TMU International Cultural Night

It was a night to remember. TMU's International Cultural Night, organized by the Office of Global Engagement (OGE), was filled with showmanship and entertainment where TMU students took center stage wowing the audience with their singing, dancing, various forms of performing arts, and magic. The International Cultural Night brings together students, faculty members, and their friends and family to celebrate the University's diverse culture during the festive season.

Kicked off by Vice President Wu and emceed by Priya Lalwani, the event showcased performances from seven international dance groups as well as entertainment from TMU's folk sports, magic, and rock music clubs. Dance groups from Africa, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam brought audio-visual interpretations of their countries' cultural heritages to vie for bragging rights, and to earn top scores from the panel of judges.

With four groups hailing from the world's largest island nation, it may not be a surprise that the Indonesian performances were big crowd-pleasers. From Anklung's traditional bamboo sounds, Majestic of Indonesia's expressive eyes, Rentak Zapin's striking gold fans and sparkles, to the glow-in the dark outfits and joker-like face paint of D-Versity, each group earned all kinds of audience support, with the edge in cheers going to D-Versity for their creative use of makeup and Indo-pop.

The Afro-Contemporary group's dance was fluid, high-energy, and full of smiles. With their smooth style, on-point timing, and natural comfort on stage, these dancers looked as though they'd be just at home grooving the night away at a house party or club as they were on stage in front of a crowd of nearly 250.

Representing the Indian subcontinent, the Spectrum Divas put on a fantastic display of Indian devotional dance. It was clear from their tight choreography, facial expressiveness, and emotive hand gestures that this group has been training together for some time. They ended with an enrapturing display of kneeling hair-spinning that almost left the audience themselves dizzy. If Indian dance is your thing, check the Spectrum Divas out on Facebook for upcoming performances.

While the dance was truly entertaining, some of the fanciest footwork may have actually been part of the Folk Sports Club's Diabolo performance. TMU's lithe Diabolist kept the audience on the edge of their seats with traditional Taiwanese yo-yo tricks that just about (but not quite!) defied the laws of physics.

It was a difficult challenge for the judges, but when the final scores were tallied it was the Vietnam Students' Association that came out on top. The VSA group's performance combined multi-media introduction and exciting modern music with traditional flutes mid-century-style umbrella based stage choreography. The troupe, dressed in traditional red tops with black bottoms, ended their performance with a multi-level 12 person pose that brought cheers from the crowd - and an 8,000NTD first place prize.

The night to remember was closed out with some classic tunes performed by the Rock Music Club before award presentations and pictures. As smiling participants and audience members made their way to the exit chatting about the performances, one couldn't help but look forward to next year's event. Keep an eye on the OGE website for more info.

More pics: https://oge.tmu.edu.tw/2019-international-cultural-night/

#Campus Event #Social Integration #TMU One World