Lawrence International’s cabaret is one of the greatest shows on campus portraying cultures from all around the world on one stage.
Yes, that’s exactly what Cabaret is and at the same time it is so much more than just that.
“What you see tonight is merely a representation. It is the tip of the iceberg. If you came tonight to learn all there is about global cultures, you will be disappointed. If you are not disappointed, you will have missed the point of this show. While the show is about entertainment, it is also about exposure to cultures, diversity and values. This is not the culmination, it is the beginning of a long journey,” said Amaan Khan, during his Presidential address at last year’s Cabaret.
Lawrence International (LI) is one of the largest student organizations on campus. With over 200 members, it organizes cultural events, formals and other social activities to enhance the campus community. Students from over 40 countries are a part of this organization and each and every one of them take pride in contrib
uting to the year-long activities. One of the major events that LI organizes is Cabaret.
Cabaret started with being a UN day dinner and slowly progressed into a cultural show. This April marked the 40th year of Cabaret at Lawrence and like every other year, it attracted an audience from campus and the Appleton community. Every year it has a theme, and this year’s theme was “Our Pale Blue Dot” inspired by Carl Sagan.
Dances, songs, poetry recitation and fashion shows glorified the event as different colors and cultures took over the stage. The backstage was filled with laughter and cheers as students came together to put up this show.
The LI board works on this event from the beginning of the year with collaboration from the Theater department, Communications, the Box Office and International Student Services. Each and every student involved takes pride in their work and voluntarily puts in hundreds of hours creating this show amidst the busy Lawrence life. Several weeks and months go into the planning and preparation of this flagship event and all the hard work, passion, dedication and charisma is visible on stage throughout the entire length of the show.
All the people involved put in hours after hours to make this possible. If you are sitting in the audience, you will be amazed to see how much this student-led initiative means to the participants and contributes to the community.
I hope these pictures can tell a story and give you a taste of how incredible of a show this year’s 40th Cabaret was!
Photo Credits: Paul Wilke
Link to more pictures: https://lawrenceuniversity.smugmug.com/Events/2016/Cabaret-2016