4 minute read
Cross-cultural dance and music programmes show Lingnan’s cultural and ethnic diversity
Text: Lee Wing-sze
Photos: Whitney Hon, Hazel Chow
Within Lingnan University’s liberal arts education framework, the Wong Bing Lai Music and Performing Arts Unit (WBLMP) has been organising music and arts courses and activities to enrich students’ learning experience and assist cultural and ethnic encounters on the campus. Recently, it invited local dance charity BEYOND Bollywood to host a Bollywood dance workshop on 3 November 2023.
In the workshop, co-founder and artistic director of BEYOND Bollywood Uday Sathala introduced the wide variety of Indian dances, and the history and culture of Bollywood dance to some 20 students. A choreographer and performer, Sathala also showed the students how to dance to the dynamic Indian music.
“Bollywood dance is something different from other dance forms,” says Sathala, who staged his solo play My Life On The Fringe on Lingnan campus earlier last year. “There is a lot of expression. We show feelings through hand gestures and footwork, and we move from the top - head, body to toes. It is good exercise, good fun, and something new that you can feel in the music.”
Bollywood dance is something different from other dance forms. -Uday Sathala
Among the students who indulged in the rhythmic, upbeat Bollywood music and dancing in the workshop was Vanshi Ketan Pathak, an exchange student from Ahmedabad University, India. “I am having a lot of fun,” she says. “I am Indian and I enjoy dancing in my free time. When I saw that Lingnan University was providing a workshop about Bollywood dance, I would like to sign up just as a fun activity and I also want to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible before I leave.”
Watch the workshop’s highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uws6G-9vh9o
Hostel tutor and alumna Terra Ting, an Indian movie fan, appreciates the workshop that gave her a way to mingle with people of other ethnicities. “I do know a little bit about the Indian culture, but I have not really had a chance to make friends with Indians. A workshop like this is a very good opportunity for us to meet people of other nationalities and learn about their cultures.”
BEYOND Bollywood’s co-founder and programme director Benis Cheng hopes the workshop would stimulate students’ interest in Indian dance, and inspire them to explore its dance forms and Indian culture. She is also impressed by Lingnan University’s liberal arts environment. “The curriculum is not just about academic knowledge, but a whole person development. The multi-cultural learning environment can also help widen students’ horizons,” says Cheng, who formerly worked in private banking.
The curriculum is not just about academic knowledge, but a whole person development. The multi-cultural learning environment can also help widen students’ horizons. -Benis Cheng
In addition to the Bollywood dance workshop, two other cultural activities were hosted by WBLMP on the campus recently. From October to November 2023, an Integrated Learning Programme (ILP) class, the Egyptian Dance Workshop, was organised by the Office of Student Affairs.
Besides, the “Music in Asia’s Heart of HeartsUzbekistan Music Appreciation” took place on 2 November 2023 as a course enhancement session for WBLMP’s Music and World Cultures cluster course under Humanities and the Arts. The oneand-a-half-hour ensemble played by four guest musicians from Uzbekistan brought to about 80 Lingnan students indigenous Uzbek music and instruments, presenting the rich history and cultures across Central Asia.
