South East Asian Night 2011

MASSA's annual largest event of the year 'South East Asian Night 2011', showcased the unique Southeast Asia culture within Montreal's multi-cultural society. Every year, SEA Night takes place at McGill's SSMU Ballroom, has attracted attendees not only from McGill and broader Montreal community, but also from out-of-province communities from Toronto, Ottawa, New Brunswick etc. It is a night of cultural celebration for people of all ages.

MASSA Execs Team 2010/2011

More than 300 people has attended SEA Night 2011

SEA Night is known for its vibrant cultural performances. This year, MASSA has invited special guest performers to showcase their distinct culture backgrounds from Southeast Asia. SEA Night 2011 began with an enchanting chinese violin performance that filled up the atmosphere with enthusiasm and excitement. 

'Springtime and Pastoral Song'

Followed by a Chinese dance performance, 'Freedom' which was influenced by the traditional Chinese cloth dances. 

'Freedom' - Chinese Dance

Up next was the Indonesian performance by Permika (Indonesian Students Association) - Tari Saman. Tari Saman incorporates arabic and gayo (native language in Aceh), as a way of reflecting education, solidarity and unity. 

'Tari Saman'

Another interesting performance, the bamboo dance 'Tinikling' is the national dance of the Philippines. The dance imitates the movement of the tikling birds as the dancers skilfully maneuvering between the 2 bamboo sticks. It attracted much attention from the audiences when some of them were invited on stage to try out the dance. Furthermore, we had other dance performances like Desa Tercinta (The village I love) and the 'Xin Jiang' dance.

Tinikling - Bamboo Dance

'Desa Tercinta' - Malay Dance

Other than dance performances, we also had singing and music performances.
3 singing performances: 'Pergi & I Go and chong bai' sang by Xiaowei, 'Melodi' sang by James and Ming Hwei and 'Ilog & Harana' performed by MUFASA (McGill University's Filipino Asian Students' Association).

'Ilog & Harana' - MUFASA

Great music performances by McGill Serenasia Music Club and Permika. The performances showcased a mix of traditional Chinese (Guzheng - chinese zither) and western music instruments (Flute, piano and saxophone) that brought a refreshing and inspiring music to the audiences. 

Serenasia Music Club

Chinese zither performance

Check out the videos of the performances:

Chinese Dance, Tinikling, MASSA Exec Dance

Besides enjoying the performances, everyone who attended SEA Night 2011 was treated to a delicious spread of Southeast Asia food, which includes cuisine from Singapore, Malaysia, Burma, Filipino and Vietnam. This year, we had food and beverages ranging from Nasi Lemak, Laksa to Kuih Bakar, Bandung and many more. These cuisines were prepared by MASSA, Permika, Burma Solidarity Collective, MUFASA and a few Montreal-based Southeast Asian families. 

Kuih Bakar 

Nasi Lemak

SEA Night 2011 would not be able to succeed without the many volunteers who spent their time and effort to perform and run the event. And also the generous support from Singapore Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts, Permika Montreal and student clubs like MUFASA, Serenasia Music Club and many more. To thank all the volunteers, MASSA will be holding a SEA Night Celebration Lunch/Dinner soon, check out our Facebook or Blog for more details.

Sound & Lighting Crew

While MASSA's South East Asian Night aims to promote cultural awareness among students in McGill and members of the public, we are also doing a good cause by giving back to the community. This year, we are donating a significant amount we earned from SEA Night to Unicef McGill, giving a helping hand to the poor children. 

Once again, we would like to thank those who have attended and participated in this year's SEA Night. SEA Night 2011 is definitely a night to be remembered for all who was there to experience the best of Southeast Asia!! 

Cheers 

MASSA Execs