Calvin News

Now in its 10th year of existence, Rangeela - Calvin's annual international student variety show - just seems to come together naturally says 2005 Rangeela director Asher Mains.

"It's very close to our international students," says Mains, a native of Grenada. "You don't have to beg anyone for an act. They're happy to do it, and they're diligent to practice."

Numbering almost 300 people from 45 countries, Calvin's international student populations is one of the largest of any college or university in West Michigan.

And while Rangeela has become an integral part of life at Calvin College for international students, it also has become an annual highlight for Calvin's North American students, as well as for Calvin faculty and staff and people in West Michigan.

Indeed, while the first few years saw free admission to Rangeela, recent years have included a modest admission fee and an expansion to two nights with standing-room only crowds becoming a regular Rangeela occurance.

This year's show, called "Passion for Culture," will be held at 8 p.m., February 25 and 26 in Calvin's Fine Arts Center.

Tickets are $5 but both nights are almost already sold out (about 250 tickets are left for both nights combined). However, the dress rehearsal, on Thursday, February 24, will also be open to the public and tickets for that can be purchased at the door for $2.

A pageant of costume, music, rhythm and drama, Rangeela - Hindi for "colorful" - is the international students' gift to both Calvin and the community beyond the college.

"Passion for Culture" will feature songs, dances, skits and drum ensembles from India, Korea, France, Germany, Nicaragua, Indonesia, Sudan and the Philippines.

And then there's the Celtic number, Mains says, which exemplifies diversity.

"We have a Nigerian playing the bass and a girl from Taiwan playing the flute," he says with a smile.

Mains is excited about some of the innovations in this year's show, including a North American act for the first time - a presentation on African American women from slavery to the present through poetry, drama and more.

The contribution of Calvin's Sudanese students - a Sudanese dialogue with God - is especially relevant now that Sudan has peace accords says Mains.

Alongside the new acts will be plenty of Rangeela stalwarts - the Korean fan dance, singing by African A Capella and the Sankofa drum ensemble.

Rangeela 2005 has also revived the gumboot dance, a staple in South Africa in the mines where the people used to entertain themselves to pass the time by playing rhythms on their bodies.

Mains says: "It looks good. It sounds good."

Linda Bosch, Calvin's international student advisor, is looking forward to the gumboot dance because it will allow her to finally clean out her closet.

"The first three Rangeelas had gumboot dances," she says, "so I have gumboots here in our storage closet and people have been telling me to throw them out. And now they're going to use them again!"

Bosch is excited about Rangeela and the chance for Calvin's many international students to take the stage.

"It takes them from sitting anonymously in a class here to showcasing their talents and their cultures," she says. "It makes them, and the beauty of their cultures, visible to our whole community here."

Adds Mains: "While we're celebrating a passion for culture, I also want the show to point towards the Creator as a Creator who loves diversity. We want to be able to point towards God when all is said and done because by being exposed to these different cultures, we see a diverse yet continuous image of who God is."

Rangeela proceeds are used by Student Senate to fund the activities of the International Student Association. This year 10 percent of the profits will be given to the Nyela Turaki Memorial Fund, named for a former Calvin student from Nigeria who died unexpectedly in June 2004 from a brian hemorrhage . That fund is used by Calvin's international students for emergencies (returning home unexpectedly, medical expenses not covered by insurance, etc).