Hello everyone!
I have told you about Slater, the international students organization on campus, in previous posts. Now, I will tell you more about one of the biggest events on campus that we organize—the Slater Culture Show. The show happens every fall, and this year it was last Friday, the 27th of October. During the show, students showcase their talents and cultural background through music, art, dancing, and so much more!
The program of the show
As a part of Slater’s E-board, I was helping with the organization of the event. Organizing such a big event was stressful at times, but we all had a lot of fun in the process. I think that the show was a success, and I loved being a part of it.
Part of the decorations
Some of the orgs that performed I knew about, but with some of them, this was my first exposure to them. Yanvalou, the drum and dance ensemble on campus, opened the show. They perform music and dance from Africa and the African Diaspora with so much joy and passion that you never want to miss their performances. Then, we had Hui O Hawai’i with a hula dance called Ulupalakua, and the Wellesley Shotokan Karate Club, who showcased different levels of karate techniques through choreographed fights on stage. Then we had Wellesley Aiko—one of the most popular clubs on campus. They are the only collegiate taiko (a kind of Japanese drumming) group in Boston.
We then enjoyed the First-Year Dance—a tradition at every Culture Show. All first-years who want to participate in it get together throughout the semester and create a choreography dance that they perform at the show. This year, the first-years truly outdid themselves by choreographing a dance to a mashup of songs from five different countries. We then had some individual and group performances by students showcasing their musical and dance abilities.
Another tradition at the Culture show is that the Slater E-board also comes up with a dance to perform. Honestly, I had so much fun doing that—from the long rehearsals to the actual dance on the stage. I am not a great dancer, but I nevertheless wanted to try and do this because I knew that it would be a moment that I would treasure forever.
A photo of the E-board dance.
The last performance of the night was Cielito Lindo (probably the best dressed group there), who performed a Yucatan and a Salvadoran dance. The ending of the show was the Fashion Show. This is one of my favorite parts of the whole show because I love seeing people walk around in traditional clothing from their homes and just look fabulous and proud to represent their cultures.
That’s it for this week! Stay safe!