The Indian Student Association will host its annual talent show in McFarlin Auditorium on Saturday at 7 p.m.
According to Anju Nair, the master of ceremonies at this year’s show, it is expected to be a very good program. Nair was the President of ISA last year and said they had somewhere between 900 and 1,000 audience members at the last talent show.
She is expecting an even larger turnout this year.
“We have a reputation on campus for putting on awesome programs,” said Jake Raju, the director of public relations. Raju said public relations puts out a lot of banners, flyers and e-mails to attract people to this event.
“We began planning for this competition right after spring break,” Raju said.
Nair said he thinks there are about 15 acts this year. Twelve of those acts are going to be competing for the prizes, and three of them are guest performances.
Nair said the guest performances are usually something different, entertaining and fun.
One of the acts is a group of 18 students from Plano West Junior High, and they “are a combination of hip-hop, pop and Indian all in one,” Raju said.
He said the majority of their acts are high school students from the Dallas area, although a few acts are composed of SMU students.
There are four different prizes that will be handed out. The first place winners get $500, the second place winners get $300, the third place winners get $100 and the first place winners in the singing division get $200, according to Nair.
The competition has three judges this year. Nair said they will judge on choreography, synchronization, projection and many other areas.
Tickets for the talent show are available presale until Friday, according to Nair. Students can purchase tickets in advance for $5 or $7 at the door, and all non-SMU students can purchase tickets for $7 presale and $10 at the door.
“The main purpose of this program is to promote and enhance awareness of the Southern Asian culture,” Nair said.
She said they want others to be aware of their culture and their participation on campus. To purchase tickets in advance, visit www.smuisa.org or contact Jake Raju at [email protected].
