CultureSCAPE diversifies and conquers

By: Sarah Sabshon

Posted: 11/15/07

Kicking off the newly designed CultureSCAPE, the Office of Multicultural Student affairs hosted the annual CultureShow this past Saturday evening.

In an effort to promote diversity, CultureSCAPE, previously known as CultureFest, will now cover the entire year instead of limiting ethnic awareness to 11 days. These changes have been made in honor of the event's 20th anniversary.

Hopefully this CultureShow will be indicative of the reinvigorated collaboration between student groups and the administration intended to create a nurturing and understanding environment on campus.

With a short introduction from this year's hosts, Michelle Gutierrez and Gabrielle Morris, the show started in a relatively timely manner.

Although they were definitely enthusiastic, their bad humor would eventually put a damper on the evening. Such lines as, "Good news, we have air conditioning. Bad news, the second half is really hot, so stick around," elicited awkward chuckles from the crowd.

The evening began with an exhibition of Capoeira, Brazilian dance-fighting. Although the format has differed little from year to year (the members stand in a semi-circle, playing drums and singing while two members fight in the middle), it seemed as though the crowd was more involved this year. The enthusiasm certainly set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Next was a solo performance by Claire Kenney, an international Irish Dance competitor. Doing two "hard shoe" routines, titled "Kilkenney Races" and a traditional trump jig, Kenney gave the audience a taste of real Irish heritage.

Ketzev, the Jewish a capella group on campus, sang two songs. First, they did "Ahava K'Tana" (Small Love), an original song by Shiri Maimon, the winner of Kochav HaNolad (The Born Star), an Israeli version of American Idol.

Second, they translated Boyz II Men's hit "So Hard to Say Goodbye" into Hebrew. The better of the two pieces was definitely the former song. For some reason, English songs never translate well into Hebrew, although, their rendition of "Ahava K'tana" was more sweet and melodic than the power-poppy original.

Ketzev, however, has improved immensely over the past few years, and this act certainly reflected that.

Modern Dance, a typically overlooked student group, performed an original piece by artistic director Marilyn Byers, titled "Oh Mary." Styled in the vein of Alvin Ailey, known for his incorporation of blues and gospel into dance, this was incredibly well-done, professional and visually exciting.

Taekwando followed. Although the exhibition of talent was interesting, it was poor placement in the program to have a music-less showing of martial arts after such a lively dance number. Many attendees, however, thoroughly enjoyed the wood-breaking, which elicited hoots from the crowd.

Shakti, the classical Indian dance group, as always, donned gorgeously intricate costumes. The well-rehearsed choreography and the beautiful Eastern music transported the audience to India. This performance, purely through dance, passed along the messages of the Indian culture, fulfilling the goal of CultureSCAPE.

Some of the most famous singers in American culture come from the Caribbean. Vivaz, a small group of women, explore their Caribbean heritage through performing arts, most notably singing. Ella Fitzgerald's "Summertime" was the first song choice and Lauryn Hill's "Killing Me Softly" was the second. Although the former was indeed captivating, one could hear the entire audience murmuring the lyrics to the latter. Not only were their musical choices on target, but these women have some of the best voices Hopkins has ever heard.

The surprise star of the evening was The SuburbaKnights, the Hopkins break dance group. Interacting with the crowd and putting on a high-energy performance, the members genuinely impressed the entire audience, spurring a standing ovation. Their headstands, spins and jumps seemed unfathomably difficult - and yet they managed to do it all with almost no noticeable mistakes. And of course, who doesn't love a good "sprinkler," as one member admirably attempted.

Another highly entertaining performance was from the Filipino Dance group, a division of the Filipino Students Association. Every year, they perform a dance with long wooden poles that bang the ground and clap together, as dancers move in and out of their paths. And although interesting, the audience has little to identify with. This year, however, they decided to add a more modern aspect to the dance, showing the move from a traditional Filipino couple to a more modern day, Filipino-American couple. In this manner, the dancing between the poles was much more enjoyable for everyone.

There were a few acts that were less than satisfactory. Egyptian Sun Belly Dancing put on an uninspiring stunt with the balancing of knives and the twirling of scarves. The unflattering costumes also hurt the performance. The official dance team of the University, the Ladybirds, certainly put the crowd to sleep with two "fusion" dance pieces, one Latin Jazz and the other American Disco. The highlight of the performance was the can-can line, à la Rockettes. Although they have done well to choose tops that cover their midsections, one would imagine that with all that talent, they could come up with more exciting choreography.

However, overall, the performances in this year's CultureShow were the best seen at Hopkins. The addition of individual performers such as Kenney and Diedre Lee, who played "Fighting the Typhoon" on an ancient Chinese instrument called the Guzheng, proved to be worthwhile, entertaining, and, most importantly, educational. Sometimes this message is lost on the audience; as they cheer for their friends, they forget what the purpose of the CultureShow is - to educate the student body on different cultures and ethnicities.

This year, the planning committee was smart to make sure that each performance was prefaced by a short introduction by a performer, explaining the history and meaning behind each group and its performance piece. This provided a historical reference point for each act, allowing the audience not only to appreciate the music and dancing but also the cultural background.

This year's CultureShow was generally a success and certainly an improvement over past years.Hopefully awareness and understanding of cultures will now no longer just be a once-a-year event. If this is any indication of what CultureSCAPE has to offer, this year's diversity education should be a profound achievement.