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TCU 360

International Spring Banquet looks to highlight talent, culture

Fashion+show+performers+pose+at+last+years+International+Spring+Banquet.+From+left+to+right%3A+Shea+Santos%2C+Vien+Phan%2C+Linda+Zhao%2C+Connie+Beltran%2C+Sydney+Rodgers%2C+Tuyen+Anh+Hoang%2C+Jacqueline+Antwi-Danso%2C+Carol+Lyan%2C+Iliana+Miramontes%2C+and+Senani+Perera.
Fashion show performers pose at last year’s International Spring Banquet. From left to right: Shea Santos, Vien Phan, Linda Zhao, Connie Beltran, Sydney Rodgers, Tuyen Anh Hoang, Jacqueline Antwi-Danso, Carol Lyan, Iliana Miramontes, and Senani Perera.

Both American and international students are auditioning for a chance to show off their cultural pride to the TCU community in this year’s International Talent Show.

The International Student Association (ISA) is recruiting talent for their annual International Spring Banquet — a diverse showcase featuring a talent show, global banquet and a traditional garment fashion show.

Five students auditioned with singing and dancing acts Thursday night. They also explained the personal meaning behind their talent choice, which would introduce their act at the banquet.

Iliana Miramontes, a junior English and graphic design double major, auditioned her own style of Latin dance that mixes Cumbia, Salsa and Merengue. She said it’s a “taste of genres” in the Latin community.

She also talked about how different TCU’s mostly Caucasian campus was for her when she was a first-year student, since she came from a Hispanic-based Fort Worth community.

That fall, Hispanic students made up 10.1 percent of TCU’s students. That number has risen slightly to 11 percent this year.

However, Miramontes said she’s glad to represent her Mexican heritage at school.

“It’s cool to be a little bit different and to represent that,” Miramontes said.

ISA has hosted the banquet for 60 years, said Van Do, president of ISA. She expects this year’s performances to be more professional and more diverse than previous years.

She said 15 countries will be represented in the talent and fashion show. This will include Vietnam, China, Mexico, Ghana and the U.S.

A new feature in the talent show is its travel theme.

The banquet is played out like a flight, Do said. Two mock flight attendants will take the audience on a trip around the world with talent performances representing stops on the way to the fashion show.

“Every year you have another surprise,” Do said. “We don’t know what’s ahead of us, and that’s interesting.”

Do said anyone interested in international culture should come to the banquet. It’s open to everyone.

“It’s an opportunity to meet people from around the world,” Do also said.

Patty Do, ISA student advisor, said she wants international and American students to get to know each other and learn something new.

The last round of talent show auditions are Sunday from  2 to 6 p.m. in Scharbauer Hall, Room 1011.

The International Spring Banquet will be held at the University Baptist Church on Feb. 19 from 6 to 9 p.m.

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