titled “A little this, a little that ...” The song was a slightly upbeat rendition by Chen and the performance brought about a feeling of love in the air—well, whether or not it did, it was evident that Ikenna Okoli ’07 was feeling the song when he handed a bouquet of flowers to Chen.
The Chinese American Student Association then proceeded to play its movie skit Lord of the Rice: The Fellowship of the Rice, a spoof of Lord of the Rings—in this case, the CASA E-Board journeyed throughout campus to rid themselves of the “One Rice Cooker”—and other random clips and allusions that included popular Asian entertainment such as Dragonball Z, Bleach, and Final Fantasy VII. The audience was treated to pastries from the Hong Kong Bakery during intermission.
Asian Night continued with the Fashion Show, where models walked the stage to display the ethnic clothing worn by different Asian cultures. A few of the traditional dresses included garments from Japan, China, the Philippines, Pakistan, India, Vietnam, and Malaysia. In between the first and second part of the fashion show, Dason Ying ’09 performed a dance number to Ne-Yo’s “Sexy Love.” Modern twists of traditional Asian clothing were shown at the second part of the fashion show.
The Philippine American League then performed a modernized version of the Kadayawan Festival Dance, a thanksgiving celebration that takes place in Davao City (southern Philippines) in late August. Kadayawan consists of a dance that moves along with tribal drum beats. Following PAL’s performance was Aparajit Naram ’08 and Kevin Itwaru ’07 on the Tabla and Sitar, respectively. The tabla (a percussion instrument) and sitar (a stringed instrument) are two instruments used to play Hindustani classical music. The Rensselaer Bengali Community then performed a wide variety of dances from the South Asian culture. A medley of songs were played for the performance, which consisted of “Balle Balle” from Bride and Prejudice, “Khaike Paan Banaraswala” by Don, “Shakalaka Baby” by Nayak, and “Gori Gori” by Main Hoon Na.
Pi Delta Psi also performed a skit during Asian Night. In their skit Why the Sea is Salty (a tale of Korean origin), the audience watched a band of thieves in a quest to gain a magical “handmill” that can grant wishes. The adventure included a daring Mission Impossible-style infiltration into the castle grounds, a Mario-type simulation into the deep confines of the castle itself, and a final dance-off for possession of the handmill.
Two more martial arts demonstrations ensued afterwards. The Malaysian Students Association performed Silat, a hand movement martial art, through a story-type skit about a peaceful village. The Chinese Students and Scholars Association then finished the demonstrations with Tai Ji, as performed by graduate student Keng Chen. The final act was the Asian Awareness Weekend crew in a hip-hop medley, which finished off the show with a bang.
Asian awareness does not end there, however. Throughout the rest of the semester, a few of the clubs will be holding workshops on their respective cultures. These would include traditional dances and such. So those still interested in learning how to, say, dance tinikling should keep their ears open for the next workshop hosting a lesson on it.
