The Swarthmore Pan-Asian Association (SPAA) is one of the newer cultural groups on campus. It was founded a few years ago (many of its original founders are still here at the college) to support and promote Asian culture on campus. One of their most popular events is “Celebrasia,” an evening festival promoting Asian heritage through performance (and with excellent catered food, which is definitely a big lure).
For me, the festival began at 5:40, as I and the rest of the gamelan people (a small subset of the ensemble) convened in the music building to move our instruments along the perilous path from the music building to Upper Tarble, the second floor of our belltower, where the event was being held. After moving over catwalks, through too-small doorways, up a bizarrely cold elevator (all of us commented on it and briefly regretted that we had on only our shirts and sarongs) we arrived, set up, and sat down in an already crowded room. Cultural dress abounded; kimonos, hanfu, batiks, and saris dappled the room in dots of color (those who did not have traditional dress still looked spiffy in suits and cocktail dresses, or at the very least a nice sweater).
I originally thought that I would live-blog about this event, but it proved too busy to do so; I failed almost immediately. However, before I gave up on that endeavor, like a brave war correspondent sending his last message, I made a single entry in the Google doc I had set up for note-taking, quoted here in full:
“6:12: Instruments moved. Line for food long. Desperately hungry.”
Though that line was written in a moment of weakness, it was worth the wait. Dumplings, bulgogi, curries, noodles, candies, juices, lined a table twenty feet long. I was most happy about the two massive trays of palak paneer (I considered the food my payment for the performance). After sitting down (as performers, we got some of the best seats in the house, right by the central stage), relaxing and talking with friends and fretting about our upcoming performance, the show began, consisting of 13 student performances.
Perhaps what was most striking was the diversity of what was on offer. On one end of the spectrum, there were several more “traditional” acts, acts that have existed in some form for thousands of years, such as us (an ensemble of six playing Balinese temple music), Taiko ( ~15 people performing terrifically loud Japanese dance/drumming), and a solo Indian dancer with brilliant bronze ghungroos on her feet.
On the other end of the spectrum were many acts more representative of the syncretic cultural practices of the modern era; K-Pop dance groups, Sino-Western rock bands, Spanish-influenced Harana serenades from the Philippines.
There were also a few acts that fell outside what we would normally consider the “performing arts;” poetry reading and Judo demonstrations come to mind.
SPAA is still a young organization; there is every expectation that these celebrations and their organization will continue to grow in scope and size (they announced the launch of their new podcast at the end of the show).
