Photo Credits: Zeyu Zhao ’27
By Jessie Ji ’28 & Maggie Doig ’26
Features Editor & Contributing Writer
VariAsians, the annual celebration of Pan-Asian culture and heritage in the Five College Consortium, took place on Nov. 15 in Chapin Auditorium with unprecedented hype and high spirits. Even though ticket sales for VariAsians began almost a week before the show, tickets sold out in several minutes each day when the registration opened.
This year’s VariAsians event, hosted by the Mount Holyoke Asian Students Association, also marked the 25th anniversary since the event was rebranded from the Asian Food Festival to VariAsians. The event has always been a highlight of Mount Holyoke campus life: MHC community members and students get to enjoy the amazing food, professional performances and the overall supportive and inclusive sense of community.
This year, the food — coming from Miss Saigon, House of Teriyaki, Priya Indian Cuisine and Ichiban Chinese & Japanese Restaurant— along with the fashion show featuring traditional clothes from Asian countries and the setlist of thirteen performances from all over the Five Colleges, again sparked a successful Friday night as a heartwarming and jubilant moment of Asian cultural celebration.
More than 350 students gathered together to celebrate diverse cultures from around the globe in one space on campus.
However, VariAsians is more than a talent show. It included a fashion show of traditional Asian clothing and a wide array of dances and singing performances that reflect the intersection between different cultures and their distinctive cultural expressions. For instance, the fashion show opening showcased a fusion in clothing from different parts of the world, with each student wearing a unique piece from their own culture.
Angela Kim ’28, a fashion show participant, dressed in the traditional Korean hanbok that her grandma owned. She talked about the experience of being a model for the fashion show. “It’s really cool because clothing and these styles hold so much power and significance in our history. And being able to see that on a Pan-Asian scale was really powerful. Seeing the similarities and differences was really cool too,” Kim said.
The experience of wearing something that comes directly from one’s cultural upbringing brought even more meaning to the fashion show for Kim. “I felt very proud every time someone came to me and talked about it. [My grandma] has a few different hanboks, but growing up I got to see her wearing this one, so it was very meaningful to me,” Kim said.
Besides the fashion show, there were also exquisitely crafted performances contributed by individuals and clubs within the Five Colleges. There were seven groups from Mount Holyoke, one group from Smith and four groups from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The peak of the show was when UMass Amherst Lion Dance students carried out a Southern Lion Dance, and came down the stage and interacted with the audience during the middle of their performance.
Lion dances are a form of traditional dance originating from China that can be found in various iterations throughout many cultures. Lion dances represent joy and happiness and are usually found at weddings, New Year parades alongside dragon dances and other celebrations throughout the year.
Rehearsals during the week leading up to VariAsians allowed performers time to fine-tune their lighting and sound design with the stage crew that played a crucial role in the success of VariAsians. Given the short timeframe of information being given and sent, the performers and stage crew adapted swiftly when problems arose.
The stakes were high for everyone involved with the planning and execution of VariAsians leading up to Friday night. Being reminded of community and support in times of stress was more important than ever.
When planning a large cultural event, boards turn to their communities for help and support. In addition to performers and models, volunteers from the College also showed up to lend their time and support to the board. From serving food and dessert to audience members to breaking down all 36 tables and chairs at the end of the night in preparation for MHC Alternative’s show the next night, volunteers helped with every aspect of the show.
Friends helping with carrying supplies, food and tables also proved to be a huge help during what the Asian Students Association board called VariAsians week. Long hours devoted to planning and choreographing the movement of people was a shared responsibility for the board, models, stage crew and performers, as well as making the journey down to Chapin Auditorium from other colleges and far-away dorms such as Torrey, Ham and MacGregor Halls.
Whether you experienced VariAsians for the first time or for the fourth time in your Mount Holyoke career, the event is more than just food from local restaurants and talented people coming together for a shared passion. It is the Pan-Asian community and the Asian diaspora coming together with their allies and friends for a night of remembrance and representation.