Diverse audience members engaged themselves in the performance, clapping their palms to the steady beat of the Vietnamese Rice Drum Dance.

An International Fashion Show, part of K-State's International Week, showcased native fashions from 26 countries presented by models of all ages Thursday evening in the K-State Student Union Forum Hall. The event was sponsored by the International Coordinating Council and the World Friendship Organization.

"You can get the story behind the dress and what it was influenced by," said Lenka Hadamova, graduate student in medicine and president of ICC. "Events like these are important because you get hands-on experience of the culture."

The show started with an introduction to World Friendship, an organization that provides a base for international women, and a celebration of its 40th-anniversary. World Friendship has 130 members and focuses on teaching English as a second language.

This year's fashion show's theme was "Getting to Know You." European wear was modeled first in front of a German flag power point background. The fashions shown were divided into regions within continents. The continents displayed were Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and North America.

Students signed up for the show and wore their own clothing, Hadamova said. Those not wanting to model their outfits but wanting to show their culture's dress found models to represent their culture.

Accessories, including flags, headdresses, flutes and fans, were added to some of the outfits to give a more authentic taste to the show.

"I got to see countries I'd never heard of," said Maria de Jesus, graduate student in English Language programs.

Other parts of the show included a performance on the dombyra - a two-stringed instrument - Japanese singing, a Vietnamese Rice Drum Dance, a bluegrass clogging dance and a flag ballet that included ribbon twirling.

Simple traditional dance moves and greetings were also incorporated with the modeling, so audience members could learn more about each culture.

"Events like these broaden our horizons and help us become more tolerant with other cultures," de Jesus said.