This past Friday, April 11, marked the annual end-of-the-year bash for the Asian Cultural Exchange. Not to be outdone by last year's "Dynasty," this year's party/show, E.P.I.C., was a throwback to a more traditional expression of Asian Culture, billed as the "East-Asian Pacific Islander Cultural" show.
ACE President Phil Wang, in conjunction with the executive board of ACE, put together a great show. Turnout was strong, the presentation and decorations were great, and the food was amazing. The show ran from 6 p.m. until nearly 10 p.m. and was void of any dull spots. Erik Batallones, FCRH '09, made for an entertaining host and was not afraid to put himself out there for some physical comedy.
Taiko Masala, the ancient Japanese drumming performing art group, was a big success and I would say the strongest performance of the evening. The strong drumming and interesting style of the group entertained everyone in attendance entirely throughout their entire performance.
Following Taiko Masala, Fordham's own ACE members took over the mic for a few duet acts that including some entertaining stuff. Translations would have been helpful as none of the duets were done in English, but while trying to express foreign cultures, there are few better ways than through language native to the performers.
The E.P.I.C. fashion show touched on both contemporary and classic styles of countries from all over the Pacific Rim and Mainland Asia, China, Vietnam and Japan just to name a few. The styles shown ran from Japanese Lolita and Underground Punk to Chinese Quipao.
Keating Underground, a Fordham-based band, and Spinnin' Ronin, a performance group that does comedy and martial-arts short-plays, also performed throughout the evening but were hard-pressed to steal the fashion show and Taiko Masala's thunder.
Overall, it was a very entertaining evening. If you did not catch this year's show I strongly suggest you try to attend some of ACE's events next year. The group always has well-organized events with interesting twists that make everyone feel welcome.
2008 Woodie Awards
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