KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2011 / NEWS / 34
1) Stacy Mar, Jennifer Hyah, Varanouth Supadulya, Jennifer Luong, and Leanna Roopnarine model traditional Asian outfits. The girls were part of the Ao Dai Fashion Show.
2) Wiki Lu shows off her skills with the Chinese yo-yo. The performance was part of Taste of Asia.
Fourteenth annual 'Taste of Asia' results in success
mance was part of Nastal Asia.
3) David Kim, a sophomore from Wichita, performs the Tae Yang Dance. Kim is part of the Lamda Phi Epsilon fraternity at the University.
4) Vicki Lu performs a martial arts routine during the Taste of Asia event on campus. Taste of Asia was hosted by the Asian-American Student Union.
BY COURTNEY BULLIS
CBULLIS@KANSAN.COM
For the past week, AASU promoted Asian awareness at the University by hosting six different events, including an Asian food buffet and Asian game night. The theme of the week, "Ascension: Once Forgotten, Now Ascending," addressed serious issues facing the Asian community today.
"The Asian community is a forgotten minority, but recently there has been a rebirth of interest in the Asian/Assian-American way of life," Anthony Nguyen, a senior from
Photos by Megan Singer/KANSAN
The Asian-American Student Union celebrated its 14th annual "Taste of Asia" with a grand finale variety show Saturday night in the Kansas Union. The show was the closing ceremony of a week full of events aimed at breaking the stereotypical Asian image at the University of Kansas.
The hosts of the show, Anthony and Lisa Nguyen, a senior from Wichita, kept the educational
Wichita and president of AASU, said. "This week has been about still maintaining part of the cultures we grew in while moving forward."
"The show is great because we have a little bit of every Asian culture in it, such as Laos, Korean, Cambodian, Tai, Indonesian and others." Troune said.
The variety show was filled with light-hearted jokes and laughter despite the overall serious tone of the week. The show included everything from the KU Vietnamese Student Association lion dance team to the AASU hip-hop dance team. Many performers wore traditional outfits of their own Asian heritage, while others sang in their native language.
Former KU student Matt Troung said he came back to participate in this year's variety show as a dancer.
atmosphere upbeat by dancing to Kesha and poking fun at so-called "easy" traditional dances such as the Cambodian coconut dance. The energetic crowd cheered loudly for performer Himal Sherchan, a sophomore from Lawrence, as he sang an acoustic version of "Yellow" by Coldplay, as well as his own material.
Each performer paid tribute to a different Asian ethnic group at the University. The AASU formed in 1991 to support interaction among different Asian ethnic groups, and to promote Asian awareness and education at the University. Anthony said that was still one of the main goals of the group.
"The KU campus is so segregated and this event helps educate the campus so that we can learn from each other," Anthony said.
Edited by Brittany Nelson
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