International Education Week will kick off with the Dance of Nations, a celebration of diversity and culture at Virginia Tech.
Dance of Nations is a gathering of international organizations and clubs that explores various folk traditions and cultural backgrounds present in the Tech community.
The Council of International Student Organizations sponsors the event.
“It’s a showcase of different cultures through their dances,” said Lubna Chowdhury, a public relations officer for CISO and a junior industrial systems and engineering major, “and this year we have had a really good response.”
The event is held annually and has been a success for CISO, Chowdhury said.
All who attend will have the chance to sample food and hear music from around the world, but the centerpiece of the evening is the 15 different student organizations and two solo performances that will showcase a variety of international folk dances.
The number of performances in the show is up from past years, Chowdhury said. In previous events, only around 10 organizations would be represented.
CISO encompasses 55 groups at Tech, each of which is invited to stage a performance for the Dance of Nations. The increase in participating groups has largely been because of publicity, Chowdhury said.
“Last year really bumped it all up,” Chowdhury said. “There was just way more turnout.”
The groups appearing in the event practice their respective routines separately from each other until the day before the event when they come together for a final rehearsal.
Every group is responsible for getting their performance in order and telling CISO what is needed to put on a routine.
Performing for the first time at the event will be members from the Global Ambassadors, a program designed to assist international students in their adjustment to life at Tech.
The Global Ambassadors will be performing a debka, a type of folk line dance found throughout the Middle East.
Previous Dance of Nations events had little Middle Eastern influence, said Joolan Saroor, a global ambassador with Tech’s Global Ambassador Program and a sophomore biochemistry major.
“All of us are from the Middle East,” Saroor said. “It’s something that we know and can promote for cultural awareness.”
The Global Ambassadors group is participating as a community service project to promote international awareness, Saroor said.
It will join its fellow organizations in the first event of International Education Week at Tech.
Middle East folk dancing will be represented alongside performances that celebrate the cultures of South America, Africa and Asia.
The celebration of worldwide diversity is sponsored in part by CISO and the Cranwell International center.
After the Dance of Nations, events are planned throughout the week to encourage members of the community to think about global diversity.
There is a planned International Movie Night at the Lyric on Nov. 16, Lubna Chowdhury said. The film is still to be decided, but the screening will be free.
On Nov. 18, CISO is hosting a presentation by Jean-Marc Hachey in the Graduate Life Center. Hachey will discuss education abroad and international job opportunities.
Check it out:
When: Nov. 13
Time: 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Cost: Free
Where: Graduate Life Center
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