More than 300 people filled Metcalf Hall at the George Sherman Union Saturday night for the Boston University Vietnamese Students Association’s annual Huong Xuan celebration, which showcased performances of Vietnamese culture through dance, music and martial arts.
Huong Xuan, which means “Spring Sensation” in Vietnamese, has been held annually during multicultural weekend for more than five years. The VSA’s goal in organizing the show is to share and preserve Vietnamese history and culture.
VSA treasurer and co-host Christina Hoang said she was pleased with the gathering.
“This year’s audience is really impressive,” the School of Hospitality Administration junior said. “It really shows that there is a genuine interest from the Vietnamese community itself.”
Hoang said she attributed the large audience to improved promotion of the event.
“We really tried to get the word out,” she said. “So in addition to BU, we also concentrated on getting the word out in Dorchester and Chinatown.”
Hoang said these areas are known to have high Vietnamese populations.
At the start of the show, the original host fell ill, leading to a scramble for a last minute replacement, VSA board member David Tran.
“I’m so nervous right now,” Hoang said before the show. “David has had to learn a bunch of lines really quickly.”
However, as the night progressed, Hoang and Tran became more jovial and comfortable onstage, feeding off audience reaction for their appearances between the show’s 18 acts.
Headlining the event was Cat Tien, a professional Vietnamese singer, who both opened and closed the night with two songs. Tien appealed to both old and young crowds, infusing traditional Vietnamese music with modern flair, audience members said.
Following the singing of the American and Vietnamese anthems, Tien greeted the crowd in both English and Vietnamese.
Unofficial Project dancer Ellina Kim said it is not uncommon for multiple VSA’s around Boston to interact with one another. Unofficial Project has performed at Babson and Wellesley, and other events coordinated by VSA’s on other campuses.
“It gets the group’s name out to people,” the College of General Studies sophomore said. “Any good exposure is good exposure.”
–Michel Deng