By Angelina Tang
December 15th was Unity in Diversity’s first checkpoint rehearsal, in which all of the represented countries presented 30 seconds of each of their acts. Let’s take this as an opportunity to review what the show at the end of March will look like!
Starting with the largest country represented, we have a wide variety of dances and music from India! Upperclassman Bollywood dance, underclassman Bollywood dance, South Indian dance, Garba dance, Maharashtra dance, Semi dance, and classical music in the form of instrumental performances and singing will be featured. Bollywood originates from Indian cinema and is generally well-known; it runs every year for Unity India, and this time, it’s led by club president Vidya Shah and secretary Kalyani Nair, so look forward to it! South Indian, Garba, and Maharashtra all originate from different regions or specific states within India. Garba is the largest group within Unity India as of the roster right now! Semi refers to semi-classical dance, which blends aspects of various traditional styles with modern Bollywood. As for our lineup of non-dance acts, in addition to vocal performances, we will see Nirman Mukherjee play violin in the traditional Indian style.
As you can already see, we have a huge lineup and variety of acts in Unity this year, which is a little scary, considering the assembly’s time limit and figuring out practices, but it’s exciting nonetheless! Up next, let’s look at our other Unity staple: Korea! K-Pop is running, as usual, with five small groups dancing to Yes or Yes by Twice, Kokobop by Exo, Runaway by Tomorrow x Together, Psycho by Red Velvet, and Inception by Ateez, in addition to the full group dancing to Very Nice by Seventeen to finish it off. To top it all off, we have Alex Kwon demonstrating Tae Kwon Do for us as well, so while we work hard to put these dances together, please get hyped for Unity Korea!
Let’s look at our other smaller yet equally important represented countries. China will be performing a dance with ribbon fans, Palestine will be performing Dabke dance, and America will feature a dance troupe and an instrumental performance. Mexico will be running its traditional dance, similar to last year–we know those costumes were a hit with the audience!–and Japan will highlight Isshinryu karate, this time with the weapons bo and sai in place of open hand katas.
In terms of some new variety, Central Europe will be represented in the form of a Klezmer musical performance and Denmark will feature Annelyse Wilson singing and playing instrumentals. Argentina and Spain’s small bands will be sure to exceed expectations, and something we have not seen much of before, a Nigerian drum circle, will certainly be a hit. Ethiopia, the Philippines, Greece, and Singapore will all also perform dances.
We’ve been working hard to put these acts together! March is not as far away as you may think, and we are hoping to put on a great show for all of you.
