Dance Of Nations To Showcase International Steps

Walking along the drillfield, it’s easy to see a wide range of races and ethnicities at Virginia Tech. According to Virginia Tech’s admissions website, the university is home to approximately 2,000 international students from more than 110 countries.

Every year, those students are given a chance to show off an aspect of their culture through the Council of International Organizations’ annual Dance of Nations.

“Dance of Nations is basically we have all these member organizations and, since they’re so diverse, we want them to show their culture and show the dances of their own nation,” says event coordinator Anuja Agnihotri.

According to Ying Shen, the other event coordinator, Virginia Tech’s Council of International Student Organizations (CISO) is the “umbrella” organization for all of the international organizations at Virginia Tech. CISO is made up of roughly 50 international student organizations representing more than 100 countries, ranging from Dubai to Turkey.

The council, including its two event coordinators, has been working to prepare for this year’s Dance of Nations, which, according to Agnihotri, kicks off International Education Week at Virginia Tech.

CISO’s Dance of Nations is a free event, and will be held in Burruss Hall Auditorium on Nov. 13. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., with the performances starting at 7 p.m. Agnihotri guesses that the event will probably last until 9:30 p.m. CISO is hoping to have food from different countries at the event as well.

Last year’s event, held in the Graduate Life Center, was so well-attended it was necessary to stop letting people in, said Agnihotri. This year, the event is scheduled to be held in Burruss Hall Auditorium, a much larger venue.

“I was on the board last year too as a PR [Public Relations officer], and the event, it had a really great turn out. We had the GLC [Graduate Life Center] auditorium then, and it was completely packed,” said Agnihotri. “Because of that, we have taken Burruss Hall this year. So that way, we’re hoping to fill up Burruss Hall, that’s our next goal.”

Sixteen organizations were represented at last year’s event, ranging from Salsa Tech to the Filipino Students Association. This year, Ahgnihotri estimates that 18 to 19 organizations have signed up, a group she feels is more diverse than last year. Those organizations include newcomers, such as the African Student Association, as well as repeat performers, such as Hill and Veil.

According to Ariana Buckley, Hill and Veil’s director of public relations, Hill and Veil is a belly dancing troupe on campus comprising beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. The organization performs at events and has its own show in the spring and offers free lessons.

“We just dance for the love of dancing,” said Buckley, who first started dancing with her mother two years ago.

Hill and Veil is currently “booking it” to finish the choreography for all three levels, said Buckley. In addition to choreographing their own performance, the advanced levels also choreograph the beginners and help those in the intermediate level. They help them with specific moves, and make sure the performers have “pretty hands” – hands that are firm and purposeful, but still fluid.

CISO Event Coordinator Shen said she thinks that CISO provides a “platform for all these international students to communicate.” She sees dance as a form of that communication. Shen hopes that the Dance of Nations will allow people to “appreciate other cultures, other nations, besides American.”