The fifth annual Global Gala took place Friday in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.

Hosts Ryan Unash, freshman in mechanical engineering, and Jaleesa Epps, sophomore in advertising, welcomed the audience and said that the Student Union Board is a student-run group on campus with the mission to provide students with a diverse cultural, recreational, social, educational and entertaining program.

They emphasized that Global Gala celebrates the cultures that make up Iowa State through dance, food and music. They also invited the audience to be more open-minded.

“There’s more to the world than just Iowa and the people you live next door to,” Epps said.

The celebration started when a group of four Chinese performers, dressed as lions, danced on stage and across the room to the rhythm of drums and greeted the audience.

Jinqian Yu, senior in accounting, performed a traditional Mongolian dance, which told the story of a young girl and her happiness. Shortly after, a group of eight students from the Indian Student Association performed dances that represented traditional and popular culture of India.

The Bhangra Club performed as well. The dancers’ moves symbolized aspects of the Indian lifestyle and nature, such as labor, rain, thunder and commitment.

“Since the beginning of February we have been practicing about twice a week,” said Rajin Olson, sophomore in electrical engineering and member of the Bhangra Club.

The Middle Eastern dance group Raqs Jahanara entertained the audience with belly dance choreographies and taught some of the basic steps of the sensuous dance style.

A fashion showcase was put on by the African Student Association, in which 12 models walked and wore designs based on modern and traditional attires in countries such as Nigeria, Congo and Cameroon.

Another dance was performed by the Celtic Dance Society, in which the dancers showed off Scottish country dancing moves and emphasized the importance of bringing people together.

Descarga Latin Dance Club performed three dances, which symbolized the Latin American culture through the rhythm of salsa, mambo and bachata.

Roberto Orozco, sophomore in pre-business, presented a series of Mexican folklore dances. While the girls danced in colorful dresses, a guy twirled and jumped with machetes in his hands and placed a glass of water of top of his head. One of the girls on stage joined him. At the end of their performance, they all got off the stage and encouraged people in the audience to get up and dance.

Eva Morales, senior in interdisciplinary studies and multicultural director for SUB, said she was satisfied with the event, even though it took place late on a Friday evening.

“There were some technical difficulties, and some things didn’t go as smoothly as they could’ve, but overall we had a great turnout,” Morales said.

“My favorite part of the show was the Mexican dance. They allowed us to get involved, the steps were pretty easy to learn, and I had fun,” said German Parada, freshman in chemical engineering.

Samantha Bowman, sophomore in psychology, said she was happy to experience the different cultures that make up Iowa State.

“My favorite part was the Mexican folklore dance, the part where they danced with glasses of water on their heads,” Bowman said.