Utah Tech University students and community members gathered to watch a night of talent at the Greatest Showcase March 26 on the Eccles Main Stage.
The event was hosted for the first time by the Center for Inclusion and Belonging as a part of Inclusion Week. There were 12 participants at the event with talent ranging from singing to belly dancing.
Mia Tom, a sophomore general studies major from Ivins, was the point of contact for the event and one of the hands backstage helping it run smoothly. She said the inspiration behind the event was to create an opportunity where students and community members could showcase their talents and cultures.
Some of the local artists were from Las Vegas, including a belly dancing group called the Mari Fusion Belly Dance. Mari Jepson and Camila Dossiantos were the two dancers part of this performance. Jepson said they were reached out to by the director, Mike Nelson, as a way to showcase talent in the community.
“The showcase was part of the inclusion,” Jepson said. “So because there were different cultures that performing, that was my favorite part.”
Jepson has been performing for 19 years, and it is something she does frequently. She teaches classes at a studio in Las Vegas and online, while also doing shows and events.
There were also performers by groups from Utah Tech like Fusion and the K-Pop Dance Club. Halia Moriguchi, a sophomore recreation and sports management major from Kaui, Hawaii, was one of the performers apart of the K-Pop Dance Club. The dance club’s performance included a mashup of their favorite K-pop songs, along with group and duo performances.
“I decided to join the K-pop group because I wanted to share my passion for the love of K-pop music with Utah Tech students, and also because they’re very well known for their dance,” Moriguchi said.
The performance included two different dances that involved all of the team members, which was one of Moriguchi’s favorite parts. The dance club practices every Wednesday at 8 p.m. and is always welcoming new members.
“We wanted to just showcase that anyone can come dance, learn and have a fun time,” Moriguchi said.
Eliza Nordgren, a freshman population health major from Salt Lake, is a member of the K-Pop Dance Club and was an audience member that night. Nordgren said she made some of her best friends in the club, so it was really cool seeing them all perform.
However, she also enjoyed seeing the different groups showing their talents. Performers represented their talents by singing a variety of genres to even performing a warrior’s hoop dance.
“I think it’s really cool to see a bunch of different people doing what they love to do and seeing them in their element,” Nordgren said. “It’s cool to see how diverse it was because we have lots of people from different backgrounds doing very different things, and I enjoyed watching it all.”
