The Asian Student Commission (ASC) will bring a diverse array of talent to the HUB auditorium stage Friday night as it celebrates its 20th anniversary.

ASC is a part of ASUW and draws its commissioners from various cultural clubs on campus, including the Chinese Student Association, the Khmer Student Association and the Thai Student Association, among others.

Kaori Miyake, the director of ASC and a senior majoring in communication, said diversity is a main focus this year.

“In terms of the lineup, it is more cultural and [is] focusing more on cultural aspects,” she said.

The show wants to present the Asian voice on campus, said junior Paul Boupha, the show’s facilitator and a member of the programming team.

Other shows on campus draw performers from local high schools rather than UW student performers, which is something Boupha hopes to change.

“We find students on campus that have talent,” he said. “We want to be representative of the UW community. We’re trying to be different.”

This year during auditions, singers were encouraged to sing songs in Asian languages, Miyaki said. The performances are rooted in Asian culture, but different kinds of acts were encouraged, she said.

“We have a very wide variety of performances — traditional Asian dance troupes to contemporary hip-hop,” she said. “Japanese pop to Chinese pop, ethnicity-wise it’s pretty diverse. We also have belly-dance performances.”

All students are welcome to attend and perform. One of the dance troupes is made up of different backgrounds, she said.

“It is an interesting representation because it shows a lot of the cultures are very influential,” Miyaki said. “We have non-Asian performers; a lot of the cultural dance troupe consists of non-Asian students.”

Audience participation is also a focus of this year, with games involving audience members, Boupha said.

“This year we’re trying to keep people engaged, and audience involvement is a big thing,” he said.

In a collaborative effort, ASC has been organizing the event for months.

“All [the volunteer commissioners] come from different organizations,” Miyaki said. “Getting together and putting on a big event like this means a lot to everyone.”

[Reach reporter Erinn Unger at news@thedaily.washington.edu]