Dance festival ready to fly

ORONO – Using the overwhelming success of last year’s International Dance Festival as a barometer, University of Maine international students organizing this year’s performance of music and dance from around the world expect to pack both the house and the stage of the Maine Center for the Arts at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10.

This year’s production, involving as many as 70 performers, opens in the MCA’s Hutchins Hall on the Orono campus. It is free, and members of the surrounding communities, in addition to students, friends and families visiting for Friends and Family Weekend, are invited to attend.

Students from nearly a dozen countries – from the Far East, Middle East, Europe, Africa and North and South America – have been rehearsing traditional dances that reflect much more than a desire to entertain. Dance is an important component central to many cultures, according to Senthil Sockalingam of Malaysia, a co-organizer of the event with Bangor native Jessica Bishop, a graduate assistant with campus activities and events.

“For 80 percent of any culture, dance is a part of it,” said Sockalingam, who will be among the performers. “I’m pretty much positive that the show is going to be awesome.”

Bishop said both UM students and area residents will have a rare opportunity to see the depth of cultural traditions expressed through traditional music, costumes and dance.

“It’s going to be something probably most have never experienced before,” she said.

Because almost twice the number of students from last year’s show wanted to participate in this year’s festival, coordinators working under the auspices of the Office of International Programs and with support from several campus organizations, created larger groups of dancers of similar cultural backgrounds. That adds up to more energy on stage, Sockalingam and Bishop said.

Student performers, many of whom have trained for years in dance at home, are enthusiastic about sharing their traditional ceremonial dances with area audiences, Sockalingam and Bishop said.

Students also are preparing for record audience attendance this year. The festival moved last year to Hutchins Hall, with more than 1,000 orchestra seats on the first level. Sockalingam said he and Sarah Joughin, international student adviser, were stunned when the hall filled to capacity.

“I’ve never seen that wave of energy in my life,” said Sockalingam, recalling last year’s audience. “To just see this sea of people, I felt like I belonged, like someone actually cared to see what we were doing. To see a bunch of dancers do what they love to do and show their cultures to an audience in a frenzy of appreciation – we couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

This year, the International Dance Festival will have access to both the orchestra and balcony sections of Hutchins Hall.

Countries the student dancers will represent include Vietnam, Turkey, China, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Malaysia and many in Africa, in addition to those in the Americas. Styles include Middle-Eastern belly-dancing and South American salsa, North American swing and hip-hop, and even Appalachian clogging.

Supporting the show are student government, Residents on Campus and the Student Heritage Alliance Coalition.