The Orion Online

Issue date: 10/31/07 Section: News

Oct. 31, 2007

The Bell Memorial Union auditorium was transformed for more than three hours Tuesday night as dancers, poets and multicultural groups on campus used different artistic methods to display pride in their cultures.

The Multicultural Affairs Council and the Associated Students teamed up to host the 2007 Multicultural Night. Fifteen performances represented a myriad of cultures that can be found on campus,including students and members who identify themselves with ethnicities such as Latin-American, African-American and Filipino-American.

The evening started off with a booming performance from the Chico State African-Caribbean dancers. The group performed a Haitian dance that displayed the spirit of work, struggle and, ultimately, liberation. The women were dressed in white ruffled dresses and head bonnets and aprons. The performance represented the life of a woman from African decent through soft, rhythmic chanting and a series of dance moves that involved lifting their arms into the air and putting their bodies on the ground.

Dance performances also represented cultures descending from Mexico, Spain and the Philippines.

A student group also did a performance with Capoeira, an African-Brazilian dance related to martial arts where men and women use a series of kicks, turns and fluid arm movements to dance with one another.

Women from the multicultural sorority Epsilon Kappa Delta also performed. The four women combined African-American dance, salsa, stomp and hip-hop into one dance to represent their cultures.

Three African-American men performed a skit in which they depicted scenes from their lives that have been influential to their transitions from "boys to men," they said. The skit included a scene from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air to portray how media has shaped their idea of what it means to be men, and a candle-lit dinner where they wined and dined ladies to show their full transition into adulthood.

"That skit was a flashback into time," said Brannan Matherson, one of the three performers. "It showed how media influenced out growing up and becoming men."

Matherson teamed up with his two friends to celebrate what they have been through growing up as friends. Although the performance focused on his personal experiences, the skit was intended to reach out to different people in the community.

"Those things, those influences, were a part of our culture," Matherson said. "And our culture is a part of society."

The men of Nu Alpha Kappa brought a more serious tone to the evening when they presented a slide show that depicted immigrants crossing the American border illegally, working as migrant workers and ultimately creating a home and better life in America for their families. The men discussed their obligations to the people in their families who came before them and expressed the importance of education in their lives to ensure that their lives are better than their ancestors'.

The evening ended in high spirits with the Chico State Step Team performing a stomp-and-clap dance without music.

Junior Chelsea Willett attended the event and she was surprised to see the BMU auditorium filled with people, she said. She was impressed with the diversity and quality of performances.

Willett tries to be open to other cultures, she said. The event was a good way to bring together the different ethnic groups on campus.

"I make a conscious effort to immerse myself in other cultures and to be aware of them."

The men of Nu Alpha Kappa expressed their gratitude toward the people who came before them and turned the United States into a place where all cultures are celebrated.

"Everyone here, at some point, was an immigrant," one of the men said. "We're not the only immigrants here."

Stacey Kennelly can be reached at skennelley@theorion.com

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