"Transpose" is a verb that applies to music notes transforming effortlessly in music. The Asian American Student Union (AASU) members tried capturing this smooth transition in a play on Friday that focuses on a pair of lost lovers at their 10-year high school reunion.
During the club's annual Asian Night, a combination of live performances and short films were shown to tell the story of fictional characters Steven and Jessica, played by UB students Raoul Roces, a sophomore exercise science major, and Ida Chan, a sophomore psychology major. The couple at their high school reunion was played by Joseph Hsu, an Erie Community College student, and Michelle Kim, a sophomore biomedical sciences major.
The themes of change and self-discovery were chosen so people could relate to the characters in the story, according to the event brochures.
There were interactive sections of comedy, dance and live music as the scene on stage switched back from the past to the present. Two choreographed dances and a live acoustic guitar performance were incorporated.
The live acoustic performance of Oasis' "Wonderwall" and Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," were crowd favorites. The song was performed on the guitar by Nancy Yi, a sophomore business major, who was joined by Kim on vocals. The performers mixed the songs together to create a unique and professional sound.
For some students in the audience, the dance scene was the highlight of the show.
"The step dancing was the most interesting part so far. I just watched America's Best Dance crew and their performance reminds me of it," said David Go, a sophomore business major.
Anthony Rizvi, a junior chemical engineer major, also enjoyed the dance portion of the show.
"My favorite scene was the dance choreography. I thought it was the coolest part of the show it was really thought-out," Rizvi said.
The dance was a mix of modern hip-hop and step dancing, which caused a large crowd response in response to the variety of songs mixed together for the dance. Choreographer and graduate student Milton Macias was a special guest choreographer of the show.
"I felt honored I was asked to come out and help. It has been great working with everyone, everyone loved doing this and gave me the enthusiasm to come out and put on a good show. I'm so proud of my dancers," he said.
The purpose of this annual event is to produce a show that reflects the talent and ability of the organization, according to AASU President Gary Yip. Since the beginning of the semester, club members and other UB students have worked on the show.
Many students, such as Steven Desnoyers, a sophomore international business major, who have attended Friday's show and those in previous years, said that this was the best event to date.
"This show was definitely better than last year's. Last year, AASU did everything kind of last-minute," Desnoyers said. "This year, you can tell they put in a lot of effort into the show and had some great ideas."
The show's ended with a flag dance performed by the Chinese Student Association, one of the many organizations involved with this year's event.
"[In] this year's show, we have phenomenal show directors and we had a great level of participation from some Greek organizations, the Chinese Student Association (CSA) and a more varied group of collaborators [which] benefits the show more," Yip said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
