A showcase for the people

Genie Tran | Argonaut The Delta Sigma Theta Dance group performs at Shades of Black Saturday evening.

Shades of Black event draws large crowd

More than 700 people crowded into the Bruce Pitman Center International Ballroom Saturday night to watch dance and vocal performances in the 12th annual Shades of Black cultural showcase.

Among the mass of people were University of Idaho administrators Director of Human Rights, Access and Inclusion Carmen Suarez and UI President Chuck Staben.

Genie Tran | Argonaut All the performers in Shades of Black dance together during the final performance, including program creator and UI alumni Kwapi Vengesayi.

Genie Tran | Argonaut
All the performers in Shades of Black dance together during the final performance, including program creator and UI alumni Kwapi Vengesayi.

“Well, it looks like a fun event, for one,” Staben said. “But it’s important also because it is a chance for our students to celebrate diversity and to celebrate Martin Luther King Day.”

Interim Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs Jesse Martinez kicked off the event with a formal introduction of the winners of the Martin Luther King Jr. Art and Essay contest, put on by Associate Dean of the College of Law and Ubuntu Chair Jeffrey Dodge.

Those enrolled in the MLK Art and Essay contest were asked to either write a 1,000-1,500 word essay or create a piece of art of any medium to portray their take on civil rights issues, such as racial injustices, gender equality and domestic violence, among others.

Before the winners were announced, Staben shared his thoughts on the winning entries.

After reading all the essays and seeing the art pieces, he said it was moving to see members of the UI community create things in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Civil Rights Act.

After the contestants were handed their prizes, the stage was taken over by the show’s emcee, Los Angeles comedian Janet Kim.

Kim warmed up the crowd by sharing her experience of being an Asian woman in LA and witnessing the constant racism found in the city.

She told a story about a time when she was driving down the street and someone pulled up next to her and put his fingers on the sides of his eye to make them squint. Kim said she finds comfort in showing some sensitive issues in a comical light to give others a better understanding of them.

Genie Tran | Argonaut The Delta Sigma Theta Dance group performs at Shades of Black Saturday evening.

Genie Tran | Argonaut
The Delta Sigma Theta Dance group performs at Shades of Black Saturday evening in the Bruce Pitman Center’s International Ballroom.

There were 14 acts performed throughout the night. Each performance kept with the theme of the show, “Beauty is …” Participating students showed the audience what their perception of true beauty was, in dance, song and spoken word.

Many acts touched on the idea of self-love. A dancer from Washington State University danced to “Try” by Colbie Caillat, following a vocal performance of P!nk’s “Perfect.”

The performances drew large roars from the crowd through the night. Audience members shouted and moved with the dancers and snapped at powerful points in spoken word pieces.

Returning guest performers also gave the crowd a thrill. The God’s Harmony gospel choir from WSU had the audience clapping and singing with them. The last act to go on stage was Eastern Washington University’s dance group Code Red, which has performed at the UI Shades of Black  event for more than 3 years.

To end the show, Kim asked Kwapi Vengesayi, UI alumnus and creator of the event, to come on stage. When he walked on the stage, the audience erupted in applause.

Kwapi thanked the crowd, the performers, UI and the Moscow community for making the event happen in the first place. He said he has enjoyed his stay back in his college town and looks forward to next year’s event.

Vengesayi and the night’s performers didn’t end the show with a bow, they did the Cupid Shuffle and invited the audience to dance along with them.

Emily Mosset can be reached [email protected]

Leave a Reply

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.