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REVIEW: The 7th Annual Multicultural Yardshow

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At 8:06 PM on Friday, October 27th, the Imperial Zeta Chapter of the Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc. hosted their 7th Annual Multicultural Yardshow in the Diag featuring eight multicultural Greek organizations:

Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc.

Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc.

Delta Tau Lambda Sorority, Inc.

Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc.

Chi Upsilon Sigma National Latin Sorority, Inc.

Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Inc.

Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc.

I was super excited to see this year’s performance because I attended last year’s Yardshow as well. Similar to the 6th Annual Multicultural Yardshow, the crowd was enthusiastically supportive of each group and that’s what truly separates the Yardshow from other showcases. Because this event places a strong emphasis on expressing and having pride in one’s background and culture, there was a diverse selection of music. I was unfamiliar with most of the songs but that didn’t take away any of the enjoyment; I appreciated getting to explore new genres of music and sharing the experience with others. What brought the various communities together and incited the most cheers was when the groups incorporated elements of a stroll into their choreographies. 

Strolling is a dance form that was created by the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), also known as the Divine 9 (the nine historically Black fraternities and sororities who are a part of the NPHC). The Multicultural Greek organizations also practice strolls as a way to pay homage to the NPHC who paved the way for ethnic minorities to start their own Greek organizations. Movements in a stroll are meant to represent the Greek letters in their fraternity or sorority’s name; for example, sharp diagonal arms may represent the Greek letter kappa. It’s often hard to pick up on what dance moves count as part of a stroll as well as what Greek letter they signify, but one way to tell is if the audience suddenly goes wild. A key part of a stroll that’s easy to identify is when the performers start to dance synchronously in a line and circle the stage. This part is heavily influenced by African-American culture and African roots to show power and unity against racism. 

Some of the organizations practice salutes instead of strolls. Similarly, salutes are performed in a line but instead of dancing, they chant together. It’s a powerful form to watch since they synchronize their speech in a fierce yet poetic manner, expressing the history and passion they have for their sisters or brothers through not only words but strong movements. Being in sync is extremely important since the members are very close to each other, making it much more obvious to tell if someone is out of rhythm. Each group nailed it and I was super impressed by how much hard work they must have put in to accomplish that.  

Overall it was a great event featuring groups, music, and forms of art I couldn’t see anywhere else. 

REVIEW: Jay Peng Zhang and Terry Tsang

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As part of the U-M Fall 2023 Festival of Asian Music, Terry Tsang and Jay Peng Zhang came to the Keene Theater in East Quad on Tuesday, October 24.

Terry Tsang is a choreographer primarily working in Hong Kong. I was expecting him to perform, but instead, he gave a presentation because his work centers around exploring the human body through nudity and human desires, a concept that was inspired by simply walking down the street. Tsang wanted to know if we could truly understand someone through their body alone and if the body speaks the truth, as verbal communication leaves room for dishonesty. He showed us a couple of videos of his choreographies that expressed his interpretation of what love means, incorporating the gestures of making love that gradually transformed into an animalistic representation of sex since animals are designed to survive through reproduction. The dancers were completely nude but wore strange and purposefully unsettling masks that completely hid their faces; in fact, during the Q&A session at the end, an audience member described the dancing as creepy.

Jay Peng Zhang on the other hand did give a live performance and sang the folk songs of various ethnic groups in China, such as the Tujia ethnic group from the Western Hunan Province. His singing was accompanied by only one person, who played a drum set muted by cloth and other percussive items, like large pots; but rather than an accompaniment, the percussion sounded like a response to his singing and movements because of its continuous resonance instead of emphasized beats. Zhang sang with a powerful voice, and his breath control and crescendoes were incredible; however, he moved his fingers very daintily, creating a beautiful and interesting contrast.

Zhang explained how he didn’t want to give the audience a flashy performance but rather a meaningful and interactive experience to renew and rebuild old rituals, as over time they’ve lost their meaning “like artifacts in a museum,” performed only as a tourist attraction. To him, folk songs and their intended rituals don’t signify religion, but instead are a way to release stress and help keep our hearts peaceful and balanced.

The most memorable song Zhang sang was one traditionally sung by women left behind at home by their lovers who left to earn money. The girls would sing the song to a river because they believed the water would carry their emotions to another place, and when their lover saw the water, he could feel her love. Zhang asked the audience to accompany his singing by collectively becoming “a group of water” by enunciating syllables that represented flowing waves. The amazing part is how the audience naturally added dynamics to the space created through Zhang’s gentle dance.

REVIEW: Splendid Sounds of Taiwan: Soloists of the National Chinese Orchestra of Taiwan

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As part of the U-M Fall 2023 Festival of Asian Music, the National Chinese Orchestra of Taiwan came to Ann Arbor and hosted a variety of events from October 1st to 4th. On their last day, soloists of the ensemble performed at Hill Auditorium and showcased various traditional Eastern instruments including but not limited to the Yangqin (dulcimer) performed by Ming-Hui Lin; Dizi (flute) performed by Chen-Ling Liu; Sheng (reed organ) performed by Chi-Mi Chen; Erhu (two-string fiddle) performed by Yi-Fang Wu; and Gehu (four-string bass fiddle) performed by Ya-Tsing Hsu.

It’s difficult for me to describe each of the instruments, since it was my first time hearing them live. While the strings sounded muted, they were incredibly resonant and easily filled the large hall. The Dizi was sharp and piercing, whereas the Sheng blended beautifully in the background. My favorite was the Yangqin, which could produce a variety of clear and subtle textures. Though there was only one person playing each instrument, the music never felt lacking in dynamics and balance.

Their large selection of music shared a common theme of nature or dance. Each piece had a title that gave further insight into the intended imagery, sentiment, and context of the music. Furthermore, details of the historical background and origins of each piece were written in the concert programs. Reading the descriptions beforehand really added to my experience, because it gave me a visual aid to interpret as I listened.

For example, in the opening piece, Queen of Courtesans, each tempo change painted the different steps of a dance; the tremelo of The Butterfly Loves Flowers resembled a butterfly’s beating wings; and the grace notes decorating many of the other pieces acted as falling leaves and flowers.

The most impressive part of the program was the Skylark; the Skylark was a solo piece featuring an instrument called a koudi (similar to a picollo), which is so incredibly small I couldn’t even see it in the soloists hands. As implied by the title, it featured the melody of a skylark. The resemblance was simply uncanny to an actual bird.

Overall, it was a wonderful and unique experience to attend this concert. If given the opportunity, I highly recommend listening to music from other cultures.

PREVIEW: Michigan Pops Orchestra Concert “A Night at the Popscars”

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As we approach the end of the semester, the time for the Michigan Pops Orchestra’s concert approaches too! This semester’s theme is “A Night at the Popscars,” meaning they’ve selected a variety of music that’s related to Oscar and other award-winning films.

Many pieces they have selected are teased on their poster (the featured image above) which can be found around campus and on their Instagram @michiganpops. It looks like Howl’s Moving Castle, Star Wars, and West Side Story will be featured, with Howl’s being my most anticipated one!

I’m wondering how the Pops members will have done justice to the Oscar-winning films with their own directing and acting. I’m sure they won’t disappoint though, and I’m looking forward to which movies they’ve chosen to recreate (Star Wars probably being the most likely one).

The concert is at 7:00 PM at the Michigan Theater on Saturday, April 8th. Tickets can be bought online, at the ticket office, and sometimes at Mason Hall, or you can even get a free ticket with a passport of the arts!

REVIEW: 17th Annual Multicultural Greek Exhibition

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*The image above features Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Incorporated; sorry I didn’t have a good seat to take a picture from :,)*

I saw many familiar organizations from the Yardshow last semester at the Multicultural Greek Exhibition (MGX) on Saturday. Since this event was in a smaller and more private venue, I think I got to know more about the community; one art form I really appreciated seeing again is called a ‘salute’. It’s a tradition unique to many Latino-Greek organizations and is performed in a line formation. They described it as being different from a step or stroll, which are more dance-like, and compared it to a form of poetry expressed through both recitation and movement honoring past accomplishments and cultural history.

Saluting can be startling when seeing it for the first time due to its intense nature, and I hadn’t heard of it before last Saturday; when I first saw it at the Yardshow I didn’t even know that some of the performances I was watching were called a salute. I’m sure many others haven’t heard or seen a salute before either because of how integrated it is in Greek (specifically Latino-Greek) culture and there aren’t many opportunities to see them. I highly recommend it though, because it’s truly a special experience.

It’s impossible for me to capture the salutes I saw only in words, but in my best attempt to describe it the members were SO powerful with their facial expressions, had amazing coordination, showed unbreakable unity, and expressed passionate language. You truly see a whole other side to someone who is performing a salute. Their hard work is so impressive.

I did enjoy the other groups too! I’ve only been attending more serious dance-focused events recently, as in the performers and centered around dance performance, and coming to this event reminded me of how much fun it is for the audience AND the performers when they’re not even ‘dancers’.

While I don’t want to compare, I did prefer the Yardshow more, largely due to the location. Since it was indoors and in a smaller room, there wasn’t much awareness or accessibility to the general public that the event was happening. This meant that the amount and kind of audience were limited and the view I had of the stage wasn’t very good.

Still, it was a fun time and I’m glad I went! Shoutout to all the organizations that performed, especially Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Incorporated for organizing it and doing such a good job hosting.

 

PREVIEW: 17th Annual Multicultural Greek Exhibition

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The Multicultural Greek Exhibition (MGX) hosted by Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Incorporated is tomorrow: Saturday, March 25th at 7:00 PM in the Michigan Union Rogel Ballroom. This event will be a collaboration between various multicultural greek organizations on campus, where they’ll give all kinds of performances expressing their pride and showcasing their greek traditions.

Last semester I attended the Yardshow, a similar event hosted in the Diag by Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Incorporated. It was an indescribable experience and certainly a night to remember, with one of the largest and most supportive crowds I’ve ever been a part of. Not only did I witness great performances, I also had a valuable learning experience regarding what multicultural greek life entails and how it differentiates itself from other kinds of fraternities and sororities. Through powerful dances and facial expressions, they showed the audience the significance of their values and history.

I can’t wait to see what MGX has in store, as they promised on their instagram (@lta_betaomicron) a “night full of energy”. The event is free and open to the public; there will also be a chance to participate in mini-games and win prizes.

If you’re still curious as to what kind of experience it may be, I recommend checking out my previous review on the Yardshow (no promises as to how alike they are though). However, the best and most accurate way to find out is by attending yourself tomorrow night!