With the crackling melody of Mozart as his only accompaniment, Jinda Han, a freshman in computer engineering, belted out lyrics to the opera "Figaro's Marriage" like a bona-fide Italian at the International Festival of Talents Sunday night in McCain Auditorium. Just by listening to his voice, one would never guess Han is Chinese.

The rest of the talent show's singers and dancers made the most of a bare stage, performing traditional pieces from 10 different countries for an audience of about 250 people. The Festival of Talents marked the beginning of International Week at K-State.

"This is the 20th year of showcasing the many different cultures at K-State," said Lenka Hadamova, president of the International Coordinating Council. "It's a great experience."

The ICC presented the talent show as a way of piquing students' interest in learning about different cultures. The performances provided the audience with authentic images of foreign cultures.

The Indian Student Association drew lots of cheers with group dances showcasing the evolution of Bollywood. Ranjit Godavarthy, graduate student in transportation engineering, performed a personal piece that combined modern music with several decades of dance moves, including the moonwalk, popularized by pop star Michael Jackson in the '80s.

"It's great to perform for people from different countries," Godavarthy said. "I was very excited about this event because it was a opportunity to do that."

The Philippine Student Association members lit up the stage while balancing candles on their heads and swinging them from their hands during a performance of "Pandanggo Oasiwas." Later, they recreated a combat training dance called "Sakuting" that included sticks and simulated fighting.

In what seemed like an edgy, foreign rendition of a square-dance, the Taiwanese Student Association danced to powerful female vocals while holding hands with one another to demonstrate the passionate spirit of traditional Taiwanese aborigines.

"Even though we don't know the language, the performers did a good job of conveying what they were trying to say," said Vikas Bahirwani, graduate student in computer science. "I knew that Indian culture was very colorful, but this showed me the exotic combination of music and dance that is prevalent in other cultures too."

Singer Minako Nemoto and pianist Jun Tadaki, junior in business administration, conveyed "the beauty of spring" in Japan with such precision that it was easy to forget that most of the audience didn't understand the language Nemoto was singing in.

"My initial reaction is 'wow'," Bahirwani said during the intermission. "These performances are doing away with the language barrier."