Chaminade’s Samoan Club, Lumana’i O Samoa, drew crowds of people on stage during their performance on Friday at International Extravaganza 2014. Family members sang and even danced with the club. The club’s purple costumes stood out amongst the swarm of people placing dollar bills on each performer.
Seven clubs diligently prepared to dance in front of the Sullivan Family Library on April 4. International Extravaganza, put on by the Chaminade Student Government Association, showcased students’ hard work and diverse cultural backgrounds.
“The goal is to teach people about all the clubs and different cultures,” said Carlos Cortes, Student Event coordinator and House of Representative chair for CSGA. “It’s a fun educational (learning experience) thing, through song and dance.”
The student-run clubs that participated were Hawaiian Club, Lumana’i O Samoa, Micronesian Club, Diverse Movement, Chaminade Step Club Ohana, Indigo Lotus and Temana Tahitian Club.
Pacific Island Review, which is held during fall, is limited to Polynesian clubs. International Extravaganza allows other clubs like Chaminade Step Club Ohana, Indigo Lotus and Diverse Movement to perform.
Cortes estimated around 250 to 300 people attended the event.
One participant from Lumana’i O Samoa, Faith Leasoiolagi, junior, has performed in Extravaganza since her freshman year.
She participated to show her culture to those who attended the event. Her club had been practicing since spring semester began in January.
Lumana’i O Samoa was the only club to receive money while dancing from the audience. Family members and guests approached the stage and placed dollar bills on students while they performed, a custom in Samoan culture. The money from the dance will go toward the club to help with events like community service and retreats, according to Leasiolagi.
She encourages students to participate in Extravaganza.
“It’s a chance to learn about other cultures, and you never know you may enjoy it yourself,” Leasiolagi said.
Another participating club, Micronesian Club, presented a different type of dance. Instead of performing a dance number, club president Walter Omalza wanted to illustrate a legendary myth from Micronesia. Members of the club performed the story of navigation by the stars, which is traditionally derived from Micronesia.
The remainder of the groups that performed honored the seniors of their club with a special song, chant or dance to show their appreciation at this year’s event.
The event itself dedicated a portion of the ceremony to the graduating seniors with leis for each participant.
Between performances, CSGA had audience members participate in various games such as “gimmie gimmie” and raffle drawings. One event in particular, three randomly selected audience members had 30 seconds to shake four ping-pong balls out of a tissue box tied around their waist. Winner Winston Anderson got all four balls out of the box in less than 10 seconds.
“When in doubt, running man,” said Anderson after receiving his Chaminade prize bag.
Throughout the week, CSGA hosted events leading up to International Extravaganza on Friday night. On Monday, the Diverse Movement Club held a dance exercise class in the Vi & Paul Loo Student Center. On Tuesday, Indigo Lotus had henna night and on Wednesday, the Micronesian Club and Samoan Club talked about a piece of their culture to students in the Loo Center.
“It’s a good way to get people excited about the event on Friday, about extravaganza,” Cortes said.
The event was “definitely a good night” for Cortes.
“I was ecstatic, it was like seeing a kid grow up in a way. … I was incredibly proud by all the clubs, and just seeing all the work that they did and put into the event and seeing how fantastic all of the clubs did,” Cortes said. “I was like a proud dad.”