Members of the BYU–Hawaii Taiwanese Student Association are putting in work preparing for Culture Night, hoping to convey the island’s indigenous culture through symbols and choreography.
Nava Chen, a freshman from Taiwan majoring in international cultural studies, explained how as a person of indigenous origin, she believes native dances sufficiently represent the rich local culture of Taiwan.
The dance Chen is responsible for teaching is popular in indigenous Taiwanese tribes. The dance is named “My Heart Has Been Closed.” “If you know this dance, it will be very easy for you to make friends with indigenous Taiwanese because most of them love this dance,” said Chen.
She emphasized the dance is more modern compared with the dances that the Taiwanese Association has preformed in previous years. “The motion of holding hands symbolizes the unity of indigenous Taiwanese, which means everyone is a family,” Chen added.
Chen highlighted the connection between indigenous Taiwanese and Polynesian culture. “When they see our traditional clothes, they know we are culturally related.”
She also explained the linguistic similarities between Tongan and Taiwanese languages. Chen provided some examples: Five is “lima” in her language; people is pronounced “tsang-a-tsan,” which is almost the same as in Tongan.
Evonne Kuo, a senior from Taiwan majoring in social work and Taiwanese Student Association’s president, said, “Even though people may not understand our songs and language, the performance will still look nice if we dance orderly.”
Kuo said she hopes people will appreciate the welcoming features of Taiwan while enjoying the performance. “We are a group of hospitable and kind people,” she said.
Jasmine Weng, a senior from Taiwan majoring in international cultural studies, is in charge of a Taiwanese hip-hop dance for Culture Night.
“I am very nervous because I will be leading the dance in the front.” Weng jokingly expressed she might want to transfer to another school after performing the dance because people will recognize her on campus afterwards.