Hood Today

Issue date: 12/8/08 Section: Entertainment

By Matt Cosgrave: The group of Miss Universe contestants performing in their cultural attire.

Media Credit: Matt Cosgrave Dancers performing the Filipino dance, the "Tinikling."

This year the International Show was an outstanding hit with the students. Everyone who attended enjoyed the experience. The show was full of good singing, dancing and funny jokes. The show had an amazing variety of dances and singing styles.
Throughout the night, the passengers followed Rob Stegman on his adventures through 17 different countries. They began by joining him on the plane. The first floor of Rosenstock had been transformed into an airport terminal. Passengers received a ticket and followed the signs. There was even security to help you along as necessary. When you got to the plane (Hodson Auditorium), the ticket was checked, and you got to board the plane and choose a seat.
While you waited to take off, there was a slideshow showing different countries. It had pictures of each land and also played the country's national anthem.
As with every flight, there was a safety and regulations talk, which included showing where the exits and bathrooms were. The passengers loved the video, and it got many laughs. With that video, the plane was off.
Stegman, our hapless tourist, was greeted by Miss Universe, played by Amellis Peart. She introduced him to other contestants. As they were called by Miss Universe, they walked down through the audience. They were each wearing a dress from their native country. Then once they were introduced they all said "Hello" to Stegman in their native tongue.
From there, the passengers were treated to a dance. Three pairs of dancers danced the Hispanic "Salsa." Some of the steps seemed rather complicated, and the synchronization was excellent.
The next act found Stegman at his seat. He was about to nap when the person in the seat next to him began talking. He was a Frenchman, and he began telling horrible jokes. Stegman made a quick excuse to leave his seat before the Frenchman could tell more than two or three jokes.
From there, the passengers watched an impressive dance that was called the "Mbongila." This is a dance which uses many different African dance styles. The body movements of the dancers were fascinating, and the choreography was intriguing.
More dancing followed. Stegman was learning several African dance moves he put to use while his two teachers danced to the music. His teachers ran through the crowd doing dance moves and then came back on stage to do a mock dance-off.
Next was another dance routine. It was performed by three women. It involved crazy fast foot movements. The passengers were thoroughly impressed. The "Zyrtaki," a Greek dance, speeds up as it goes along, making the impressive steps even more impressive as the dancers must move their feet faster and faster to the beat.
The Bosnian love song "Oro" followed the Greek dance. It was well-sung by Dubravka Bodiroga. She sang with a full voice and with clear pronunciation, and even though it was in a different language, the passengers seemed to get the meaning anyway.
The next presentation to cross the stage was called "Bollywood Dance." It was performed by Chaitrali Patil. She was only six years old, but she was incredible. She performed an astounding dance routine. The dancing was fabulous, and the young girl doing it only added to the effect. The crowd loved it. The applause was so much that it was very probably the crowd favorite.
"She was amazing," said sophomore Jenny Harper, commenting that Patil was her favorite act.
The next routine was a contrast between two Italian men. One had a rich father and the other a poor father. The contrast between the two was made funny by the poor man's responses to the rich man's statements. The tone was set in the beginning by both men having the same name.
The final routine before the intermission was a dance. It was the "Tinikling." It originates in the Philippines and is a hard dance to do. Two thin blocks of wood are placed on the floor, about five feet apart. Across those blocks are placed two bamboo poles. The poles are then brought together while on the wood, so no space is between them. Then they are lifted up, and the poles are separated so they are back at their starting point. This process is repeated in beat with the music.
The dancers move in and out of these poles while dancing to the music. As the music increases in speed, this gets harder and harder. If the dancer fails to remove her foot from inside the wood square in time, she receives a sharp blow to the ankle.
This unforgiving dance was done very well by the dancers. They received a hearty round of applause from the passengers.
There was a 20 minute intermission where the passengers could undo their seatbelts and move around a bit. They were allowed to buy soda and food, as well as shirts that would help support the International Club.
After the intermission, the routines, acts and presentations resumed. The passengers found Stegman in Seoul, South Korea.
Stegman was in Seoul to meet a friend. She set him up on a blind date. As he goes on his date he learned, in a very hilarious manner, what to do and not to do. For instance, on the date, Rob tried to hold his date's hand. In South Korea he was supposed to ask to hold her hand. He was reprimanded by the Narrator, and as if that wasn't enough, another man on a date walked across stage and sang to his date "May I hold your hand?" It was a great combination and received a bevy of laughs.
After Stegman's dating blunder, Hwasung Doucette sang the Japanese song "Only Human." Just as "Oro" before it, the song was well-sung, full of emotion, and it got its meaning across just the same.
Then Michael Mudarri did an interesting showcase of Karate. He showed his skills in Jion and Gankaku. These are Kata level moves that are beyond the basics. The crowd was impressed with his kicks and arm movements that had him crisscrossing the stage.
The audience then followed Stegman to Thailand where he played the hapless tourist once again. Stegman asked many questions about Thailand, which showed the general misconceptions that some people might have.
However, more of an impact was made by Sasiya Supprakit. She was the answerer of the questions, and she said the full name of Thailand's capital. The name commonly used is Bangkok, but the actual name is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit, although, the name is generally shortened to Krung Thep. Supprakit also sang the song made by the name.
The next act made Stegman return to his seat and the unfunny Frenchman. This time his jokes were received a little better by the crowd. His jokes were a developed taste. But as Stegman had not developed that taste, he left his seat again, not to return to it.
The next piece was a dance called the "Saman Dance." According to the program, this dance originated from western Indonesia. The stage was set with a row of dancers on their knees and two drummers behind them, as well as a singer set up on a stool. The singer sang a song in a foreign tongue, and the dancers did a series of hand and arm motions in time to her singing and the drumming.
As the singer sped up, the motions sped up and got more complex. The dancers' arms were weaving in and out of each other. The routine got ample applause after it finished.
The final act stormed the stage after the Saman dancers had cleared and Stegman had re-taken the stage. They were dressed in black and had their bodies and faces painted in different colors. They chanted and moved from the back of the stage, getting louder as they moved closer to the front of the stage. This is the way of the New Zealand "Haka" dance. They froze in scary positions once they reached the front of the stage and then left the stage. They got a lot of crowd reaction as well.
After the show the responses were all positive. Sophomore Shayona Hill said it was "a lot of fun." Erin Ordway, another sophomore, said that she "enjoyed all the diverse cultures." And Harper called it "excellent". When asked about their favorite parts, they named everything from the Bollywood Dance to the French Traveler Jokes. Given enough time, they probably would have named all the acts in the show.
The fantastic dances, acts and songs made the International Show worthwhile. Students should look forward to the next year's show, and personally I can't wait.

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