I am a senior majoring in International Studies with a concentration in Comparative Culture and Identity and a minor in Sociocultural Anthropology. I'm an avid coffee and bonfire enthusiast with an interest in the arts.
Michigan Manzil, Maize Mirchi, Maya, Michigan Bhangra Team, Michigan Raas Team, Michigan Taal, Michigan Izzat, Michigan Sahānā, and many other groups are featured in tomorrow night’s sixth annual That Brown Show! All of Michigan’s South Asian groups will perform. There will be over 100 performances showcasing different types of music and dance.
The show is tomorrow at 7:30pm, located in the Michigan Theater. Doors open at 7:00!
Tickets can be purchased here and are also available through Passport for the Arts. For more information, the TBS website is located at this link.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Juried Art Exhibit, as I had never participated in the competition before. My friend and I were the first to arrive around 3:10, so we got first pick of all the food. They offered plenty of refreshments, including chocolate covered strawberries and spinach & artichoke dip (which were my favorites).
The overall winner of the competition was Georgia Hampton with her “Survival Series.” It was really cool to talk with her and learn about the Art & Design major here at U of M. If you have time, you should totally go and check out the piece at the League (by Beanster’s), because it’s really profound and definitely deserved the $300 prize.
I was really surprised to learn that my piece, “Primavera,” was voted for Student Choice Award! Thanks to everyone who came out and voted.
Georgia & I
The event lasted from 3-5pm today! All of the artwork will be on display by Beanster’s until the end of this week, and it is very much worth the walk.
Here are a few of the pieces from the competition!
The artwork for 2016’s Juried Art Competition has been on display outside of Beanster’s at the Michigan League since the beginning of this month. Tomorrow, the exhibit begins. It’s from 3-5pm at the Hussey Room of the League. Refreshments will be served!
The winner of the competition as a whole as well as the recipient of the Student Choice Award will be announced.
I’m super excited to review this event because I have a photo print in the competition. Feel free to stop by tomorrow and check out all the other awesome works of art!
The Michigan Theater is a building whose beauty rivals even that of Hill Auditorium. This was my second time visiting the theater and my first time sitting on the balcony, which is a whole new experience. The setting itself was astounding, but that was nothing compared to the dance competition.
The event started around 7pm. Nova Nassa was the first team to compete. Their theme was “Finding Nima,” a spin off of the movie, Finding Nemo. They kicked the night off with a high energy performance, the highlight, in my opinion, being when one of the team members did a back flip from the wings onto the stage. The stunt was perfectly timed, with strobe lights beginning the second his feet touched the ground. The team executed many synchronized lifts, creating depth within their members with some dancing on their knees.
The second team to take the stage was UIUC Fizaa. Their theme was “Knockout” and it was about a girl who started boxing in order to better control her anger. Their costumes were very well-coordinated with said theme, everyone dressed in reds or pinks. At one point, there was an amazing mass lift in which every female team member onstage was lifted from the legs and spun around in a graceful, synchronized maneuver. This team used lighting well, and during the final fight scene, their dance was made even more dramatic by the dark light sequence.
The third team, Broad Street Baadshahz, an all male fusion team from Philadelphia, danced for “The Pursuit of Happiness.” They began under a colorful backdrop, with an upbeat dance number. The mood, however, soon turned, illustrating that the pursuit of happiness isn’t always an easy journey. Later, they used colored saaps to illustrate solving rubix cubes, which was pretty cool. Their team was set apart from the others because they had a live singer in the front of the stage.
BSB
After BSB, UNC Chalkaa started their performance. Their story was that a group of people got caught in a Super Mario Bros game, ending with the main couple getting engaged. This team used lights onstage as opposed to just those on the ceiling, creating a more interactive performance in which the audience was further subjected to more dramatic parts of the dance. There was an instance in which the male lead “died,” but was soon revived by the classic 1-up green mushroom dancing across the stage.
There was an intermission, and then the board members were introduced.
Board Members
The fifth team to dance was Temple Agni. They were an all female group also from Philadelphia. Their story consisted of a president coerced into sending her troops to war because her daughter was kidnapped. The daughter was later murdered, and the president revealed the moral of the story: all lives are important. She did not send her troops to war for that reason. The dance itself was invigorating, showing the daughter’s metaphorical revival through dancing.
After Temple Agni, OSU Genesis took the stage. They are an all male fusion team. They reenacted the story of Peter Pan. They had a very cool promo video, with very poetic narration. This team also used onstage lights and they told the tale behind Captain Hook’s hatred for Peter Pan. They used shadows against the far wall to create a more dramatic setting. At the conclusion of the dance, their story seemed unresolved. It ended with Hook taking Pan’s hand, almost an eye for an eye sort of theme.
OSU Genesis
The Slu Shakti team went next. Their theme was a spin off of the movie, Brave. They used lights on the brim of the stage (pictured below) and Roman themed columns and torches that had lights placed into them for effect. Their costume colors also corresponded for most of the light sequences, their main colors blue and green. This team also used shadows against the far wall (also pictured below) and discussed the necessity of breaking old traditions to create new ones.
Slu ShaktiSlu Shakti
The final team in this competition was Rutgers S.A.P.A. They told the story of the struggles of a transgender student, using the popular movie, Inside Out, as their theme. They even used light colors to illustrate which mood was being used (ex. green lights meant Disgust was telling her story).
After that, the main coordinators of the event came onstage and discussed their purpose for the event: to raise awareness for human trafficking. They promoted endslaverynow.org, which is an awesome place for people around the world to get involved in solving this global issue.
The exhibition act, Furteelay Shokeen, appeared onstage next. They are Detroit’s premier all-male bhangra team. They were incredibly popular and used fire and a live drummer to pump up the crowd.
Exhibition act
OSU Genesis won the best mix award and they placed second in the overall competition. The best male lead was given to Captain Hook from Genesis, as well. UIUC won third place with Slu Shakti taking first.
A2 Dhoom is a Bollywood America Bid Point Competition. The winner gets 8 points, 2nd place earns 7 points, 3rd place earns 6 points, and etc. The points count towards going to Bollywood America. There will be 8 teams from around the country participating in tomorrow’s competition! It’s the biggest national Bollywood fusion competition and the teams that get to go are the best of the best. Sarah Izor, Sushanth Boda, and Meghana Karmarkar will be judging the event.
Get your tickets soon at the Posting Wall in Mason Hall before 2pm, or online here. Also, be sure to watch A2 Dhoom’s promo video and check out the Michigan Mazaa’s website for the official lineup of the event.
Doors open tomorrow night at 6:30pm, with the dances beginning around 7. Hope to see you there!
Café Shapiro was amazing, and the talent of all of the featured writers was very impressive.
The first writer was Cailean Robinson, a freshman.
After her, Molly Reitman read some of her fiction. Her piece was titled All The Time I’m Wasting, and one of my favorite quotes from her selection was as follows: “My stories are safe, and not worth repeating.” That line really resonated with me because it raised the question of – what stories are worth repeating, and how should I go about making them?
Third, the sophomore Lenny Shirase read a few of his poems. His poems in particular used strong metaphors, linking physical doors with emotional mindsets. He also touched upon the idea of having two homes, which is something I’m familiar with after moving to Ann Arbor. He described the “sun lighting up the ocean” like the “desert.” It was a very vivid image and highlighted the most beautiful qualities of what I’m assuming are his two homes.
Later, Ashley Bishel, a junior, read her short narrative, September. It was a realistic take on a love story. It began with “the kind of perfect that sounds much better on paper” and ended as you might expect. She placed emphasis on the importance of music, which I appreciated as a musician myself.
After Ashley, Katerina read a few of her poems. The language and imagery within them was striking. Take, for example, the line: “autumn leaves set soul ablaze.” When she was reading, she used many pauses for emphasis and her tone was almost melodic.
Later, Tori Essex read her fiction. Her narrative was titled, Chicago Bound. It discussed the painfulness of saying goodbye, among other things. My favorite line from her selection was: “masking sadness with cheerful goodbyes.”
Laura Dzubay read next, a freshman with a major in English. Her poetry was astounding and her stage presence was incredibly comfortable. She read five poems, one entitled Elegy for David Bowie. She had a ton of awesome quotes within her pieces, but a couple of my favorites were: “singing the wind” and “I miss being hungry.” The world through Laura’s poetry is a glorious one.
Laura Dzubay at Café Shapiro
The final author was a senior named Gavin Gao. He read a few of his poems, and they were unique in the sense that they were almost anecdotal. He also had a few wonderful quotes within his writing, my favorite of which being: “eyelashes quivering in prisms.”
Café Shapiro is an amazing event, and all of the featured authors will be put in print later on this semester. I’m very happy I got to hear some of their writing!
