Just when you thought you couldn't take one more day of the freezing cold or biting wind, a surefire sign of spring has been sighted on the horizon: three weekends full of red-hot culture shows.
The season kicks off with the annual event sponsored by the Tufts Association of South Asians (TASA), "Sapne" ("Dreams" in Hindi). The two shows will be held tonight and tomorrow afternoon in Cohen. The Sapne theme will recur in a three-hour performance bursting with vibrant South Asian dances: The ever-popular bhangra and garba will make an appearance, as will hip-hop, traditional bharatnatyam, Bollywood and even a "garbhangra" fusion.
The show will also feature musical acts (including a jazz-themed one involving sax, guitar and the drum-like tabla), poetry readings by the South Asian Literary and Arts Magazine (SALAAM), as well as comic skits lampooning Asian-American stereotypes. Unlike other campus culture shows, all the performers in the TASA show hail from Tufts. "I can't even tell you the number of students who are involved in this," said show director Uma Shanmugham, "150 at the very least." Tickets are currently on sale for $8 each at the Cohen box office.
A ticket for the Caribbean Club Culture Show on Mar. 4 entitles one to admission as well as a taste of authentic Caribbean food, including curry, rice and patties. Performances include Jamaican dancers, groups from both Boston and New York City, students from Tufts as well as Northeastern and MIT, and Tufts' own BlackOut. The show has come a long way, expanding from a smaller performance at the Commons last year to this year's full-scale event in Cohen - and the directors are not done yet.
"We are currently contacting the Boston Caribbean Society that puts on the annual Boston Caribbean Carnival," said Abeni Wickham, Public Relations officer for the Caribbean Club. The Tufts Caribbean Club draws many of its resources from Boston, home of the second-biggest Caribbean festival in the country, and brings that Caribbean rhythm back to Tufts students. Tickets for the Culture Show will be on sale next week for $5 each at the Campus Center Information Booth.
On Mar.11, Cohen will heat up again for the Association of Latin American Students (ALAS) Culture Show. Preceded by a reception with Latin American refreshments in the Alumnae Lounge, the evening show will feature dance groups from Tufts, Harvard and Boston College, as well as musical performers like Melodesiac. ALAS members have been hard at work since November on the annual event, which has evolved this year with a new emphasis on the show.
In past years, ALAS and a local sorority co-sponsored the show, which was held in Dewick-MacPhie dining hall, but now ALAS has expanded on its own to "increase the Latino culture's visibility on campus," according to Fabiola Paz, ALAS Vice-President. Tickets will be on sale next week in the Cohen box office for $5 each.
All the culture shows will be followed by after-parties open to the general public. The TASA after-party will be at Club Roxy in Boston tonight. Tickets are $10 for 21-plus students and $15 for 18-plus. The Caribbean Club's after-party last year hit capacity by midnight; this year's at Dewick promises to be just as popular. Tickets are $5 at the door, or $3 with a ticket stub from the show. The ALAS after-party will also be in Dewick; tickets are $5.
The upcoming culture shows promise to bring sunny slices of South Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America right here to Tufts. Interestingly, all three groups plan to feature extensive fashion shows in their events - just one more colorful way of achieving their shared goal to increase campus awareness and appreciation for their respective cultures.
