Masynn Acheson reporter  

On Saturday, March 8, the International Student Association, also known as ISA, hosted their International Showcase event once again in the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts to show all the amazing talents and skills of the many students from abroad. There was a $5 admission charge to cover the cost of the food and beverage you could redeem using the ticket that was purchased.  

There were four options for what foods attendees could get, and four options for beverage. The options for food were the South Korean dish of Sotteok-Sotteok, Brazilian Brigadeiro, Tanghulu from China, or Banana Cake from Vietnam. For beverages, they had boba milk tea from Taiwan, mango lassi from India, and horchata and Agua de Jamaica from Mexico.  

There was a total of eleven performances ranging from vocal duets, choreographed dance routines, and some traditional dance styles from the respective nation the students were from. Quite a few had the students and community members involved dressed in clothes from their respective cultures. Some of the performances gained a lot of support from those in the crowd, like the performances from the Korean Students Organization, Shreyashee Dutta’s dance performance she named Dancing Diva, the Chinese vocal guitar duet, and more.  

According to Malachi Walker, the Community Outreach Coordinator for the ISA and a junior in the graphic design emphasis in the graphic communications department, “all of the international students have been practicing since January to really home in on their skills,” while their setup process began at 9 a.m. that morning. There were, “a bunch of volunteer students from the high school, some people from the international office coming to help get everything figured out.” He joined the ISA office because he had made a lot of friends with students who were members and figured he would be able to help them out.  

Christ Ziriga, a freshman data science major, is from the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire (the Ivory Coast) where the language spoken is mainly French, but he performed with several other students from some of the many countries within the continent of Africa. Not only did they perform on stage, but they wore African clothing to, “let them know how (they are) dressing over there.” The ISA office also helps students from abroad to acclimate to life here in the states, but to the town of Pittsburg, as well according to Ziriga, saying they helped him get used to life here.  

Dutta is a graduate student from India studying Clinical Psychology, as well as being a graduate Teaching Assistant. Not only does she balance all of this but also pursues her passion for the traditional dance styles of her culture. She choreographed the dance routine she did for the Showcase, saying she wanted the music and performance to be neutral as, “it may not be interpreted correctly by everybody because it’s a different language all together.” She used several classical forms like Bharatanatyam and Qatarisi to create a semiclassical fusion performance. Dutta is invited to the dance department for guest lecturing and to teach some of the students her forms of dance.