From visual art to music and dance, the Humanitas Festival encourages students to experience diverse cultures through the celebration of our differences.

Performing a classical Indian dance known as Bharatanatyam, Roja Kannan carries her cultural traditions onto the stage with more than four decades of experience behind her. Her next performance, titled “Search for the Blue Lotus,” explores the journey of a young woman in search of a blue lotus, according to the WSU Performing Arts website.

Regarded as symbolic of purity of the heart and mind, the lotus plays a significant role in Buddhist and Hindu teachings. The blue lotus itself represents the mind overcoming the senses, in effect, a gain of wisdom.

Kannan runs her own dance academy in India where she teaches more than 100 students. She began her own training at five years old and debuted on stage at 12, according her official website.

The Student Entertainment Board (SEB), who sponsors Roja Kannan in the festival, strives to choose performances based on how many students they would attract and what shows would impact them the most.

For this project, they partnered with the Humanitas Festival to assist them in making the festival as exciting as possible for attendees. The SEB art committee makes sure to reach out to organizations they know would support their events, SEB Arts Programmer Alli Ruther explained.

“The most challenging part is making sure that the artist is represented how they want to be represented through our media,” Ruther said.

The Arts Committee occasionally does surveys in order to determine student interest, but it normally depends on the event. In the case of the Humanitas Festival, the performances chosen emphasize the celebration of world arts.

The reception for Roja Kannan will take place at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow at the CUB Gallery, refreshments will be served. The performance of “Search for the Blue Lotus” will follow at 7 p.m. in the CUB auditorium. Admission is free.