International students’ preparation entered the final stage for International Night 2012, which will take place in Lakeland Bradley Theatre at 7:30 p.m. on April 10.

This year, International Night will have traditional dances and songs from 11 different countries: USA, Venezuela, Peru, Puerto Rico, China, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya, as well as a faculty performance.

“International Night is one of the major annual events at Lakeland, and every year, it has succeeded,” Akniet Rysbek Kyzy, the coordinator of the International Night from Global Students Organization (GSA), said. “International Night is always the best place for international students to share their culture, and for domestic students, it’s going to be a great opportunity to learn different countries and culture.”

Students from Venezuela, Peru, and Puerto Rico will perform Latin traditional dance, not only individually, but also as a group.

For the last time, International Night will feature students from Malawi, who have been studying at Lakeland through programs supported by money from the U.S. government. The programs are being discontinued after this year.

Beni Bolli from Iran and Akniet Rysbek Kyzy from Kyrgyzstan are the only representatives of their countries, so for them, performing on the stage alone might be really nerve-wracking. However, they seem to be very proud to represent their countries and share their culture.

On the other hand, there are many Chinese and Japanese students here at Lakeland. China designed traditional costumes by themselves for their dance performances. Even though Japan has participated in International Night every year, this year is going to be very special because they will have new Japanese students who actually experienced the March 11 earthquake in Tokyo.

Also, it will be the first performance for American students at International Night. A semi-new organization, Theatricans, will perform.

“Last year, we had a lot of Lakeland students and people from the Sheboygan community [come], so I really recommend students come as early as possible to take seats,” Akniet Rysbek Kyzy said.