Beijing International Students’ Night 2016

Beijing International Students’ Night 2016: When talent meets glamour!

By Francisco Mitumba, Ministry of Media, FOE-ISU.

Alluring! Captivating! Charismatic! Pizzazz! Ravishing! Any word that you may use to describe a beautiful, well-colored event seasoned by breath-taking, well-choreographed performances befits the Beijing International Students’ Night of 2016. It was a relatively cold night on December 18, 2016 when international students at Beijing Normal University gathered at the Qiujiduan Gym, curious to enter to witness the year’s Beijing International Students’ Night activities.

The stage was set, and right from the start, the show mesmerized the fan-hungry crowd, cheering and ululating from all corners of the hall. Students from across the globe performed and dazzled the crowd with acrobatics, songs, drama, catwalk and so many other activities.

Some of the highlights include the Logo te Pate dance performed by Samoans, which showed that they had put so much effort and time preparing for this event. The catwalk by the Africans showed how diverse the continent is, as catwalkers dressed in costumes representing their countries across the continent, paraded the stage. The Mongolians were glitter and beautiful, and they showed the audience that they have well-curated popstars from their region too. Despite what most of us know about the Arab world in terms of culture and tradition, the women, brilliantly dressed, reminded everyone that there is also rhythm and fan adhered to it.

Being in the audience and looking from the stands, one would tell that the international students community is rich of talent. You could envision upcoming artists in music, acrobatics, fashion and more by just looking at how passionate the performers were and what this meant for them. The choreography was exquisite, the costumes were radiant, the performers were absolutely jaw-dropping and the audience was equally spellbound.

The show was graced by university officials who, despite their busy schedules, enjoyed and clapped together with the rest of the audience. The show ended with a Michael Jackson’s song ‘We Are The World’ as all the performers gathered on stage singing along, flanked by the university officials for a group photo to show solidarity. Beijing International Students’ Night 2016 lived up to expectation and for some, especially new-comers, it was a delightful and gratifying thing to witness.