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Malaysian Night enchants SCSU
By Ashwin Raman
 Media Credit: scott theisen Shanti Muniandy, one of the performers from The Indian Beat performs solo. The Beat Dance was a dance performance based on the style of Indian culture.
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 Media Credit: scott theisen The 24 Seasons Drums team performs at Malaysian Night in the Atwood Ballroom Friday night. The drummers, who formed last summer, combine Malaysian and Chinese styling.
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The weather outside may have been below forty but audiences of around 300 people at the Atwood Ballroom were literally transported to tropical Malaysia during the Malaysian Students Association (MSA)'s annual "Malaysian Night" event on Saturday.
The audience, comprised of mainly students, faculty members and St. Cloud citizens, were treated to three hours of cultural performances and exotic Malaysian food. The show, originally planned to begin at 6 p.m., finally got underway at 6:30 after the organizers managed to usher everyone in the ballroom. The lights at Atwood Ballroom were immediately dimmed except for two on stage. Six drummers then took the stage and proceeded to give the audience a teaser of what was to come on this special night.
The percussion performance was part of the traditional Chinese "24 Seasons Drums" that would later be the showcase of the evening.
Following the drummers' exit, three hosts, dressed in the traditional attire of the three main races of Malaysia, gave everyone a warm welcome and a brief introduction to the theme of the night: "Malaysia: Truly Asia."
A moment of silence was also observed for the passing of Sen. Paul Wellstone before an array of guest speakers came on stage.
The speakers � Michael Spitzer, the provost of SCSU; Chunsheng Zhang, assistant vice president for academic affairs and international studies; Darlene Grega, director of international students and scholar services; Abdul Rashid, Director of the Malaysian Students Department from Chicago; James Robinson, faculty advisor for the MSA; Jackie Yee-Wey Tan, president of the MSA � all made speeches with the underlying message of the need for Americans to understand and appreciate other cultures from around the world.
After the speakers had finished, audiences were then treated to the "Three Race Dance." In this dance, three sets of dancers performed traditional dances of the three main races of Malaysia; the Malays, Chinese and Indians. The dance lasted for about 15 minutes and the audience was then told to help themselves to an array of Malaysian delicacies being served on both sides of the ballroom.
For some members in the audience, this was the highlight of the evening, but for others, they felt that the MSA could have done a better job serving the food in reference to the long lines some had to brave before eventually being served. Franklin Hessler, who waited in line for nearly 15 minutes, suggested that the organizers should have served table by table.
"No one would have had to wait in long lines that way," Hessler said.
Once everyone finished eating, the lights dimmed again and this time a video showcasing the ethnic diversity and the sights of Malaysia was shown for a quarter of an hour.
Immediately following that, the 24 Seasons Drummers took the stage once again and delighted audiences with Chinese traditional drumming throughout their 20-minute set.
Next was a stage show that reenacted the traditional wedding ceremonies of the three races of Malaysia. The actors first preformed a Malay wedding, followed by a traditional Chinese wedding ceremony and a Hindu wedding. The Hindu wedding represented the Indian wedding because, as the audience was informed, the majority of Indians in Malaysia practice Hinduism.
Many rounds of applause from the audience followed the whole wedding show and to some, it was their highlight of the evening.
"The wedding ceremonies, especially the Hindu wedding was very interesting. It's my first time seeing it," said Owen Zimple, director of student disability services.
After that were two more dances. The first dance was a modern Indian dance and the other was an East Malaysian dance nicknamed "the Bamboo dance." In the latter dance, members of the audience were urged to participate with the dancers on stage.
A lucky draw was then held and all the performers and MSA committee members moved to the stage for a final bow to end a memorable night and what many would consider a successful night for the MSA.
"The show is getting better and better each year," said freshman Jessica Beaudry, who had attended the past three Malaysian nights.
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