Preview: Don José Marti Open Mic

This Sunday, November 13th, from 7pm – 10pm at the Rackham Graduate School, The Beta Upsilon chapter of Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity, Inc. are hosting their second annual Don José Marti Open Mic! 

This Open Mic is inspired by one of Beta’s pillars, Don José Marti, who was a Cuban nationalist, poet, journalist, and publisher who is considered a hero in the Latin American liberation movement. This event will represent a large variety of art forms: They welcome writers, musicians, vocalists, actors, dancers, and visual artists to present their artwork or perform in front of a live audience. I specifically liked that they mentioned that performers of all skill levels are welcomed in the Performance Application form. I’ve been to a few open mic events, and have been wanting to expose myself to more. There will also be food catering by a Latin American Cuban Cuisine. If you like poetry, spoken word, short stories, music, dances, visual arts, acting, and photography, this is the event for you! Seems like it will be an exciting night of appreciating and celebrating the arts! 

Make sure to fill out the RSVP Guest Form!

REVIEW: Celebrasia

*The image above is rXn, CSA’s dance group*

Celebrasia is definitely one of the events on campus with the best attendance turnout. The posting wall was flooded with people, truly resembling a night market, and people had already begun waiting in line thirty minutes before the performance. Unfortunately for those who didn’t come early, there weren’t enough seats (even for the performers); the aisles and back of the auditorium were flooded with people too, and they all stood for the entirety of the two-and-a-half-hour show. It was impressive how eager everybody was to watch the student organizations.

Having The Qingyun Chinese Music Ensemble perform first was a good decision; it established Celebrasia’s emphasis on cultural diversity by presenting various Chinese instruments such as the erhu and guzheng. It was also my first time hearing traditional Chinese music performed live; the sight and sounds of their ensemble were captivating with its heart-tugging melodies and gentle rhythms.

One of the most hyped-up performances was by DB3, the all-male K-pop dance group. It’s unsurprising how excited the audience was, as DB3 went hard on promoting their concept: ‘School Daze’. Each member wore a cute school uniform, and on their Instagram, they posted pictures of their group and all members too. 

In contrast, Moli, the female Chinese cultural dance group performed right after, and it was one of my favorite performances. They incorporated their clothing and fans into the dance as if they were extensions of their body and wore multiple outfits throughout their act. It was amazing how they managed to change clothes in such a short time and still keep the audience engaged throughout.

It’s understandable why popular songs and more powerful moves earn the most cheers, but this group stood out to me because of how different they were. While I was extremely excited watching all the hip-hop dances, I was most awe-inspired by Moli’s choreography.

Revolution, however, had a fantastic performance that successfully fused both culture and hip-hop. This group was also extremely memorable because the audience would collectively scream oooh and sigh aww. Unlike other performances, if one of the members stumbled it still added to the cheerful atmosphere in that way. It was so much fun because of that, and I would giggle at how in sync we were as an audience. Revolution is an extremely large group, but no member shined less than the others as our focus was on the Chinese Yo-Yos being tossed and twirled and caught in sync with the music. Their performances always showcase how strong their teamwork is and how much the members need to trust each other because many of the moves rely on one another to be successful. In small groups, that’s already hard, so Revolution is especially extraordinary.

I haven’t touched upon all of the groups that performed, but not because they were lesser in any way. If I did, then this review would probably be 2,000 words. As much as I’d love to do that, I don’t think it’d do justice to every group’s hard work and talent. That’s why it’s up to you, fellow reader, to go check out their performances yourselves! Especially for the groups I haven’t mentioned. If you’re interested in who did perform,

I want to give a special shout-out to those who worked through the technical difficulties at Celebrasia like Female Gayo and Seoul Juice. It showed their professionalism as performers, and they still killed it despite the additional challenges.

Celebrasia is genuinely one of the most special events on campus. If you missed it this time, don’t miss it next year!

PREVIEW: Celebrasia

Come to Mason Hall tomorrow night to celebrate CSA’s Celebrasia! In the beginning half of the event there will be a huge array of food stalls (like orange chicken y’all) provided by multiple student organizations all along the posting wall; in my opinion though, the food stalls are not the best part of Celebrasia. After all, we save the best for last: the free performances! It wouldn’t hurt to grab some munchies before the show though.

From 6:30-8, dances and live music will be provided by (in order):

Qingyun Chinese Music Ensemble (Co-ed traditional Chinese instruments orchestral group)

Blue Records (Live music)

DB3 (Male Kpop dance group)

Moli (Female Chinese cultural dance group)

Konnect (Co-ed Kpop dance group)

akDPhi (Multicultural Greek Sorority)

Flowdom (Co-ed hip-hop dance group)

VeryUs (Female hip-hop and cultural fusion dance group)

Revolution (Co-ed Chinese Yoyo team)

~Intermission~

Seoul Juice (Live music)

Kappa Phi Lambda (Multicultural Greek Sorority)

Female Gayo (Female Kpop dance group)

rXn (CSA’s hip-hop and cultural dance group)

Funktion (Male hip-hop dance group)

K-Motion (Female Kpop dance group)

Photonix (Co-ed glow-in-the-dark dance group)

I provided the descriptions above to give insight into what kind of event Celebrasia will be, but those few words doesn’t do each group justice. You’ve probably seen a good amount of these groups practicing alongside the posting wall these past couple weeks, all of them grinding for Celebrasia. Their practices are multiple days a week and hours long at a time even though their sets are usually max 10 minutes, so I’m super excited to see how their hard work pays off in their performances tomorrow night. Actually, a couple of these groups aren’t even formal dance clubs, but I’m sure they’ll be amazing too.

If you’re interested in Kpop, dance (hip-hop and cultural), live music, and experiencing a cultural event, come to Celebrasia tomorrow night November 6th from 5-9 pm at Mason Hall!

REVIEW: 6th Annual Multicultural Yardshow

It was unbelievable how much fun the Yardshow was. The event had one of the largest crowds I’ve ever seen at The Diag, and people at the back even huddled onto lampposts to get a better look. Before the show started, it was heartwarming to see the organizations already introducing themselves to each other and cheering each other on; of course, the cheers for each other grew even louder during the actual performances! Sometimes, it even became hard to hear the music over the screams and clapping.

It was clear how much pride each brother and sister had too: the members wore matching outfits representing their organization; their introductions were empowering; and their performance included dance moves significant to their history and representation. Some also included demonstrations of their values before dancing. Members of the organization who weren’t performing would chant from the crowd too, creating an even more immersive experience for the audience.

Because each group was so distinct from one another, the energy and attention didn’t die down despite the long acts (some performances even went up to 10 minutes). One of my favorites was a group that only had four students dancing. They exhibited so much charisma and earned lots of cheering for their simple yet exciting moves, and because of their small numbers, it made each dancer that much more memorable.

I also want to give a massive shoutout to Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity Inc. for hosting the event and giving an amazing last performance to end the night. They collaborated with another sorority and even gave some lucky audience members flowers!

I’m already looking forward to the 7th Annual Multicultural Yardshow to see what else the Multicultural Greek Organizations have in store for us.

PREVIEW: 6th Annual Multicultural Yardshow

This Saturday, October 22nd at 8:06pm, music will be heard all throughout The Diag. Sigma Lambda Beta Fraternity Inc. will be hosting their 6th annual Multicultural Yardshow at the Block M, and a total of 9 greek organizations will be participating, each performing their own choreographies with their own music mixes.

I’m super excited to witness the lively atmosphere this Saturday night, and I’m most looking forward to the organizations performing a stroll. A stroll is a rhythmic dance performed in a line with chants, and it’s a cultural tradition started by Black greek organizations. If you haven’t seen a stroll yet, this will be a great opportunity to see them, especially since each stroll is unique to their organization.

If you’re looking for something to do Saturday night, consider coming to The Diag even just for a short moment!

REVIEW: Navaratri Garba

Although Navaratri was officially over by the time Wolverines gathered to celebrate last Friday, the festive vibe of the event was as strong as ever. Navaratri is a major holiday in the Hindu religion, usually taking place in the fall based on the lunar calendar. Navaratri takes place over the course of nine days and celebrates the goddess Durga’s triumphs over evils, as well as the victory from the Ramayana, an ancient epic. Garba is a form of dance that is practiced during this time, and originated in the state of Gujarat, though it has gained popularity in many other parts of India.

The campus event was hosted by Michigan Wolveraas, a competitive Raas-Garba dance team. By the time the event started, Palmer Commons was full of people wearing colorful and traditional clothes, all ready to start dancing. The night started with garba, as participants danced to popular Bollywood songs and some more traditional songs as well. Garba is performed in circles, each ring full of people doing variations of the same steps. I enjoyed being able to switch rings throughout the song and practicing different patterns. Having different circles at the same time also helped to include more people, both beginners and experts alike were able to find a rhythm they enjoyed by the end. The room was crowded, causing lots of people to bump into each other, but enjoyable nonetheless. The night then transitioned to Dandiya, a dance similar to Garba but involving sticks that people strike together. This portion of the event was definitely higher energy as the noise from the dandiya sticks built and caused commotion all around. I had a great time dancing with my friends and teaching them the steps to the dance.

Having the Navaratri Garba was a great way to bring students together to celebrate a common holiday with other people on campus. It truly felt like a welcoming environment, as some people brought their friends who had never danced or heard of the holiday before. For me, Garba holds a special place in my heart as I danced almost every year growing up, and I’m glad I was able to continue my tradition in college.