New and old collided Saturday at the Vietnamese Student Association’s annual ethnic night, which celebrated traditional and innovative parts of the country’s culture.

Vietnamese students put on “Night in Saigon: Letters from Saigon” for an audience of 600, both University students and community members.

"A Night in Saigon," an event hosted by the Vietnamese Student Association, consisted of many dances and other events. MARIJA VULETIC/Staff

The night honored ancient customs with “Mua Lan” or  “Lion Dance” when three paper-mache lion heads operated by students snaked through the crowds to the beat of gongs and drums.

A traditional dance involving both female and male students followed. Minh Phan, a sophomore atmospheric sciences major from Savannah and Public Relations Chair for the VSA, explained the dance as a classic story of young love.

“The guys and the girls are interacting,” Phan said. “The guys try to win the hearts of the girls and the girls are playing hard to get. In the end, the boys get their hearts broken.”

Florence Pham, a freshman biochemistry and molecular biology major from Norcross who performed in the traditional dance, said educating students about the more traditional customs was important.

“Young people don’t appreciate culture until they grow up,” Pham said. “This is to help them.”

Apart from the traditional dances, music and cuisines, the eighth annual “Night in Saigon” also educated about the country’s culture. The event featured a main skit which detailed the theme of “Letters from Saigon,” a collection of writings detailing the hardships of the first Vietnamese refugees in America and the horror of the War.

The students also hoped to show how Vietnamese culture has evolved both in their home country and within the immigrant community in America. Hip Hop dance is a trend that, after being adopted by Vietnamese immigrants in America, spread to the home country, explained Phan.

“When people first came to America, they didn’t know Hip Hop, but now people are really into it, even back home,” Phan said.

Jonathan Tran, a sophomore psychology major from Atlanta, was a chorographer for the modern dance. He said he joined the show to inform students about interesting aspects of his culture.

“I wanted to show that our culture isn’t as boring as people think,” Tran said.

Although allowing students to experience the culture is important, the group is also giving back to Vietnam. After paying the costs of the event, they will donate profits to “Children of Vietnam” a charity providing education, housing, food and medical help to underprivileged children in Vietnam.

VSA’s main celebration required “hundreds of hours,” fundraising, brainstorming and practicing for the night, according to Phan. Planning began last year and practices started in August.

The hours of logistics for the club’s board and hours of practicing for the 70 performers proved worth it for the chance to educate the community about Vietnamese culture, Phan said.

Derek Butler, a senior anthropology major from Augusta, attended the event seeking education about Vietnamese culture and traditions for a class project.

“Its interesting to see how other people function in the world, their way of life,” Butler said. “I haven’t had a lot of experience with Vietnamese culture.”

VSA concluded the event with one last piece of tradition: passing out red envelopes to the audience, a Vietnamese custom that provides good luck into the New Year — which falls on Jan. 23 this year, according to the lunar calendar.

After the red envelopes went out, VSA will celebrate with the event before returning to the drawing board tomorrow to begin planning next year’s “Night in Saigon.”

“It’s a running joke in the club that planning for the next show starts the day after, so, on Sunday,” Phan said. “We are all really excited about next year.”

Want to get involved with VSA?

Email uga.vsa@gmail.com