Category: Dance

PREVIEW: Celebrasia

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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

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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

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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

Malvika Pandya Leave a comment

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.

REVIEW: That Brown Show

Malvika Pandya Leave a comment

That Brown Show, presented by Michigan Sahana, is an annual event that showcases South Asian performance groups at the University of Michigan. The show allows for members of the South Asian community and others to enjoy a night of traditional and not so traditional performances. The night started off with a performance by Michigan Sahana Music, who performed Indian classical music as students showed their skill with various instruments as well as their voices. Also performing a musical number was Maize Mirchi, a South Asian a cappella group that presented a Hindi-English fusion song mix. I really enjoyed watching their performance and loved how they were able to combine songs of different cultures into a cohesive production.

The various dance performances were also very entertaining to watch. Michigan Sahana Dance and Michigan Mayuri both performed Indian classical dances that were traditional in style. Both groups were very skillful and expressive, able to communicate an entire story through dance. Michigan WolveRAAS also performed, mixing traditional regional dance styles with some contemporary elements. Their performance was extremely energetic and very entertaining to watch. South Asian fusion teams Michigan Taal and Michigan Manzaat also danced, mixing Bollywood and South Asian music and dance styles to create incredible and unique programs. The night ended with a series of thank you’s as  WolveRAAS won the judge’s choice award and Manzaat took home the audience choice award. I truly appreciated the sheer variety of performance groups, each of which offered something new to the audience while still highlighting South Asian culture.

REVIEW: A Night at the Burlesque

Malvika Pandya 1 Comment

I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from the collaborative dance show, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The show was run by Flowdom, a multi-cultural hip hop dance group, and Outrage, a jazz and contemporary dance team. The night started off with a bang as both groups joined together to perform their Burlesque number, accompanied by the songs from the 2010 film.

From there, Flowdom began their series of performances, all of which were meant to reflect various movie genres: Horror, Fantasy, Romance, and Action. They incorporated popular songs and props to help them along the way. My particular favorite was their Nightmare on State Street number (of the Horror genre), which incorporated eerie music, lighting, and dance moves to create an interesting and entertaining dance. Outrage also performed a number of times, although their music varied from upbeat pop songs to softer, more contemporary work. There was talent galore on display as the team performed complicated spins and lifts, accompanied by dazzling costume changes. I particularly enjoyed their dance to Lorde’s song Liability.

 

The show also featured several other student dance groups throughout the night. These teams included DB3 (an all-male K-Pop/Hip-Hop dance crew), the Dynamic Dolls, who performed majorette style dancing, Salto (a contemporary ballet dance group), and Konnect, a co-ed K-pop dance group. These groups all performed high-energy dances that were met with thunderous applause and cheers. I really appreciated the variety in the guest performances and thought they added to the complex arrangement of the show overall.

The night ended as Flowdom and Outrage partnered up for one last song, I Wanna Dance with Somebody. I could tell both groups had an absolute blast and their joy was expressed clearly through their performances. I had a great time watching the show and can’t wait to see what these groups do next!