By Makenzie Marineau, The Daily Barometer
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A packed Milam Auditorium sat in anticipation of OSU's first Dance Against Hunger on Friday.
OSU FeelGood and The Born to Shine Project came together to bring dancers to Corvallis from all over Oregon to support ending world hunger. The event kicked off at 7 p.m. with an opening performance by Beejan Iranshad, a hip-hop artist from Portland.
Following the first act, another 15 performances took place, ranging in style from salsa to hip-hop. The evening featured both individual and group performances.
Co-founders of OSU's FeelGood, Carson Bee and John Pham, said they couldn't be more thrilled for the turnout at and participation in the Dance Against Hunger. They said that 100 percent of all the profit made from the event will go directly to The Hunger Project.
The Hunger Project is a global non-profit organization committed to the sustainable end of world hunger. The organization works in 13 different countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, developing strategic effective efforts to end hunger and poverty.
The millennium development goals are the Hunger Project's way of displaying its unified program of ending poverty in writing. Goal number one is to eradicate extreme hunger and poverty.
"It is great to be able to bring together such wonderful talent and passion for dance to benefit a good cause. It is all about doing your own thing to inspire and make an impact," Pham said. Pham is also a hip-hop teacher at Dixon Recreational Center.
OSU was represented at the event through established Oregon State dance teams. Elite Dance Team performed a couple of dances on stage to the music of popular hits like the Ting Tings' "That's Not My Name." Omega Delta Phi fraternity also joined in the awareness effort by breaking it down with stepping moves, which hold a tradition in some fraternities. Along with other local OSU student dance groups, there were numerous Portland dancers.
Dance crew iN.Gauge (pronounced "engage") drove down from Portland to help in the cause. Nicole Narong, a member of iN.Gauge and a Portland State student, was excited with how well the evening went.
"It was our first performance altogether as a crew. We took only about three weeks to prepare for the event, but we are glad we were invited by John to join in," Narong said. "Most of us are all Portland State students and after this evening we will continue to be performing at other dance competitions and events around Oregon."
Before intermission, the audience watched a video depicting what the Hunger Project is all about. The video took a look at the building of an epicenter in Africa, a place for storage of food, nurses, health centers, libraries, classrooms, bathrooms and more. After the video presentation, people gathered out in the foyer to purchase FeelGood shirts, grab free Monster Energy drinks and give donations to the Hunger Project.
Hannah Dedlow, an OSU junior, made sure the event was running smoothly.
"I got involved in the FeelGood organization on campus almost about a month ago. I really love what it stands for and how it is bringing together the love for arts and dance to help raise support and awareness for a good cause," Dedlow said.
The Born to Shine Project, another organization from OSU, helped make the event possible. The project tries to help and make a difference in local communities as well as around the world.
Born to Shine co-Founders Vishal Khemlani and Nat St. Clair came on stage to discuss how important organizations like theirs are to help make a difference in promoting an end to world hunger.
When Khemlani and St.Clair started this organization, they raised $25,000 to build a schools in Africa and China. Their idea behind the Born to Shine Project is to help make fundraising fun again. They are helping organizations raise money for humanitarian causes in a way that inspires the average college student.
"Last year, we started FeelGood to give college students a local resource to get involved in being a good global citizen. Students wanted that so we are helping give them a chance to join in an important cause," Bee said. A few solo acts in the evening, such as Roberto Gerardo from Portland, even received a standing applause. Gerardo boogied down to hits like Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean."
Iranshad also jumped on stage and expanded some of his own beats in the microphone. The audience began to form in front of the stage and dance, eventually dancing their way on stage.
DJ Landforce was the disc jockey for the evening. He also promoted the after party at Tailgators in Corvallis where he intended to keep the party going after the event ended.
Bee and Pham both hope for more OSU students to get involved in supporting good causes, and they will be handing out grilled cheese sandwiches every Wednesday in exchange for a donation or student support in the upcoming weeks. They believe it is their generation's responsibility through partnership, not charity, to end world hunger.
"We are ending world hunger one grilled cheese at a time," Pham said.
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1 comment:
Way to go OSU FeelGood! Turns out the celebration and joy of dance can be a powerful way to raise money for the self-reliance of our global family.
As for The Hunger Project. You are right, all of their programs whollisticly and effectively addressing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs are a set of goals that identify poverty in it's many dimensions. They were created and signed off on by over 192 nations.
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