Students danced, jumped, sang and spoke out at the bi-annual "Cultural Vogue" event sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Student Organization, or APASO, on Saturday in the Auditorium.
About 1,200 people attended this year's event, which was titled "Tridentity" and focused on the diverse cultures represented in the organization. Performances ranged from traditional and modern dances to spoken word presentations and a fashion show.
APASO is a group of 14 student organizations that promote Asian Pacific awareness on campus.
Electrical engineering senior David Yang played guitar while his brother Daniel sang at the event's preshow. The preshow was an introduction to the main performance, which consisted of two separate acts.
The preshow featured two groups break dancing and two performances by acoustic guitar-playing singers. It also featured a spoken word presentation in which a student discussed her identity as a female Asian American.
David Yang, a Hmong American Student Association member, said he liked the event because it presented a diverse group of Asian American traditions.
"It's a mix of modern and traditional culture in individual expression," David Yang said.
He said the benefit of the Vogue was its educational value. He said it was a great way for people, including Asian Americans, to learn about different cultures.
"People are oblivious to the traditions of people on the other side of the world," David Yang said. "We get stuck in this mind frame that this is America, and the rest of the world is like us. This allows people to get out of that mindset and see what other cultures are like."
The first act ended in a fashion show featuring models from several of the student organizations within APASO. During the show, participants modeled traditional cultural fashions, as well as modern clothing inspired by those traditions.
Nursing junior Lien Chau took part in the fashion show presentation. Chau, a member of the Vietnamese Student Association, said the she volunteered for the show to represent her culture.
"It reminds us of where we came from and how we got here," Chau said. "Participating allows us to reveal our Vietnamese culture within the larger Asian American group."
She said, aside from the traditional clothes, the show showcased casual and clubbing fashions.
"We all come from different parts of the world - by wearing modern clothes, we represent that we are here in togetherness," Chau said.
Stephanie Moy, an elementary education senior, was one of the three coordinators for the event and participated in the last cultural vogue two years ago. She said the group began planning for the event in May.
"It's a lot of work trying to coordinate about 150 dancers while learning the ropes as I go," Moy said.
The theme, "Tridentity," represented the students' Asian culture, American culture and their individual identity, Moy said.
"The cultural dances have been around for ages, while some of the modern dances are only weeks old," Moy said.
Civil engineering freshman Brendon Somerfield said the dances were his favorite part of the night.
"I love it. All the cultural dances, I didn't know you could put culture into movement - but they did," said Somerfield, adding he was "dragged" to the event by friends, but was glad he attended.
Somerfield said he noticed the specific movements that were unique to each dance. He said this gave him a better understanding of the differences in the traditions being performed.
"It gives students the opportunity to see what's out there and encourages them to take part in events on campus," he said.
