Students from different campus cultural organizations will showcase their singing and acting skills at tonight’s talent show, hosted by the Asian-Pacific American Student Union.
Donations will be accepted for the event, which begins at 6 p.m. in the EMU Fir Room, and it will include individual performances and a fashion show by Students of the Indian Subcontinent.
APASU co-programs director Jeanne Ebuen said she expects roughly 100 people. Individual students and about 11 student groups will be performing, including the Black Student Union and SIS, she said. She added that if the event is a success, APASU will host more cultural talent shows in the future.
During SIS’s fashion show, members will wear three traditional Indian outfits, SIS member Rita Patel said. Both males and females will wear a “salwaar kameez,” an outfit that can be dressy or casual, she said. Girls will also wear “saris” and “gagras,” which are more formal outfits worn to parties or weddings, she said.
Sophomore APASU member Jeff Boyce is one of the performers and will rap in Tagalog, a Philippine language.
APASU activities coordinator Gabriel Valenzuela said everyone has a talent, and the event is a chance for different student groups to show it off. He plans to “lyrically riddle.”
“I am not an accomplished thespian, but I have many talents, one of which is a musician,” he said. “Actually, I am a hip-hop artist.”
Valenzuela added that the talent show provides an opportunity for students to “wind down at the end of the day and have fun” and show their style.
“It’s a chance for people to show their ‘mad steez,’” he said.