Students explore Vietnamese culture

Singing, dancing, fashion and kung fu combined to create "Penn by Night '96," the 10th annual Vietnamese culture show, held Saturday night in Irvine Auditorium. More than 100 students attended the Vietnamese Students Association-sponsored event entitled "Que Huong Yeu Dau," or "My Loving Homeland," according to VSA President and College sophomore Muc Nguyen. She explained that the VSA hoped the event would promote Vietnamese culture to the entire University, with a specific emphasis on the many "Vietnamese students on this campus who have forgotten their culture." "We noticed [that] a lot of the young kids tend to grow up in the American society and lose touch with their identity and Vietnamese culture," Nguyen added. Nguyen noted that the VSA had been working on the show since mid-February. The performance included traditional modern songs and dances, a kung fu demonstration, a fashion show and the annual skit. The show was co-emceed by College junior Diem Nguyen, who presented the acts in Vietnamese and College junior Don Luong, who did the same in English. The show began with a group of Penn students singing "Viet Nam Hop Ca," a traditional song about remembering one's homeland wherever one goes. Members of this group also performed an "umbrella dance" called "Autumn Raindrop." Various love songs involving both universal and strictly Vietnamese themes were also performed in Vietnamese. The performances by Penn students were supplemented by two dances by the Song Hong River Dance Group, a local Philadelphia dance troupe made up of young women, who ranged in age from eight to 18. They performed a traditional flower dance and lantern dance. One of the high points of the evening was a two-part kung fu act. The first part was a weapons and forms demonstration by College junior Nguyen Nguyen and Engineering junior Taitan Nguyen. The second part was a planned duel between the two, which Luong called "our own little rumble in West Philly." The audience laughed often during the annual skit, which was written by members of VSA. The main character of the skit was a young bachelor trying to find a wife. In his search, he tried to find a balance between his Vietnamese upbringing and his current American life. Luong explained that this is "something we all face." But the main character chose to resolve these issues and find his wife through the unique technique of appearing on a humorous version of the Love Connection. A fashion show, during which students modeled traditional Vietnamese dress from different regions and time periods, concluded the event. As part of this, traditional wedding clothing and four modern dresses were displayed.