By Wanyi Jin, News Correspondent

Vietnamese American culture swept the Fenway Center stage Saturday in a broad display of artistry, complete with dancing, singing, comedy and a live cook-off. The show was Northeastern’s Vietnamese Student Association’s (NUVSA) second annual culture show.

The show, titled “Que Huong,” Vietnamese for “The Journey,” brought the audience on a figurative excursion through the different regions of Vietnam. The show was divided into four acts: northern region, central region, southern region and modern. NUVSA showed videos highlighting each region’s distinct cultural aspects and performed region-specific traditional dances.

Performers embraced their identities as students in the US with a rendition of Demi Lovato’s “Skyscraper,” a dating show, a modern dance and a fashion show.

“We wanted to show the audience how different each region is culturally,” said Linh Dang, vice president of NUVSA and a junior finance, accounting and marketing major. “And even though we have all these traditional aspects, we also have a modern side.”

The event drew Northeastern students as well as guests, most of whom knew the performers personally.

“I came here tonight to watch my friends dancing and singing,” said Diem Phan, a middler international business major. “Most of the people in the club are friends or friends of friends. It’s how I got to know Vietnamese people on campus.”

Students from the university Asian American Center also helped plan, choreograph and perform in the event. Performers agreed they felt the family atmosphere was palpable during the event.

“Obviously, it’s a great community,” said Chris Go, a junior math major who performed in the modern dance number. “Everyone is very friendly, so I joined to try to hang out with everyone and to learn to dance.”

Dang agreed, adding that producing the show helped the club grow even tighter.
“Everyone was working together for all the performances, so we all got closer,” she said.

Collaboration was another prevailing theme during the cultural show. The acts featured not only NUVSA members and affiliates, but also representatives of the Binh Dinh Martial Arts Group and Utsav (Sanskrit for “festival”), Northeastern’s undergraduate South Asian student organization. Dang emphasized the VSA’s goal of expanding the cultural aspects shown in the performances.

“We wanted to show people something different from what they usually see,” Dang said. “So we reached out to the Vietnamese community in Boston, and they were really nice.”

NUVSA works with Utsav in Northeastern’s Pan Asian American Council, which scored Utsav a spot as guest performers at the cultural show. NUVSA performers said they were particularly impressed with the South Asian student group’s dance number in the show’s modern act.

“It’s definitely great that they brought Utsav here,” said Anthony Vong, a freshman chemistry major who performed in NUVSA’s modern dance number. “I loved the Indian dance. It was extremely lively.”

Vietnamese students who attended the event said they most enjoyed the ability to embrace and communicate their cultural roots.

“My favorite part was the traditional dances and fashion show because it teaches people a little bit about our culture,” Phan said.

Vong, who grew up in both Chinese and Vietnamese cultures, expressed his appreciation at the opportunity to express the Vietnamese side of his upbringing.

“I thought it was very heartwarming,” Vong said. “It felt like it was part of home.”