CSA presents Cultural Night
Dancing lions will open the show for the Chinese Student Association’s annual Chinese Cultural Night as a traditional dance prophesying good fortune for the remainder of the evening.
The Chinese Cultural Night will take place Sunday from 5:30 to
9 p.m. in EMU Ballroom. At the festival, CSA members will share some traditional Chinese food, performances, art exhibits and games.
“Dancing lions begin yearly events such as Chinese New Year as a promise for good luck throughout the rest of the year,” CSA Director Vickee Liang said.
CSA members will be cooking and serving the audience a main dish, which will include mapo tofu, chicken with mushrooms and pork with scallions. They will also serve a vegetarian dish.
After the audience finishes the meal, the evening’s performances will begin with CSA member Rose Wang singing traditional Chinese folk and pop music, and members from CSA performing Wu-Shu, a form of Chinese martial arts.
In addition, nine CSA members will demonstrate a freestyle jump rope presentation choreographed by member A.J. Win.
Following the performances, the audience will have the opportunity to participate in Chinese children’s games.
CSA members will also have a booth where audience members can dress in Chinese costumes and have their pictures taken.
“We will have the traditional Chinese brides’ and grooms’ outfits for people to dress up in,” Liang said. “We will also give them their photo right away so they don’t have to wait.”
In addition, traditional Chinese pictures and stamps will be hanging around the room and CSA members will be available to explain the meaning and significance of the exhibits upon request. CSA members will also be demonstrating Chinese calligraphy.
Tickets are $7 for the general public and $6 for students and are available at the EMU Ticket Office. Admission is free for children under 3.
— Danielle Gillespie
Zeta Phi Beta to offer
hand-clapping entertainment
Making beats with their hands, feet, chests and legs, members of the University’s Zeta Phi Beta sorority will join two other sororities and two fraternities for the third annual Black Greek Step Show competition and exhibit at 5 p.m. Saturday in the EMU Ballroom.
The Black Greek Step Show is a traditional rhythm performance that symbolizes unity and togetherness.
“The step show is an artistic expression,” Zeta Phi Beta member Haben Woldu said. “You have to
be together with one mind for the performances.”
A step show performance consists of a group of people making beats with their own bodies and other people’s bodies on stage. The rhythms can be complemented by music.
Performers from the University of Washington’s Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, the University’s and Portland State University’s Kappa Alpha Psi sorority chapters and the University’s Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority will be competing against each other for the best choreographed show. The winning chapter will take home $1,000 in prize money.
Members of Zeta Phi Beta will perform in the step show, but as the event’s hosts, they will not take part in the competition. Seattle-area middle and high school students in the Phi Beta Sigma’s auxiliary group, Sigma Beta, will also be performing but not competing.
“We want to create cultural awareness and knowledge about the black greek system and to have fun by bringing people together,” Zeta Phi Beta member Jocelyn Edel said.
After the step show, the audience is invited to attend a party with the members at the Spaghetti Warehouse, where there will be dancing and a beer garden.
Tickets cost $6 for students and $7 for the general public. They can be purchased at the EMU Ticket Office or at the door.
— Danielle Gillespie
