Student dance clubs performed at the 9th annual Global Gala to share and celebrate their cultural heritage March 28 at the Great Hall in the Memorial Union. 

Global Gala is an event that celebrates and promotes the diversity of Iowa State. This year 200 people attended the event.

Kashaan Merchant, multicultural awareness and Global Gala co-director, wasn’t sure how many people would show up considering the basketball game and two shows at the M-Shop.

Merchant said it really wasn’t about the number of people who show up but rather how much people enjoy the performance.

“There were people all around and everyone was engaged the entire time,” said Merchant. He said the audience had a wide range of ages from 3 years old to over 60.

This year’s event showcased dances preformed by ISU Bhangra, Line Dancing Club, Motion Sickness Dance Team, ISU Raas, Bollywood Dance Club and Cyclone Breakers.

Natasha Proizkova, multicultural awareness and Global Gala co-director, said that they have had a Celtic Dance group perform in the past.

While this year’s show only included student dance groups, Merchant hopes to have professors come to give a lecture on diversity in the future.

Porizkova said that they had been preparing for Global Gala since early February. They contacted different dance groups, other performance groups and worked with ISU Dining on the menu.

The food that was at the gala included samosas, pita chips and hummus.

Kelsey Nation, graduate assistant in education and adviser to Merchant and Proizkova, said that each year they look for new groups to preform.

“Global Gala is really just to showcase what student clubs and organizations have to offer here on campus. In the past — and this year — we’ve had a lot of dancing groups. We’ve also had fashion groups and singing,” Nation said.

Motion Sickness Dance Team was new to Global Gala, Nation said. Motion Sickness is a new blend of dancing at Iowa State. It combines moves from hip-hop, jazz and modern dance.

Presha Kardile, the director of student diversity for the Government of the Student Body, said that Global Gala is a great representation of all the cultures that are on campus.

“I thought it was awesome, it was cool to see dances from around the world,” said Brooke Eaton, sophomore in animal science.

Darcy Besch, president of the Bollywood Dance Club, said she was really excited with how the performance went.

“Every year we give it our best, I hope everyone enjoyed it and got to know more about Bollywood dance,” Besch said.

Taylor Roose, sophomore in child, adult and family services, said the performance was fantastic. She attended last year’s Global Gala and said she loves to see different cultures represented.

“While I think it’s amazing that we have so much diversity. I think the real success in Global Gala shows the similarities that we all share. It’s really not about sharing individual cultures but it’s about sharing communal culture — that is Iowa State,” Merchant said.