BY Emily Bontrager

Staff Reporter

Students were invited to enjoy an evening of Polynesian culture last Thursday at Central’s ninth annual PolyFest.

The Center for Diversity and Social Justice (CDSJ) put together the event for students to get an opportunity to see traditional Polynesian dances.  The dances were performed by Central students, as well as individuals from Sunshine from Polynesia, a dance studio from Seattle.

Attendees were treated to a variety of dances, from traditional Polynesian and Tahitian dances to the hula.

The crowd of students and families filled most of the seats in the ballroom. They were constantly entertained not only by the dances but also the beauty of the costumes, beat of the drums and simple trivia questions.

Students began choreographing the dances in the fall, then finalized the routines at the end of winter quarter. By April, the performers had started perfecting the moves.

The dances were created based on traditional Polynesian beliefs that dancing is about life, culture and family.

Though it was her first time coordinating this event, CDSJ officer Jamese Johnson was at a loss for words when trying to recall the best part of the night.

“It was really exciting seeing the stage come together,” Johnson said. “It was like letting everyone know that we were here.”

There was something for everyone as the program went on. The audience enjoyed the risky fire dancing and went crazy for the team of Central students and Hakka dancers as they came on stage.

Sunshine from Polynesia brought a group of drummers with them to create the music for some of the dances.

“We want Central to be considered welcoming to Polynesian students,” Johnson said.

Many of the dancers really enjoyed sharing their talent with the audience. This was Central student Sharlyn Santiago’s third year dancing in this event.

“I love being on stage and the costumes,” Santiago said.

Though Santiago will be graduating after this quarter, she hopes to find another group to dance with wherever she ends up.

The energy of the performers transferred to the crowd as they continuously were shouting at and cheering on the dancers.

The crowd was excited from the beginning, cheering on the performers, as well as the friends some saw performing. When some students got the opportunity to come on stage and learn a little dance, with the girls in the group Sunshine from Polynesia, the energy got higher.

The students went up and were entranced as they learned how to move their hips to the beat of the drums and hula for the rest of the audience to see.

As the program ended, the performers had most of the audience wrapped around their finger. When they began to perform with fire batons, the crowd watched in amazement and fear as the man threw the baton and touched the fire with his feet.

After the performance was over, the crowd could see the unity and family like support among the dancers not only from Central but from Seattle, as well as they all gathered and congratulated each other on their performance.

The performers were extremely pleased with the level of their performance and the involvement of the audience throughout the night.

“The best part about these performances is the audience,” Juanita Quiban, the event’s MC, said. “Polynesian culture is about sharing and bringing stories and joy so getting to share that with others is why we do it.”