Culture X, the biggest cultural show of the semester, is entering its 20th anniversary! 16 artists and groups will be performing on Saturday night in Levin Ballroom. To preview this event, the Justice spoke to the CultureX chair team member, Gabi Rivero, about what clubs will be performing and what Culture X means to her. Other chairs include Maurice Windley '19, Brianna Brown '19, Connie Kai '22, Imani Islam '20 and Gabriela Macedo Telles '20.

“Culture X is about celebrating the diversity on campus in a space that brings it all together. We have culture shows for individual clubs all year long, but Culture X is the only time that all of these different cultures and performers get to share the same stage. This year we want to make that even more apparent with a closing number that shows off where all our performers are from.” - Culture X Chair Committee Organizer GABI RIVERO  

Fafali Percussion, the Ghanian ensemble for both drum and dance at the University, will perform. Run through the music department, Fafali provides an opportunity for all students to learn and perform for the Brandeis community.

The Brandeis Ballet Company will be presenting “Elephant,” a dance that explores the beauty of the movements of the animals.  The clubs serves to offer Brandeis students the chance to take ballet classes and perform, such as their annual fall-semester performance of “The Nutcracker.”

New York guitarist Eli Kangmana will be use a single melody to show his growth as a musician. Kangmana has played the guitar since the age of seven.

Brandeis Bollywood Fusion team Chak De mixes classical Indian, Bollywood, Indian folk and Western style in their dances. As they perform, they hope to unite many cultures of the Brandeis community through their love of dance.

Zehn Quan, a first-year psychology major at Brandeis, is going to perform a self-produced mix of Chinese dance and contemporary dance.

Kaos Kids, a Brandeis secular dance troop, will storm the night with their powerful hip-hop dance. They plan to take the audience on a trip Around the World!

As Brandeis’ only step team, the Platinum Step Team performs on and off campus, sharing love and appreciation for step. They will bring their talent to the CultureX stage through their team performance.

First year classical musicians Connie Cai and David Cohen will perform the Five Tangos by Astor Piazzolla. Piazzolla is an Argentinian tango composer and is known for the nuevo tango style. Cai and Cohen will showcase the genre;s of his work.

Afro-Caribbean dance team Rebelle will be sharing a variety of dance forms from different countries in Africa. Rebelle is known for being more than just a dance team though: The friendships and trust established are essential are building a family.

Kazuki Mochimaru will be performing a song called “Lemon” by Yonezu Kenshi with three other members from the Japanese Student Association. They will bring vocals, guitar and piano to the CultureX.

WKD Dance group is a premiere hip hop dance group at Brandeis. They will entertain the crowd by showcasing popular hip hop dances from the past two decades.

Chair team member Islam will also be performing an original poem for the show bringing of a personal touch to the CultureX stage.

Sankofa uses their dances to bring the experience of African diaspora to campus. They seek to spread history and culture to Brandeis through the use of movement and dance.

Brandeis-based hip-hop dance group XL Girl is a well known throughout the Boston area. They will bring a unique spin to CultureX that is widely anticipated.

Afro Diamonds will take the CultureX stage. They are a Waltham-based company of young dancers, including some elementary school students.

Toxic is Brandeis University’s first premier majorette dance line. They provide a fun and empowering environment for students to learn the freedom and discipline of Majorette-style dancing. They have performed all around the Brandeis campus at various events — including hosting their first showcase in the fall, "Pick your Poison"— so watching them at CultureX will be a treat.

This is only a selection of the performances that will occur Saturday night, based off information provided by the organizers. For the full experience of Culture X and to see all the work the performers have dedicated to this show, one must see the show itself!

 —  Jen Geller contributed reporting 

 —  Editor's Note: this article was updated to include that Jen Geller contributed reporting

— Corrections: This article was updated to reflect the correct position of CultureX chair team member, Gabi Rivero. The rest of the chair team members were also added. 

— Clarifications: This article was changed to better articulate that there are more events than those listed to be enjoyed at the event, and the name of Toxic's show "Pick your Poison" was added. Also, WKD and Islam's performance descriptions were fixed to better represent what they will bring to the CultureX stage.