Last Saturday, April 13th, BACSA (Bucknell’s African and Caribbean Student Association) hosted their annual BACSA Bash event. The event, hosted in Larison Dining, served as a celebration of African and Caribbean culture. The mission of BACSA is to “promote diversity and to foster a deeper understanding of African and Caribbean values at Bucknell.” As an event, BACSA Bash definitely served this mission.
As someone who knows the hard work and dedication that goes into signature events like this, I can safely say that BACSA Bash was a big success! Reflecting on the event, I really enjoyed how the event was run. At these events, you typically watch a block of performances, eat and then watch the second half of performances. During BACSA Bash, the performances and food were intermixed, with a few minutes of eating followed by a few minutes of performances. This allowed for a more social atmosphere, which I think really benefited the evening. Since the event included various tables around the venue that had information about and food from several different African and Caribbean countries, this structure allowed people to sample the food and learn about the countries throughout the evening. Overall, this structure was really immersive, as it did not let you break from the purpose of the event at any point.
The performances were also fantastic. Performances included MENAA (Middle Eastern and North African Association), Ethiopian Dance, Gumboot Dance, poetry, Afrofusion Dance and Thee Bisonettes. Notably, this was the first time that MENAA has performed at the event, and it was amazing to see! MENAA’s performance included different celebratory dances from Middle Eastern and North African countries such as Kochari, Raqs Sharqi and Dabke. Kochari is a traditional folk dance from Armenia and has been performed for over a thousand years. Originating as a war dance that symbolizes victory, Kochari is now performed during holidays, festivals and various family ceremonies. Raqs Sharqi is a classical Egyptian belly dance performed by all ages and genders. Dabke (“to stomp the feet”) is a folk dance native to Palestine, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria that is performed at weddings and other celebrations. Overall, I congratulate MENAA on an amazing first performance and look forward to more performances at future events.
As for the other performances, they were all very enjoyable as well. As someone who has little to no dancing experience, watching the various dance groups was really amazing to see. There is something so inspiring and joyful about watching people celebrate their culture through dance. To see the sheer hard work, determination and pride in someone’s culture makes me appreciate the fact that we live in a world where everyone’s culture is different, and that’s what makes everyone unique and beautiful. The spoken word poetry also compliments this, as poetry can also be a beautiful expression of life, experience, someone’s past. All in all, BACSA Bash, with its great performances, food and celebration of different countries and cultures, was a night filled with enjoyment and celebration.
