A cappella. Dancing. Stand-up comedy. Coconuts. An American Idol contestant. These were only some of the numerous acts performed at AYALA, a variety show hosted by Brandeis' South East Asia Club to raise money for communities affected by Typhoon Haiyan, a major tropical cyclone that devastated the Philippines in November. With the theme of barrio fiesta, meaning "neighborhood party" in Tagalog, a language spoken in the Philippines, Levin Ballroom was full of students sitting at round tables, sipping on sparkling grape juice and enjoying a variety of Dum Dum lollipops. Lights and flags of a slew of Southeast Asian countries decorated the walls.

Hosted by Sandra Luo '15, Tony Tran '17 and Kevin Wang '14, AYALA got off to a hilarious start with an introduction of the SEAC executive board and AYALA committee through a video. The video, a spoof of The Avengers, followed the executive board and committee, each of whom represented a different Southeast Asian country, as they combined their superpowers, like telepathy and super speed, to restore unity to the world. Following the film, the organizers all introduced themselves, to cheers and applause.

In a spoof on The Hunger Games, members of SEAC presented "The Thirst Games," a skit produced by John Deng '17 and Eddy Zheng '16. "The Thirst Games" presented a story about the need for water in Southeast Asia, tying in themes of love and unity, as representatives of each country were forced to compete for a coconut water supply. A budding romance and moments of betrayal lead the countries to realize that they should all share the water.

The night continued with Frances Chang's '16 performance of two popular Disney songs. Chang started by signing "I See The Light" from the animated film Tangled. However, Chang mixed things up a bit by singing the song in a variety of languages, including Japanese and Chinese in addition to the its traditional language-English. She followed up with a rousing rendition of "True to Your Heart", the credit song from Mulan. As she sang, four performers danced in the background, eliciting cheers and whoops from the crowd.

Kaos Kids, Brandeis's hip-hop dance group, had a hard act to follow, but they pulled it off with a routine that recently won second place at a Suffolk University dance competition.
They wowed the crowd with a variety of amazing moves, including twerking. Following a brief intermission, So Unique, Brandeis' step team, performed a number of pieces in perfect rhythm. Both groups got the audience to stand, yell and even clap in time to the beat.

The night took a slightly more serious turn with Tom Phan's '14 stand-up comedy performance. His funny routine also included very heavy themes about his relationship with his father and the struggle of being multicultural in the United States. Phan also shared a poem he wrote about his Vietnamese-American identity. The poem focused on "figur[ing] out where to give and take" when it comes to assimilating and staying true to your culture.

The student performances ended with a dance number by SEAC members. The dance, choreographed by Stephanie Anciro '16, Tammy Huang '16 and Thai Le '14, mixed a traditional Filipino coconut dance, the Maglalatik, with more contemporary moves, and was set to a mash-up of songs by Rhythm and Blues singer Ne-Yo and Vietnamese pop group Justatee. Performed by the largest number of people out of all the performances, the dance beautifully combined traditional and modern techniques.

The night ended with a special performance. JR Aquino, a Filipino-American YouTube musician who has appeared on American Idol and The Voice, performed a number of songs for the audience, ranging from some of his own compositions to Beyonce's "Drunk In Love." Playing a soft acoustic guitar as he sang, Aquino recieved numerous standing ovations, and stayed a while afterward to take photos, sign autographs and chat with students.

AYALA managed to combine traditional Southeast Asian cultures and music with more modern American styles. The various student groups who performed only further illustrated the multiculturalism and diversity at Brandeis, and how people of all backgrounds can come together for a great cause.
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