Photo Credit: Alvin Tan

Organized by the Asian American Alliance, CultureSHOCK 2009: Lost and Found was bound to be a giant event for the Asian-American community on campus, as it promised to explore the topic of identity. Giant posters advertising the event could be seen on every floor in Hamilton Hall, and custom-printed balloons galore were strewn around campus as Saturday, November 21st, arrived.  This culture show, which consisted of numerous talented performers from the Asian-American community and a colorful fashion show outfitted by top Asian-American fashion designers, was set in Roone Arledge Auditorium in Lerner Hall and hosted by director Tiffany Chen, CC ’10; Assistant Director Alana Tung, CC ’12; and Asian American Alliance Chair Kevin Zhai, CC ’12.

The show opened up with a video about a Columbia student, Jaclyn, who finds a black notebook that takes her on an adventure around campus in order to explore her Asian-American roots.  The performers were Beat Boxer Entertainment; Project D Dance Troupe; Jen Kwok; Yellow Rage; Alice Hu, CC ’11; Magnetic North; Eliot Chang; and Fr3sh Dance Troupe. In addition to providing laughs and gasps, many of these performers explored the Asian-American identity, from Kwok’s amusing song about being a fat, funny girl underneath her petite-Asian-girl appearance to Chang’s jokes about being an Asian male.

The fashion show had a fun, energetic vibe. “We did a lot of planning and practiced lots, but in general all the scenes looked good. I’m glad I was a part of it and that I got to meet awesome people,” remarked Jina Lim, CC ’13, one of the models—it was her first campus fashion show. The designers who donated clothes for the fashion show were Shin Choi, Ninh Nguyen, Wenlan Chia, Manolo Blahnik, Shanghai Tang, Milly, Sean McKoy, Nicole Miller, Ralph Lauren, and Sueli Costa. From businesswear to casualwear, and formalwear to swimwear, the fashion covered the full spectrum of sartorial needs, utilizing clever choreography and upbeat music to entertain the audience. “Luckily, we had five practices and plenty of time,” commented Tung.

As the show drew to a close, Zhai spoke to his CultureSHOCK 2009 director, Chen: “I hope this was everything you had hoped for.” From the beaming smile on her face as she walked down the stage in a long black gown, it was obvious that it had been.