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November 18, 2005
Asia Night 2005: A celebration of diversity
On November 5th, Fletcher got together to celebrate a festive and colorful Asia Night celebration, one of the four cultural nights organized each year by Fletcher students. The entire school came together to celebrate all things Asian: food, clothes, music, dance, art and poetry.
Tables of delicious food greeted viewers as they entered Dewick Hall on Tufts's campus. The was food from all over Asia, including many kinds of sushi, juicy dumplings, spring rolls, fried rice, teriyaki chicken and the most delicious biriyani available in Boston. Food disappeared quickly as hungry viewers tucked in happily while waiting for the show to begin.
The night began with a fashion show of clothes from around Asia. Fletcher students, bedecked in beautiful ethnic costumes gracefully strutted down the catwalk to music from their countries to happy hoots and cheers from the audience. There were costumes from China, Nepal, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
A range of student performances followed the fashion show. Emotional songs were sung in Sinhalese, heart-felt poetry was read in Bengali, while several hilarious skits sparked non-stop laughter in the audience. This was followed by a “garba” a colorful, vivacious Indian dance with sticks, which was performed by South Asian students at Tufts; another Fletcher student performed an elegant and awe-inspiring rhythmic gymnastics routine inspired by the Chinese arts.
Between the performances, students were ‘auctioned off’ for dinner dates at local Asian restaurants in order to raise money for victims of the earthquake victims in South Asia. These auctions were greeted with the utmost enthusiasm in the audience, as Fletcher students forgot their financial woes for a while to bid generously against each other, with the highest bid at a whopping $350.
The night concluded with a performance of a popular Bollywood song, and dance routine “Mahi-ve”. As Asians, North Americans and Europeans came together to dance to the beats of a Hindi wedding song, it was clear that Asia Night was a celebration of not only Asia, but the cultural diversity that makes Fletcher so unique.
“It was a fun evening and I had a great time”, said Susan Powers (MALD ’07) summing up the general opinion of the happy audience.
Asia Night is the first of the four cultural nights this year. It will be followed by Latin, African and Mediterranean nights, which will take place later in the school year.
Article by Shinjinee Chattopadhyay, MALD '07
Posted by jessica at November 18, 2005 08:57 AM
