Cultural celebrations liven weekend at UB

The Center for the Arts played host to two major campus cultural events this weekend -- Arab Night on Saturday and China Nite on Sunday.

With every new act at Arab Night, the audience went wild with cheers and applause. They danced in their seats to the belly dancers on stage, they sang with the Arabic-inspired hip-hop, they clapped to the step dance and fashion show.

But Arab Night at the Center for the Arts wasn't only about entertainment Saturday night. The whole point of Arab Night, said event organizers, was to celebrate Arabic traditions and to speak up against prejudice.

While dance and fashion were part of the celebration, the event was based on honoring Arabic culture, which many men made noticeable when they took the time to get on their knees and pray to Allah.

Sandra Hajt, a sophomore media studies major, said she thought the third annual Arab Night did more than just entertain.

"I feel the third annual Arab Night succeed in bringing members of UB and the Buffalo community together to celebrate the Egyptian, Palestinian, Lebanese, and Arabic traditions," Hajt said.

The energy of the audience and crowd fed off each other the whole night, Hajt added.

"I really enjoyed Arab Night," she said. "This was my first time ever attending an event quite like this. It was fun to learn about the Arabic culture through this event. There was such a mixture of dancing and singing. Although I have no idea what the songs were about since the performers sang in Arabic, it was still very beautiful music to listen to."

The night also had a dash of humor and comedy to it.

"I also feel the hosts of the show did an excellent job," Hajt said. "Every speaker talked so naturally and added a great deal of humor to the night."

Organization of Arab Students, now one of the largest student clubs on campus, sponsored Arab Night with performances and support from the UB Bhangra club, Delta Epsilon Sigma Iota, and friends and family members from the Buffalo community.

The organization recently joined with three other clubs -- Egyptian SA, Palestinian SA, and the Lebanese SA -- to better represent and provides programming for Arabs students as a whole. Farah Agha, treasurer of OAS, said she and her family have been members of UB's Arabic community even before she was a student at UB.

"Buffalo's Arabic Community is very close," Agha said. "My family has been supporting and taking part in UB's OAS for a while now and much of my family is here tonight to watch the show. I basically have been a part of OAS even before I signed up, if you think about it. The organization is just wonderful and everyone works together."

The next night, the Center for the Arts was packed again, full of color, dance and music as the 40th annual China Nite took the stage. Professional groups and UB students combined for 15 acts, including a fashion show.

The title of the evening's event was "A New Dawn," which was also the name of the opening act. Karen Guo performed the first scene, dancing as a girl bathing in a stream and gracefully playing with her reflection in the water.

The night also included skits, martial arts, and the group "Collision," known for bringing eastern and western dance styles together in a mix of ballet and Latin-styles to their routines.

Jia Song, a freshman undecided major, appreciated the addition of the modern dances to the cultural night.

"I'm glad the night wasn't all traditional dancing because I enjoyed the modern dancing a lot," she said. "The crowd was getting into the beats and the dancer's moves. It definitely added to the rest of the performances."

Jong Lee, a sophomore history major, said he was glad Chinese SA, which gave half the night's proceeds to tsunami relief, decided to mix both student and professional performances.

"I appreciate the number of cultural events that went on throughout the night," he said. "It gave anyone who has never been able to witness Chinese culture first hand a good glimpse."