Food, Music, and Dances at International Festival
Chase enjoyed this weekend's performances and food at the annual International Festival!
Chase enjoyed this weekend's performances and food at the annual International Festival!
I had a lot of fun this weekend performing at International Festival. On a whim, I decided to do a solo dance to some choreo I learned for a performance a few months ago, and hopefully I did the original choreo some justice!
Every year, OIIL and some other student groups host the International Festival, a celebration of the multitude of cultures represented within the Carleton student body. I’ve attended the last two ones, and each time has been fantastic. Particularly for Asian-American students like myself, getting the opportunity to eat some traditional food is AMAZING! It’s also a great way to try some snacks and dishes from countries whose cuisines you’re unfamiliar with.
Besides the food, however, are the student performances – the main reason why I’ve had to go the festival. I performed a dance with three of my friends which was – even though it was just for fun – one of the most fulfilling creative experiences I’ve had at Carleton; getting together a few times a week and teaching ourselves the choreo was extremely fun and the performance was a success! As in the video above, I did a solo dance this year due to sheer busy lives the original four of us lead that prevented us from learning another dance together.
International Festival is also a great way to meet, believe it or not, international students, and learn more about their culture and for them to share experiences and performances that they’d otherwise not have the opportunity to share. I also learned that Carleton now has a Coalition of Southeast Asians (COSEA) so I’m excited about that as a partially Southeast Asian student!
Chase is a junior linguistics major and is more than glad to exchange the year-round California heat for some Minnesota seasonality. In his free time, he enjoys learning and teaching urban dance choreography, playing guzheng, and cycling around Northfield. When Chase doesn’t have free time, which is often, he’ll be in the libe or Sayles with a cup (or cups) of chai tea in hand.