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!

REVIEW: COSTUMES – 2022 Fall Ann Arbor StorySLAMS at The Blind Pig

The Moth StorySLAM was a hit! 

If you’ve never heard of Moth, this is how StorySLAMs work: 

StorySLAMs are a night of storytelling. Ten brave souls volunteer to tell a five-minute story, which are given scores. The story crowned with the highest score moves on to compete at the Moth Grand Slam. In between each five-minute story, there are also story slips (strips?), which are anonymous 140-character micro stories that are shared in between each storyteller. The story slip prompt was, tell us about a time the mask came off. 

 

“True stories. Told. Live. No costumes, props, visual aids.”

The theme of the night was Costumes. This compiled into stories about prized garments, wigs, dyed hair, Halloween, costumes for the sake of survival, and revealing your true self. 

In a way, the clothes we wear are our daily costume, as the event had described. As soon as the host, Amir, described his attire as “recently fired from Hogwarts,” I knew the night could only be going good places.

My friend Isabel and I wrote our story slips with her copywriter skills obliterating my wordy ramble. 

Being one of the youngest people in the room, with big fat sharpied Xs profaning both of my hands, it felt weird to see all the adults of Ann Arbor sip their cocktails on my left and right, laughing boisterously at the host’s jokes. It felt like I was at the filming of a sitcom. All the laughs felt fake, like someone pressed a remote and a ‘LAUGH’ sign lit up and cued a sound effect from the audience. I sipped my water and swallowed this new taste of sophisticated fun.

The three teams of judges were specially handpicked from the audience: people who were completely unburdened by expertise, with no experience whatsoever under their belts. At least one person would be telling a part of their lives to an audience for the first time in their lives.

… And the fate of these storytellers was in the hands of judges named The Ghostbusters, The Mothman (“…Moth is a copywriter trade mark” – Amir), and Witch, please.

I’m afraid I can’t do justice to the ten stories that were told, and I wish you could just hear them yourself. To boil it down, there were stories about clown sex, sexy Beetlejuice Halloween attire and hand-me-down tank tops, a fiberglass back brace from the eighties, designing yoga clothes, working with a trauma patient, a lawyer dying her hair, seeing the sea for the first time, misunderstandings from an eyepatch, a pleated drinking skirt named Alice, and a closeted trans woman who played the part of a male pastor for years until she found the freedom of not pretending.

To our complete shock, Isabel’s anonymous story slip was pulled first, mine second. My first Moth experience was off to a great start.

Amir walked up to the mic, unfolded my slip, and read: “I ran over a grandma with a bike. Wheel punched her leg, my chin got chucked. Mask heavy, soaked red, pooled with blood, it fell off.”

 Silence. 

Then the room exploded. Amir went on a tangent. “You’re not focused on the right mask, it’s not all about you! You’re worried about your mask when Calin’s (the sexy beetlejuice girl) grandma is lying on the ground, clutching her spaghetti straps, wheezing out her last?!!”

A few more of the good ones:

“When I first met my girlfriend I used to hold my farts. Now that she’s in love with me I toot to my heart’s content.”

“Took him home. We did it. My wig came off.” 

By the end of the night I had no idea which story would win; all of them were phenomenal, unexpected, fantastic. A guy did the math on the whiteboard. We drumrolled.

…..It was 3-way tie! (A drunken holler of “3-way!!!” from an audience member.) In this scenario, they decided to take the highest individual score, which had been Johanna’s (the ex-pastor and proud trans woman, who no longer bears the burden of being in costume)!

The night ended with a late night Blank Slate run where we ran into the host of the show. We psyched ourselves up to own up to the stories we wrote (Listen Amir… I’m the one who ran over that grandma…), but he grabbed his cone in a brisk blur and the door jingled on his way out, coattail fluttering before it closed shut. The universe didn’t want us to confess.

I’ll definitely be joining the next StorySLAM in November! There’s no telling how the night will go with Moth, where its wispy wings might take you. The clown sex story is a testament to that.

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.

REVIEW: MOCHAS + MURALS: WALKING MURAL TOUR

As an artist who is afraid of heights, the idea of painting a mural has always given me a shiver. I could not imagine being on a lift, hovering a paint brush or spray can over the side of a building. This has always been something I’ve been ashamed of because murals are a work of art for the people and they have a great benefit to the community. It could not be more true than in the Ann Arbor community. With the Ann Arbor Art Center (A2AC) pushing to add more murals, there is more art than ever in the city. 

This past Friday, I wandered to the A2AC on Liberty Street. A chatting group, iced coffee, and cookies that felt all too early in the morning  to eat for a college student like me (even at noon) awaited. We all gathered here for a tour of the city’s 15 murals put in place with the help of A2AC. 

Most of the murals appeared in the time that I lived in Ann Arbor. However, because of covid constantly moving me away from Ann Arbor and living in a dorm without a centralized location to downtown my freshman year, I wasn’t able to admire the way that these murals were really transformed the city. I think a page in the Murals activity book describes this change the best. It shows the before and after shots of the bland buildings and the shots of them after they have been painted. I feel like the image speaks for itself on the effect that the murals have had. 

On the walk, we stopped to admire many murals. Some were grand and impossible to miss. Others were fun and almost Easter egg-like, like the orange man on top of the A2AC. I discovered my favorite mural in the alley way of the Blind Pig. Painted by Chris, it depicts red dokkaebi which are inspired by Korean folklore. Their mischievous spirit pairs well with the late night crowds that gather in the alleyway. Sometimes it seems that the young adults and dokkaebi share the same energy and spirit. 

Overall, I would highly recommend checking out the city’s murals so you can pick out a favorite of your own. While you may not be able to have a guided tour like I did, the A2AC offers an online mural guide and activity book so you can go on a self guided tour.

REVIEW: RE:CLAIM

When I walked into the opening night of the RE:CLAIMED Immersion opening night, I did not know what to expect. I half read the eventbrite description of the event and understood that there would be poetry, dancers, music, and visual artwork. However, I could not imagine the form that it would take. I must admit I was nervous to attend and a bit lagging as I walked the streets of downtown Ann Arbor to the Washtenaw County Courthouse, which was a place I only ever passed and never had a single thought of going into. When I got to the courthouse, a metal detector awaited me. I almost turned around right then. Then I saw the smiling face of the guards who took my phone, keys, and loose pencils from my pockets to run through the machine and I began to understand the purpose of this event. It was a celebration. A celebration in honor of art and the work of the Youth Arts Alliance, Interfaith Council for Peace & Justice, Washtenaw My Brother’s Keeper, Amplify Project, and Title Track, and the Washtenaw County Trial Court.

 

I found further comfort from the intimidating surroundings of the courthouse in the autumn tree that greeted me at the entrance way. Its presence seemed to say, “hey this building isn’t as scary as it seems. Check me out, I’m a tree and I’m doing just fine here.” From there I climbed the steps to the second floor. On the stairwell, there was a little room titled Proud Little Witch designed by the artist Rowan McClung-Compton. It welcomed me as it reminded me that this event was about art and art was meant to be viewed by people even if they did not fully grasp what the event was for. 

On the second floor of the building was where the bulk of the art was. Paintings lined the hallway and a stage had been set up in a corridor surrounded by anticipating adults for the upcoming dance routine. One of my favorite exhibitions of work came from the courtroom itself. I’d never been in a courtroom before so I got a bit of giddy excitement at being in a place that reminded me of being on a set of a movie or tv show. The pinhole photographs exhibited there added an interesting contrast of human presence to the room. It reminded me that this wasn’t a tv set but a place that impacted the lives of people.

Overall the event was a bit intimidating. However, it was great to see the power of artwork in action as it brought the community together and gave these young people a voice.