
A proud achievement was again made by BIPA (Indonesian for Foreign Speakers) students of Universitas Brawijaya. Two students, each won 2nd place in two competition categories, fashion show and traditional dance at Wijaya Kusuma University Surabaya (UWKS), Saturday (12/14/2024).

In the dance competition, the BIPA UB student who won the championship was Dao Yang. She is a student from China. She performed a Dayak creative dance, Kalimantan. When asked about his motivation for performing the Dayak dance, she replied that she was very impressed with the dance from the Dayak tribe.
“This dance is a creative dance, the choreography is a mixture of Mandau dance, Manasai dance and others. I chose Dayak dance since it is unique and beautiful. I like it when I see this dance because the movements are beautiful and seem tough,” she said.
When asked about the length of preparation, the student who has the Indonesian nickname Wini admitted that she prepared and practiced for about a week. She prepared by watching videos on YouTube to learn the choreography. Then she practiced and was guided by a team of lecturers.

In addition to dancing, the fashion show competition was won by Nigora Muminova, a BIPA student from Uzbekistan. She displayed traditional women’s clothing from Bali called Payas Agung Bali. When asked about the reason for displaying the clothes because of their meaning and beauty.

“In Balinese culture, these gold-colored clothes have a meaning as a form of respect and glory. In addition, the crown on this traditional clothing also has the meaning of purity and prayer. Meanwhile, the red cloth means respect for ancestors,” she explained.
In addition, the student who has the nickname Nala admitted that she really likes Bali. She hopes to visit Bali and enjoy the beauty of the island that rich of culture.
It should be noted that the activity held by the UWKS Office of International Affairs (KUI) was entitled “Being Indonesia Challenge-Java Region 2024.” This competition was attended by 34 foreign student participants representing various universities in East Java. The participating universities include Universitas Brawijaya, ITS, UWK Surabaya, Unesa, UMM, STIE Malang Kuceawara, Ciputra University, and UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya. They are generally taking the BIPA program. There are 3 branches that are competed, namely singing, dancing, and fashion shows, all of which must have an Indonesian theme. [khilmi/sitirahma/UB PR/ Trans. Iir]