Asian banquet a success

Almost 200 people got a taste of some different cultures Friday night at the Asian American Student Council’s third annual “Tiptoe Into Asia” banquet.

The AASC secretary Melissa Nuntapereda said she was surprised at how many people came to this year’s banquet. She said last year few people came but this year they had to start turning people away from the dinner portion and had to start selling tickets for just the entertainment.

MJ Tran, a junior in biology and treasurer of the AASC, said her favorite part of the night is seeing everything come together. “We’ve been planning since September and we work really hard so it’s nice to watch its success,” she said.

The night was filled with entertainment. Dragon dancers from Salt Lake City started the night off as drummers announced the entrance of a sparkling red and gold dragon that wove its way around the crowd. The dragon ate red bags of money that audience members offered to it for good luck. After the dragon made its exit, two bellydancers from USU’s Middle Eastern bellydance team gave hip shaking performances.

Amy Nguyen, a local high school student, was the next act performing two original songs and accompanying herself on guitar. Another Salt Lake group came down for the banquet, a hip-hop dance trio called Hypnotic. The dancing was filled out as the African dance team performed with four drummers. The final part of the night was a fashion show covering several Asian countries.

Brittany Hunter, a senior in horticulture, said, “The performances were the bomb. Every one was great.”

And to top off the night, the goldfish being used as centerpieces were given away to anyone who wanted one.

-dilewis@cc.usu.edu