ISCO is set to hold auditions for annual festival

The International Student Cultural Organization (ISCO) puts on a yearly festival to showcase students’ cultures from all over the world. Next week, ISCO will be holding auditions for this year’s festival. 

“The ISCO festival itself is meant to be a showcase of international talent and international food,” said professor and Faculty Advisor for ISCO Dr. Jay Holt Valentine. “It’s, in part, to expose domestic students to culture from around the world, but then likewise, it honors the people from around the world to get to present and be on stage.  

“It’s an opportunity for them to express their culture.” 

Any student or faculty member can audition for the festival if they wish to express their culture.  

“We hope that their performance can have some kind of international aspect to it,” Valentine said. “That being said, very often, even our students from other countries decide to perform a song from American pop music.  

““It’s all over the place. In the past, we’ve had students band together to do K-pop routines and traditional dances.”  

The auditions are open to any talents. Most talents include singing and dancing, but other performances are encouraged, such as skits.  

ISCO is in its fiftieth year at Troy University. The organization’s mission is to provide a space for international and domestic students alike to get to know one another. 

“Our main goal is to get international students and domestic students to get to know each other and hang out together,” Valentine said. “Sometimes students have a tendency to keep to themselves, so we’re trying to encourage people to engage with each other on campus.  

“A lot of our events are about that.” 

ISCO puts on several different events throughout the year, including game nights, movie nights and painting events. These events encourage fellowship and interaction among students. 

“Game night isn’t about the games, it’s about getting to know those people,” Valentine said. “The larger idea is empathy since you get to know other people, understand them and widen your horizons.” 

The auditions for ISCO festival will be on Oct. 27 and 28 in HAL Hall from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The ISCO festival itself will be Nov. 20.  

Valentine encourages all students to audition for the festival.  

“We accept a wide range of skill levels, and we’re not expecting that everyone who performs is concert-level ready,” Valentine said. “It’s a low-key event.” 

For more information about ISCO and the upcoming auditions, follow @isco_troyu on Instagram for more information.