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Written by: Sindhu Palaniappan
While some students may think diversity at Bentley is rare, this wasn’t the case at the Festival of Colors Kick-Off last Sunday night. The International Students’ Association hosted and coordinated the event, which featured many different acts as diverse as the opening flag ceremony. According to the actual host of the show, Joacim Borg, a freshman here at Bentley from Sweden, “The night was bloody fantastic!”
And where else could you find a duo that sings in Chinese and then follows it up with Death Cab for Cutie? The night was filled with acts representing different cultures as well as our culture right here in the United States. Joacim played the role of David Beckham, and with his wife Victoria, they traveled the world, making a pit stop for each act.
The first act was a Caribbean dance, followed by a Middle Eastern fashion show. A duet followed, singing in Chinese and then singing Death Cab for Cutie’s I Will Follow You Into the Dark.
Bentley Bhangra followed with a lively dance, getting the crowd going. The dance was followed by gypsy fashion and then African fashion, which included funny skits and dances. The event was closely tied with Project Haiti, and after a few words about the effort at Bentley were put forth, the crowd was able to regroup during an intermission.
After live music from one of Bentley’s own bands, the Beckhams continued their travels. Belly dancing started off the second half of the acts, in which audience members were pulled on stage to learn how to belly dance in front of hundreds of eyes. Korean dance came after the surprise belly dance mini lesson, which got the crowd going again. A little bit of American culture with an international twist followed.
Two girls from Turkey and Pakistan performed an acoustic “smash-up,” which included popular songs like Oasis’ Wonder Wall, The Script’s Break Even, and Eagle Eye Cherry’s Save Tonight with flawless transitions. Another taste of India came after with the Bollywood Dance, and then dancers from the back of the auditorium rushed the stage for the African dance. Latin dance and step closed the evening filled with various cultures and styles. International Students’ Association E-Board member Ayomide Mapaderun said, the Festival of Colors was awesome. All the acts were great. I wish the show could be repeated again. It was so much fun. I am counting down till next year.”
Many of the E-Board members felt the same way, which was evident at the end of the show when dancers and audience members rushed the stage to dance and then regrouped in LaCava’s EDR for a taste of different international foods.
Jewel Cash, a performer in this year’s festival, summarized the night: “We had a great representation of all the different cultures and I think it was a fun educational experience. I have been a part of FOC each year, and this year has definitely made its mark.”
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