Asian Showcase Final features music and dancing

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Lijia Wang wore a white silk mandarin gown as she played a traditional Chinese song on the piano.

Wang is a freshman from Beijing who came to Central Michigan University to learn English and possibly study geography.

She said the chosen song “Boats,” inspired by Tang Dynasty poet Wang Bo, represented a meeting of cultures.

That fusion of western instruments and eastern literature started the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month’s Showcase Finale Wednesday night in the Bovee University Center auditorium.

“Nowadays, China has a lot of different cultures,” Wang said.

The event, which capped a month of activities and presentations geared toward Asian and Pacific American awareness, attracted about 100 spectators.

Its eight performances included demonstrations of traditional dress, dances both new and old, and songs in Hmong, a language of southeast Asia.

The Hmong American Student Association of Michigan State University took to the stage in bright red and blue dresses to demonstrate a Salawan dance, a tradition of Laotian festivals.

The Asian Cultural Organization’s dance crew cut loose in suits to popular Asian music including “Girls,” a song by South Korean singer Se7en featuring Lil’ Kim.

“We’re not doing it for perfection or for seriousness, we’re doing it to have fun as an organization,” Auburn senior Nou Her said.

Iron Mountain senior Rachelle Lindow and Adrian junior Maricar Lorenzo, both members of Asian awareness group 12 CARATS, dressed in traditional celebratory Filipino clothing for the fashion show.

“You wouldn’t see somebody strolling down the street in it,” Lindow said of her own colorful yellow and purple outfit.

Muskegon senior Anthony Crawford was particularly taken by Wang’s piano performance and also enjoyed the buffet outside the auditorium.
“The food was perfect,” Crawford said. “The egg rolls, awesome.”

Amanda Ajine-Basil, a Sterling Heights junior, came in hopes of understanding more about Asian culture.

She said the Salawan dance was her favorite performance of the night.

“It was a great depiction of the more traditional side of it,” Basil said.