The Overseas society presents... I-night: One World
The organisers give you the low down...
Next week marks the university’s second International Week of the year (4th – 9th Feburary) with overseas societies coming together to promote cultural diversity and integration at Imperial College. The celebrations build up to Saturday 9th Feburary where the 11th annual International Night will take place. With performances varying from traditional dances to traditional plays adapted to original modern day themes; this promise to be a hugely entertaining evening.
Here we answer some questions and hear from the societies taking part and their plans to overload your senses with a cultural explosion that will leave you oozing happiness and truly in awe of the wealth of culture around day in day out at Imperial College.
What is I Night?
I-Night is a colourful variety show that has been running for over a decade. Originally a haven for international students to express their various traditions, it has grown into a major event in Imperial’s calendar and is the largest of its kind at the College. The event takes place in the Great Hall of Imperial College (9 February) and has proved to be a successful channel for the cultural vibrancy within the College time and time again. Favourite performances are the Japanese society’s ‘anime-style’ pantomime and Cypriot society’s cultural dance and comedic sketches. Unsurprisingly, the laughter and harmonious atmosphere produced by I Night has invited participating groups beyond the overseas societies including Funkology, Belly Dancing society and Wushu to get involved in the celebrations.
I Night is a tradition betweenall participating societies and spurs a friendly air of competition encouraging everyone to give their all. As a result, the energy given off by the night attracts over 500 students each year to attend the event. We are proud to unite all of the students of Imperial together and donate the proceeds to our chosen charity. – Wasim Khouri OSC Chair
We now hear from IC Belly Dancing, Cypriot society, Hellenic society, Japanese society and IC Funkology about what they have in store for us on the night as well as words from the Co-Chairs of this great event.
IC Belly Dancing
The IC Belly Dancing society would like to present to you a medley of choreographs ranging from classical belly dance to a more modern twist. Dance is our way of expressing the old oriental culture and this year’s choreographies are an expansion upon last year’s repertoire at I Night: we aim to impress the audience with the shear variety that belly dancing has to offer and can’t wait to see you there!! – Lydia Lilis
Hellenic Society
The Hellenic Society brings to you an amazing spectacle right from the heart of Greek culture. From battle representations and victory celebrations to medieval sword fighting, the Greek folklore dances can be characterized as living history that has come as heritage to us through the ages. The Greek dances contain our history. Taught from one person to another, it cannot be captured in books or mastered through studying. With each person dancing each dance, the unbreakable chain of teachers and students expands in time to link all those who have danced and have carried it with them over the centuries. These dances bear tales of strength and bravery but also of love and pain. We will embody these dances and bring the tales back to life for I Night – Michael Dinalexis
Funkology Society
FuNkoLoGy began in 2003 as a simple outlet for a group of students at Imperial College to train and develop their passion for urban dance and push the boundaries of hip-hop dance performance across the UK university community. At I Night we are putting on our best performance to date! The night is a fusion of talents, diversity and passion, and this is what I love about it. The excitement of the competition for ‘best performance’ of the evening just adds to the special occasion and means that the atmosphere on the night is truly electric! – Eva Yuan
Japanese Society
As is tradition, this year the Japanese society is going to perform a play at I Night. The play is modern take on Japanese culture and the interaction with our world.
With the play we want to promote our culture, but mostly, we want to make people laugh. The actors in the play are all well known characters that represent Japan and perform through mime whilst all sounds are by narration and sound effect.
This year the play will be about a Japanese samurai winning a competition to date the Hime (princess of his country). The shows involve characters like Otaku (young people who are highly skilled in, or obsessed with, computer technology to the detriment of their social skills), Kendo master and Chadou (tea club).
I am so happy that we have the chance to perform at I Night and take part in the celebration of diversity at Imperial. – Da Chen
Cypriot Society
Live music with the sound of the inspiring violin and acoustic guitar, accompanied with the marvelous voices of singers, traditional costumes, traditional food and drinks and some tremendous folklore dance are what make Inight so enjoyable for me. Our performance this year is set in a coffee shop in Cyprus at the start of the 20th century and aims to reflect the customs and culture of Cyprus at that time. The programme includes songs and traditional dances. Fast paced, improvisational, and stunt dances are all included. The additional surprise this year is the dance of Kouza, which is performed by women holding pottery vases with a surprise love story also included in the dance, part of the tradition!! Cypriot delicacies will be served during the performance including the famous halloumi, shiromeri and the exceptional drink of zivania!! – Renos Karamanis
I am so impressed by the traditional and spectacular character of inight and its ability to probe to the roots of 10 different cultures in one night. Not only does it enable around 200 Imperial students to unravel their talent on stage in front of a large audience, but it mutually teaches to students the cultural variety of the world: A world, which belongs to us, the future generations. This year’s I-Night titled ‘One world’ captivates my interest not only to give my best self on stage but to also have an amazing time by being educated simultaneously. I can’t wait!!” – Michelle Kokkinou
Conclusion
Overall, International Night is a variety performance of many cultures which displays our diversity at Imperial College. It is put together by the OSC committee which guides this quest. With over 40 societies of different nationalities and background under our care, the OSC is the body, which represents over 5000 international students to the Union. The aim of all our activities is to promote cultural exchanges, celebrate diversity, and to embrace differences. Our ultimate hope and goal is for every student who passes through the gates of the College to have a truly cosmopolitan experience that will be remembered in many years to come. We look forward to I Night and encourage you to open up your experiences to the diversity of culture around you at Imperial College. We invite you to celebrate with us! One World!!
