East Meets West: Mesmerising

Indian Society’s East Meets West was a spectacular blaze of sultry sounds, dazzling dress, fiery beats and a mosaic of colour. Felix's Sally Longstaff attended and reports on this passionate embrace of world culture

East Meets West is an annual charity show, organised and performed by the Indian Society. It is the largest show at Imperial and celebrates the vibrant diversity of both Imperial College and London. The theme of the evening is to raise money by enjoying a show highlighting a fusion of Eastern and Western cultures, by music, dance and performance. This year's performance was billed as "a passionate embrace of culture”; the seamless fusion of fierce hip-hop, Hindi and orient traditions. All profits from the show are donated to charities and similar worthwhile causes.

East Meets West started 16 years ago as a simple idea to demonstrate classical Eastern acts alongside more contemporary Western performances. From performances in the Great Hall in front of 400 people, it has grown into a very diverse production. Previous venues have included the Shaftesbury Theatre, Hammersmith Carling Apollo, Barbican Hall and the Shepherd's Bush Empire. To accommodate the show's immense growth, it has moved in the past years to the prestigious London Palladium, which has a capacity of 2,200.

On Sunday 10 February, East Meets West 2008 took place. The theatre buzzed with the excitement of over 1,800 friends and families of the performers and students of Imperial College. The lights were gradually dimmed and a countdown appeared, projected onto the stage. It got larger and larger, vibrating with the beat of the music, until everyone counted down to the start of the show. As I was sitting there I was so excited: a brilliant, inspired start!

The show started with Lacrimosa, an unexpected, emotional, powerful and intense fusion of modern and traditional dance, including break dancing. After this, the comedy duo hosts bounded onstage, exuding energy. They were Eddie Nestor, who featured in Trainspotting, and Robbie Gee from Snatch and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Reminisce and Remember was the next act, a musical journey through song encompassing the "lyrical melodies of Western musical/operatic styles with the ethereal sounds of days bygone in the Byzantine East”. The two singers were spectacular, and the whole act displayed a high level of talent. The songs and voices were both haunting and melodic.

A real highlight for me was the Elements of Fashion act, a very well-staged fashion extravaganza. Air, Earth, Water and Fire, the elements of fashion, were displayed in an explosive fusion of Western and Eastern dress. The work on display was from such prestigious institutions as the London College of Fashion. The hair and make-up was spectacular, complementing the outfits completely. The models were amazing and moved like true professionals.

Next was a medley of songs from Destiny's Child, performed by four girls with incredible voices: Ishan Mehta, Shifa Peeran, Ramyah Rajakulasingam and Khushboo Sinha. They were followed by The Freestylin' Bols of Bollywood, an eclectic mix of table bols (beats) and Kathak with some BolIywood craziness set to modern dance and pop tracks, such as Amy Winehouse's Valerie. Kathak is a classical dance form from North India, and it is a narrative dance characterised by fast footwork and spins. Ghunghru or small bells were tied around the dancers' ankles, tinkling and ringing as they moved.

My personal favourite of the night was The Good, the Bad and Funkology, an epic adventure to the days of bandits and lawless gun-fighting on the untamed frontier of the Wild, Wild West. A truly impressive routine of acting and dance in which the choreography was fast-paced, intricate and funny!! I loved it, especially the shootout scene! It was performed by the Funkology Team and members of the Urban Dance Company.

Bollywood Blossom was next, with four singers performing a light-hearted, delightful song from the popular Hindi movie, Parineeta. The sweet sounding melodies of the four voices in Hindi soared into the theatre, beautifully captivating in their elegance and even though I didn't understand the words, the sentiment was translated perfectly.

Definitely a great hit with the audience was the Jewels of Arabia, from the Belly Dancing Club. The girls shimmied, shook and swirled their way around stage, memorising the male audience and making the girls jealous of their flat stomachs and gyrating hips!!

Fusion Fever! was a unique all-girl fusion of pop and bharatnatyam dancing, which was fun, feisty and full of energy. Bharatnatyam is a classical dance form originating from Tamil Nadu, a state in Southern India. It is traditionally performed by women and the hand shapes are meaningful gestures, with each meaning something different. Some of these can be seen in the photos of the event, performed by the dancers in blue. The combination of modern and traditional dance and costumes was really breathtaking, and the contrasting pink and blue costumes were spectacular.

The performance that closed Act One was Rhythmic Raas. Garba and Dandiya Raas are traditional folk dances from the Indian state of Gujerat. They involve dancing with Dandiya sticks, striking them together, to mark Navratri, one of the great Hindi festivals. The dances were modernised by the inclusion of dance music, an exciting and exhilarating update of a religious festival of music and dance.

After a short break for the interval, Act Two was started by Glorious Gospel, performed by the Gospel Choir. This is a recently-started venture at IC, and they performed a piece called Glorious, which was originally sung by Martha Munizzi, the famous gospel singer. The Gospel Choir arranged the song with a Latin American salsa twist, and it sounded, well, glorious!

Next up was an act called A Woman's Worth which told the story of women empowered to battle their inner emotions and rise up. The dancers called upon those ahead of them to triumph above all and break down these barriers. This dance was very modern and well-choreographed, well-suited to the music.

The Chinese Wushu Society then presented The Weapons of Wushu. Another highlight of the evening was this display of the fighting prowess of Chinese Martial Artists. It was incredible: with swirling swords and blades, hand-to-hand fighting, and spectacular acrobatics and gymnastics. The display left me breathless as the blades glittered just inches from the performers, all perfectly set to music. The performers were obviously incredibly talented!

Eastside Story was the story of growing up with Eastern roots, whilst living with Western influences and the problems with finding one's place. The dancers were split into two, half with modern clothes and dance styles, and half traditional. Each danced as if showing off to the other, whilst a girl from the traditional dancers fell for a modern boy. It ended explosively, in a Romeo-and-Juliet tragedy with the boy being shot and the girl appealing to her daddy. It was well-choreographed and portrayed the narrative well.

Accoustic Awaazein ... RnB Style was an acoustic collection of RnB songs and Urdu poetry complemented by table beats and classical guitar. Although the beginning was slightly marred by some members of the audience yelling encouragement to the performers, the two singers performed admirably.

Madhuri ki Masti was a performance to honour the diva of Bollywood, Madhuri Dixit. Her signature moves from her films were recreated by the girls with style and grace. Jusqu'a Fatigue was next on stage, performed by the Afro-Caribbean Society, a fusion of African flavours with some Indian beats. A hip-shaking, foot-stamping, handclapping lively performance!

The Punjabi Society presented the electrifying Groundshaker Bhangra. The Punjabi Society recently won third place in "The Bhangra Showdown”; the first National Bhangra competition in the UK, and presented new choreography and a new electric blue-themed costumes. Groundshaker Bhangra is renowned for its passion, enthusiasm and spirit, which were definitely reflected in the performance. It was full of energy, enthusiasm and bounce, which left me breathless just from watching!

The next act was a performance by Nirag Chag, an up and coming producer. He was awarded "Best Underground Act" at the Asian Music Awards in November 2006. He is a performer, artist and composer, having been spotted whilst working for the Outcaste label. He mixes modern production with western and eastern classical styles, thus very much in keeping with the spirit of the evening. He has also written songs and soundtracks for both TV and radio. His performance consisted of playing songs from his album "Along the Dusty Road'; with an acoustic guitar, keyboard and singer.

The grand finale, The Time Has Come, started with the well known singing of the Circle of Life, and told the story of a journey from the Savannah to the Street through a variety of dance and music styles, including Fat Boy Slim. It ended with the entire cast on stage, including the committee and artistic team; a great end to an absolutely spectacular show. It was a truly mesmerizing show, and I couldn't believe the level of talent that I had seen.

Not only was the evening an extremely successful showcase of talent, but it raised over £11,000 to be split equally between the three charities supported by the Indian Society. The theme of the East Meets West 2008 charities was supporting youth and children around the world. The chosen three causes look to aid not only those in India and the UK, but the whole world, and are: Plan India, Save the Children and Friends of Michael Sobell House. The Indian Society have collaborated with the College’s Save the Children Society and the Raising and Giving (RAG) program to raise even more money across the campus.

The three Vice-Presidents who run the Indian Society, Parvandeep Kaur, Shifa Perran and Khushboo Sinha wish to thank the whole committee, the performers, backstage crew, DramSoc, the London Palladium, the Union, PhotoSoc, Will Turner and all the other societies involved in the show. Sachin Dhuggal from the main sponsor, Nivio. com, summed up the evening well: "unbelievable is the only world that comes to mind.”

The Indian Society is the largest Society at Imperial College, with a membership of over 1,000 people. The Society's main aim is to encourage awareness of diverse aspects of Indian culture. The Indian Society takes part in the International Night Show and organises trips, social events and sporting activities. For more information visit www.union.ic.ac.uk/osc/india.