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Students represented nations from around the globe on the dance floor Saturday night at the final Oronoka international dance party. Two Oronokas were held each semester this year and Saturday’s event was the first to take place at the Buchanan Alumni House.
Oronoka is a dance party targeted at the international student community at the University of Maine. Saturday’s event was free and open to all students.
York Hall resident assistant Senthil Sockalingam-who goes by the MC alias of DJ Havok-spun tunes from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., seamlessly blending one jam into the next alongside DJ NorthChild, a.k.a. Corey Pelletier. “We are newcomers to the field, but since we got together this past fall, it’s been a blast and people have been welcoming us really well,” Sockalingam said.
More than 200 people were in attendance, with “a steady flow of 150 people on the dance floor at all times,” according to Sockalingam.
Oronoka, which is usually held at the Bear Brew Pub, took place directly after a going-away dinner for international students, also in the Buchanan Alumni House and the venue change served a nostalgic purpose. “The reason we went [to the Alumni House] was because we wanted to revive how Oronoka used to be,” Sockalingham said. “In those days, it was held at the restaurant Oronoka, and it was a semi-formal event. As we had already booked the Buchanan Alumni House for our international graduation dinner, we decided to open it up for a dance party right after that.”
The turnout was noteworthy and students took varying approaches to the semi-formal dress code, some in jeans and T-shirts, some dressed to the nines in suits and ties. “There were many advantages doing it at Buchanan as well; it was on campus so people had no problem with transportation, there was more room for dancing and as for the acoustics, I’ve always loved it as I played for the Winter Ball there as well,” Sockalingham said. “Personally I like the ambience of that hall and to end the night with a dance for the international graduating class and everyone on campus was awesome.”
Bangor Daily News