Int'l Culture Night tomorrow

By Guruchathram Ledchumanan
The Collegian

The 22nd annual International Culture Night will feature 175 world and student performers from 25 different countries.

The event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Satellite Student Union.

The SSU, a building that usually sits empty as students pass on their way to classes in the new Science building, was buzzing with activity last Saturday afternoon during a rehearsal for the concert event.

Emcees Cyndi Kobi, an accounting major, and Vijith Premasinghe, a liberal studies major, practiced their lines for the show.

Performing alongside this dynamic duo, there are history majors performing Japanese dances, tap dancers and a local flamenco-dancer, who is also an alumni member.

For Matt Mileham, leader of the USU Productions team, the commotion was business as usual.

“Is flamenco here? Is the African fashion show here?” committee head and Associated Students Executive Vice President Juan Pablo Moncayo said as he organized the performers into their allocated time slots for using the stage.

“This is a full dress rehearsal, we have everything from dancers to emcees practicing, so anyone sitting in the audience today would not see much difference from today and the actual night,” Moncayo told the large crowd.

“Most of the day will be used for us to get the transitions between performances right,” Moncayo said. “Welcome to the madness.”

The first performers were the Gumya Taiko drumming troupe. In ancient Japan, the drums they use were played during times of war to provide timing during marches.

The next performance will be less earth-shaking, but no less engaging. The Tap Tones dance troupe, will perform highlights from Adam Guettel’s Tony Award-winning musical, “The Light in the Piazza.”

“Hopefully our performance might win an award too” joked Tap Tones treasurer, Adam Fernandez.
Performances include a dance performance by the Japanese Students Association.

There is also a lion dance, a tai-chi dance, a classical piano recital, Bolivian dancing, Salsa and Flamenco, and the Mexican Donzales de Aztlan dance.

There will be an African fashion show, and as fashion show from the Asian Students Association.
Fresno State students have dedicated months of planning and rehearsing to this event.

So Saturday night, if you should be somewhere near campus and happen to hear the sound of drums, that is the sound of the ancient gods of war, urging you to drop by the Satellite Student Union and partake in the cultural buffet that is Fresno State. “International Culture Night is a great way for any student to meet and learn from international students and our backgrounds” Moncayo said.

For more information contact the International Culture Night committee at [email protected].

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