This Friday and Saturday, Notre Dame's various Asian cultural organizations are coming together for the latest annual Asian Allure. Primarily sponsored by the Asian-American Association, Asian Allure is a chance for campus's Asian community to showcase a wide variety of talents and performances. Past acts have included traditional Hawaiian dancing, Korean Fan Dancing, fashion shows and more. Fifth-year Architecture student Thien-An Nguyen-Vu, the Executive Producer of Asian Allure 2008, recently had the chance to speak to the Observer via e-mail about this year's production.
Scene: What is your role in this year's production? How have you been involved in Asian Allure in past years?
Nguyen-Vu: I am currently the Executive Producer and Co-Chair for Asian Allure 2008. I'm a fifth-year architecture student and this happens to be my fourth Asian Allure. I was actually in the show my freshmen year and did tech work my sophomore and fourth years.
Scene: How long has Asian Allure gone on at Notre Dame? Can you give us a brief history of Asian Allure?
Nguyen-Vu: Asian Allure has been at Notre Dame since the mid-1990s. I believe we're in its 12th year as a production. Originally, it started out as a fashion show predominantly eventually evolving into a cultural showcase. The original people involved in the show wanted to involve the fledgling Asian groups on campus at the time. Twelve years later, we've expanded to include new members and groups.
Scene: What are some acts to note in this year's show?
Nguyen-Vu: Some noteworthy acts in this show range from exciting cultural homages such as IAND's "Bollywood" to the exciting rock fest of Japan Club's "Sakura ne?: The Final Act" and even the generally impressive and mind-boggling Matrix Team. While we always invite clubs to perform in the show, this year, we had an increased interest in performances by individuals. So, people will definitely be seeing some rather polished and excellent talent from the ranks of Notre Dame's own Asian community. This year's show has a record 18 performances, over half of which are individually driven rather than club driven.
Scene: How does this year's show compare with last year's?
Nguyen-Vu: This show is entirely and completely superior to the previous year's show. I'll leave it at that.
Scene: Who runs the show? Is it entirely student-led?
Nguyen-Vu: We're student-run and student-led. The Asian-American Association is the chief sponsor and umbrella organization involved in the funding and production of the show.
Scene: Why should a Notre Dame or Saint Mary's student take time from their schedules to check out Asian Allure 2008?
Nguyen-Vu: Students should definitely take their time to check out Asian Allure to expand their horizons. I mean let's face it, this is a bubble here. Asian Allure really is an attempt to represent a wide and diverse array of Asian culture made for students and by students. There is much to enjoy and much to learn, given the rich history and current trends for Asians and Asian-Americans. I also believe that it would be a symbol of appreciation for all the hard work, tenacity, and complete dedication of all the individuals involved from production to execution. We've come far and we've sacrificed much time. And I promise you this; it will be a show to remember.
Contact Analise Lipari at alipari@nd.edu.