An energetic host, good food and exciting performances are all what made up the seventh annual Binghamton’s Got Talent competition, hosted by International Connection (IC), a student organization that promotes the representation of different cultural groups on campus. Overall, it was an engaging event — audience energy was high, and the performances showcased the talent and diversity of Binghamton University.
“Our mission statement is to bring students of different cultural backgrounds and experiences together,” said Maria Lee, the president of IC and a senior majoring in biology. “We’re more than just a talent show. It’s more about putting other [student] organizations in the spotlight.”
The performances at this event included the cultural dance group by members of the Chinese Student and Scholar Association and poetry performances from the members of Slam Poetry Club. Every performance was captivating, but the ones that stood out to the judges were placing winners: modern dance group Legendex, break dance group BU Breakers, Korean drumming group Sulpoong and audience favorite, magician Eric Tremsky, an undeclared sophomore. The audience’s response to these acts in particular was uproarious, and for good reason. The crowd reacted positively during moments like Legendex’s impressive synchronized dance sequences and Sulpoong’s perfectly timed and well-rehearsed percussion ensemble. The winners each received funding for their student organizations as a reward.
Judges came to their decisions based on the performers’ effort, audience response and stage presence, according to Lee. As president, Lee said part of her responsibility when working on Binghamton’s Got Talent was making sure her e-board didn’t get stressed.
“At the end of the day it’s not just something you put on your résumé,” Lee said. “It’s something you should be proud of.”
Throughout the entire event, members of IC were serving free food from different cultures, catered by local restaurants like Moghul, Buffet Star and Thai Time. The local presences were also coordinated within the organization by IC’s social intern Kate Wu, a sophomore majoring in psychology. Wu is also pleased with how the event turned out.
“I think it turned out very nice,” Wu said. “We had very diverse performances this year and I’m glad people enjoyed it.”
Something else that stayed consistent throughout the show was the enthusiastic presence of the host of the show, Victor Ou, a senior majoring in geography. Ou is also the professional chair for IC and was responsible for recruiting all of the acts who performed at Binghamton’s Got Talent. He said that it was tough finding this many acts to perform at the show — he had to “search left and right.” He spoke to many student organizations to find performers, but was also able to recruit some by talking to fellow students on campus.
“Some people I kind of just found walking around,” Ou said. “Like [Tremsky], for example. I didn’t find him through any organization, just word-of-mouth.”
Lee shared Ou’s frustration with difficulty finding performers. She stated that one of IC’s goals for this event was to showcase the diversity of performers on campus.
“The hardest part [of organizing Binghamton’s Got Talent] was getting a diverse group of performers so that we can represent every cultural group on campus,” Lee said.
The hard work from a dedicated group of people at IC contributed to the success of this year’s Binghamton’s Got Talent, and the members hope that the organization continues this annual tradition far into the future.