A heavy rainstorm suddenly arrived in Atlanta, but it did not deter flocks of students from lining up outside McDonough Field. Music echoed throughout the field, and lights illuminated the stage as crowds congregated for CultureShock on Aug. 26.
Organized by College Council, CultureShock is an annual showcase featuring performances by multicultural clubs and organizations at the start of each school year. The performances are one of the first ways new students can get a glimpse of Emory University’s music and dance club offerings.
People arrived half an hour before the performances to get merch and food. Island Chef Cafe and Not As Famous Cookie Company handed out free food from their food trucks, and College Council distributed a beige T-shirt with an image of Dooley on the front and this year’s CultureShock theme, “Unmasking Dooley,” written on the back.
“We only served food after all the performances ended in the past,” Sirui Zhou (25C), who is a vice president of programming for College Council, said. “But for this year, we wanted people to just come in, grab food, sit down with food, feel satisfied and watch the amazing performances.”
Although the performances started half an hour later than the scheduled 7:30 p.m. start time, the audience did not lose their passion for the diverse performances. Each group took the stage with completely different styles, displaying their talents without restraint. A cappella, music and dance all shared the spotlight with no shortage of talent and passion.
“All the performances came with a lot of energy,” said Ayush Kothari (26C), vice president of programming for College Council. “People have been dedicating themselves to this art, and getting to see them showcase their talents on stage in front of a big audience … was a highlight for me.”
Every performance sparkled, not only because of the energy from the performers, but also because of their interactions with the audience. The crowd cheered when they saw someone they recognized take the stage.
The song and dance performances were a mix of the traditional t0 modern. Emory Suri performed “Titania” (2012), Emory Student Dance Network danced to “Dance The Night” (2023) and Emory Mulan Dance and Emory Karma Bhangra danced to modern pop songs integrated with traditional dance styles. The dances and singing embraced new possibilities for performance art.
Additionally, each team’s costumes added to their performance’s personality. Voices of Inner Strength members wore multicolored costumes, which matched the joyous theme of their songs. Zuri African Dance Troupe wore yellow clothing with red and white rope patterns. Some wore the patterned garment as a skirt while others wore it as a top. The troupe adopted freestyle movements that fit each member’s individual dance pace to showcase the dynamism of African dance.
In addition to costumes, Emory SaRaas, a South Asian Garba-Raas dance team, used dandiya sticks, which are sticks used during Navratri Dandiya Raas dance in Gujarat, India, as props to enrich their performance.
“I think [people in College Council] are very excited to be on the stage and see all that we’ve built over this entire summer,” Zhou (25C) said.
Zhou added that after conquering challenges since May — such as College Council leadership assuming their new positions — efforts by new hands organized this year’s CultureShock.
“The beginning was a bit rocky because we had to transition over from the last College Council at this CultureShock event,” Zhou said. “It was a lot of organizing, bringing back old ideas and then bringing back new ones.”
CultureShock succeeded because of the endless creativity and talent put on display by the student body. The performances serve as a reminder that culture develops on campus in a rich number of art forms, providing each student a chance to enjoy and showcase their talents and identities.
