UMaine Dance Festival Feb. 23 to Showcase International Student Talent
Contact: Sarah Joughin, 581-2905; George Manlove, 581-3756
ORONO — The University of Maine’s fourth annual International Dance Festival will be held Saturday, Feb. 23, at Bangor High School’s Peakes Auditorium, showcasing traditional costumes and homeland dances of some of the many international students on campus.
Because the event has grown in variety and participation since its inception, students this year will put on two performances, at 7 p.m. and at 2 p.m.
“We have more than 100 dancers, technical staff and coordinators participating from 20 different countries including United States,” says Emin Okutan, a senior-year business student from Turkey, who is helping with the production.
The dance festival, which is free, is organized by the International Student Association, a student club representing the diverse international community on campus. The Office of International Programs cosponsors the event. The idea for an international dance festival originated with Pemba Lama, a student from Nepal who sought to create an event to pull local and international communities together and share the talent many of the university’s international students bring to campus.
“The performances feature traditional steps from Korea, Mongolia, Latin America, Europe, South Asia, and the US and cover a wide range of styles,” Okutan says. “The audience will be treated to the slow, fluid movements of Ki Chum, the Korean energy dance to the fast-paced black history performance featuring body percussion.”
Students decided to hold the festival at Peakes Auditorium since the Maine Center for the Arts is closed and Peakes offers adequate seating and advanced staging.
“We also decided to have a matinee show this year, due to overwhelming success last year and our wish to share the performance with Bangor community, especially schools in the area,” Okutan says. “The International Dance Festival is about the creating a high quality event, made possible by amateur spirit and energy. We aim to share all the colors and variety of UMaine through costumes, beats, sounds, light and soul.”
Sarah Joughin, international student advisor, has seen the event grow in popularity.
“It has been rewarding to see the growing response to this event, both on campus and in the community,” Joughin says. “The first year, it was in Minsky Recital Hall and we had to really encourage students to participate. After the excitement generated by that performance, it was no longer a challenge to find dancers, but we worried that we would not have the audience to fill the new venue at the MCA.
“In 2007, our second year at the MCA, we performed to a packed house,” she says. “It’s pretty clear that it is something the community is really excited about.”
The event’s success also is reflected in the financial support the program has received from UMaine’s Office of Student Affairs, Student Government and the Cultural Affairs/Distinguished Lecture Series, Joughin says.
Free transportation for UMaine students for the evening show will be provided courtesy of the Office of International Programs and International Student Association. Students can catch a bus at the bus stop behind the Memorial Union at 5:45 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Seating will be available on a first come, first served basis. Car-pooling also is encouraged.
Information about the dance festival is available by calling the Office of International Programs at 581-2905
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