On Friday more than 350 people went to the Tempe campus to watch taekwondo performances and videos and some even participated in a few competitions as part of the Asian/Asian Pacific American Students Coalition’s annual culture night, CultureTube. NB Taekwondo representatives entertained the crowd by showing off their skills of breaking wood, dancing and other talents. (Photo by Ana Ramiez)More than 350 people from ASU and the community came to the Tempe campus Friday night to watch dances, videos songs and a taekwondo demonstration as part of the Asian/Asian Pacific American Students Coalition's annual culture night, CultureTube.
There were 11 performances at the four-hour event, which showcased many Asian cultures. AAPASC also organized raffles and offered free traditional Asian food donated from local restaurants.
Chemical engineering senior Minh Nguyen, president of AAPASC, said CultureTube is the club’s signature event and members were happy with the attendance and response to each of the performances.
“Last year, we didn’t reach out to as many people as we wanted, so this year we started earlier,” he said.
The organization has many ties with Arizona’s Asian community, and many of them attended CultureTube, Nguyen said. AAPASC also integrated with MU After Dark to bring more students interested in coming to the event.
The event aims to show that Asian culture is not composed of only Chinese, Vietnamese or Japanese cultures, so the club included Thai, Indian and Pacific Islander student organizations in the performances, Nguyen said.
“The goal is to let everybody know that there is a large and very diverse Asian culture out there,” he said. “The performances are not only engaging, but highly informative.”
Most performances combined traditional and modern takes on the cultures they were showcasing. Representatives from NB Taekwondo, a fitness center located in Chandler, entertained the audience with their skills as they danced to Psy’s “Gangnam Style” right before the intermission.
After the food was served, 10 members of the audience got to participate in a live challenge where they had to demonstrate different skills associated with Asian culture, such as using chopsticks and eating traditional desserts like tiny panda cookies.
Aerospace engineering sophomore Genaro Moreno is a member of Oceania, a student club that performs traditional Pacific Islander dances. Moreno and the rest of the organization danced while wearingtraditional clothing from Hawaii, Tonga and Samoa.
“(Oceania) gathers once or twice a week, and we perform at events like these,” he said. “I thought I would be nervous, but I just really want to have fun.”
These events provide an opportunity for people who do not know a lot about the Pacific Islands to learn about the culture, he said.
Molecular biochemistry sophomore Ryan Muller, a member of AAPASC, showed off his skills with the Chinese yo-yo, which is attached with string to two sticks held by the handler. He was first introduced to the game at a Chinese camp when he was in third grade.
“After that I learned through YouTube and just practicing on my own,” he said. “Over time, I kind of developed the repertoire of tricks I performed.”
Muller said he felt nervous, even though it was not the first time he had performed but was very excited with the response of the audience. He found out he would be performing a month before the event.
People will get a broad understanding of Asian cultures that were shown tonight, Muller said.
“I had a great time performing, and I hope everybody else had a great time,” he said.
Mechanical engineering graduate student Valeriy Khaldarov, an international student from Uzbekistan, said he always tries to attend cultural events. He said he was especially interested in this one because it highlighted the fact that there are many Asian cultures.
“From my background, I am also considered Asian,” he said. “I come from central Asia, but not a lot of people associate my country with Asia.”
All the performances were entertaining, and there was a lot to learn from each of them, Khaldarov said.
“I got to meet a lot of people,” he said. “That’s the most important thing: meeting people from different cultures.”
Early childhood education junior Felicia Warren said she decided to attend the event because she has always been interested in Asian cultures and wanted to try the food.
“I wanted to see the awesome performances,” she said. “I was going to leave early, but I ended up staying because it was so good.”
Reach the reporter at dpbaltaz@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @dpalomabp
