While the actual holiday of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, did not take place until this past Sunday, offices across campus held a large-scale celebration in the Beckerman Recreation Center on Friday.
The Office of Graduate and International Student Life (OGISL) and the Indian Student Council partnered to hold the campus’ Diwali celebration. Students came dressed in their finest to participate in a night of dancing, food and lights.
The festivities started with Indian music in a dimmed room that was illuminated by strobe lights and a massive screen that said “Happy Diwali” in front of a fuchsia flower.
Diwali is the festival of lights and the audience was treated to a dance performance from Dorothy Classen, an international student life advisor from the graduate/international student life office. Classen’s movements were smooth yet quick and gave energy to the crowd.
Dances by other performers showcased the styles of different Indian countries. One was a Rajasthan folk dance to represent the state in India known for textiles and historical forts. The dancers were quick on their feet as they received cheers from the audience.
Up next was a Garba dance based in the Indian state of Gujarat. The dancers were coordinated and maintained phenomenal synchronicity throughout.
Dancers also demonstrated different folk dances based in the Maharashtra state of India. Dances such as the Lavani Koli that displayed high energy from the dancers.
When the onstage performances were over, people flooded to the stage because of the upbeat music that played as white strobe lights circled around the walls of the multi-activity court, keeping up the audience’s high energy. The group’s excitement escalated, as evidenced by people picking each other up and trying to get onto the stage to take a couple of the faux lights and candles.
At one point, a group of people crowd surfed, leaving few people near the tables at the back.