The Asian Students Association Fall Culture Show on Nov. 4 was a stunning array of performances that offered students a look into the diversity and creativity of Asian cultures and students in the Tri-Co.
The show took place in the Great Hall, which had a festive ambiance decorated with red lanterns and vines, and fairy lights, strung with notes written by students in ASA. There was food served before the performance, as well as a map of the world where attendees could put stickers on the places they had visited, with countries across the globe represented. Every attendee got a free ticket for a raffle with prizes of henna, a sashiko (Japanese embroidery) kit, and a matcha tea kit.
The show began with a speech from Montgomery County Commissioner, Neil Makhija, the first Asian American to be a commissioner in any county in Pennsylvania. He had a warm and friendly demeanor, encouraging audience engagement, and explained to the students his role as an elected official, managing the county budget and enacting local policies that apply to the world all of us live in. He talked about his experiences growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania as one of the only Asian people in his community, and also mentioned his pride at representing the county in Pennsylvania with the highest Asian population. He ended his speech by reminding the audience of the importance of our generation being politically active in our local communities, especially in our country’s current fraught political period.
There were many dance performances, including by Afreen, the Bi-Co South Asian Fusion dance team, Choom Boom, the Bi-Co K-Pop dance team, and several others, which showcased both modern and traditional dance styles, and often told a story. The University of Pennsylvania Chinese Dance Club performed two dances, which incorporated beautiful, brightly colored dresses and silks while gracefully telling stories from Chinese tradition.
Haverford Professor Elizabeth Kim read three poems from her manuscript in progress titled “Daughter Language”, which, as she put it, asks “what is my language, and how is it my language?” The poems explored themes of bilingualism and her complicated relationship with the Korean and English languages. Though she was born and raised in Newtown Square, PA, her first language was Korean, and the first poem she read, “Tongue Surgery”, is about her experience of undergoing surgery as a child so she could properly pronounce English words, and examines how language and minute changes in phrasing can affect interpretation. She also deals in her poems with her relationship to her mother as her translator, and her current relationship to Korean as it is no longer the language she is most comfortable with. Her poems pay attention to small details, like not being able to tell the difference between two nearly-identical words, to show how her connection with language is a part of her relationships to family and culture.
The Taiko Drum Ensemble from Swarthmore was one of the most striking and unique performances of the night. Taiko, or traditional Japanese drumming, started as a club at Swarthmore by a student who had taken it as a PE class, both the artistic skill and the athleticism of the ensemble was visible, often beating the large drums with the disciplined ferocity of facing off an opponent in battle.
To end off the night, a fashion show featured a diverse array of beautiful and intricate clothing from various Asian countries, with all student models.
Overall, the show was a celebration of culture and self-expression that shows the strength and creativity of the Asian community in the Tri-Co and beyond.
