Students sat in a room with candles, dimmed lights, and Indian music playing in the background while East Indian dancer Madhavi tilted her head back and talked about lotus flowers.

“Honey bees, peacocks and lotus flowers bring peace from within,” Madhavi chanted as she moved within the circle of student onlookers.

A crowd of 22 students gathered for “A Night of Peace and Tranquility” to watch Madhavi spread peace through dance in the Grand Palm Room at the Student Union on the Boca campus on Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.

Madhavi came out wearing a traditional Asian-style red ensemble. She painted henna on her hands and feet while prepping for her performance.

Madubee, the coordinator of Penn House Productions, the company in charge of hiring the dancer and setting up the event, cued the music and introduced Madhavi while her arms were folded.

The performance lasted for half an hour before an intermission, where students took off their shoes and prepared for traditional yoga and meditation.

Students sat on the floor in yoga-style fashion as Madhavi taught different forms of meditation and breathing techniques, which lasted an additional half-hour.

Black Student Union & Multicultural Programming (BSUMP) Director Kerri-Ann Nesbeth and Secretary Jennifer Ullysse participated along with students in the meditation.

“I loved this crowd of students, and I’m glad I was able to be here tonight,” said Madhavi. “I’ve been doing this for five years, and I love what I do.”

As the dance performance and meditation session wrapped up, students wasted no time in speaking candidly with Madhavi in person.

How much does a peaceful dance cost?

Penn House Productions helped bring Madhavi to FAU, but Black Student Union & Multicultural Programming (BSUMP) paid for it.

“We wanted to bring out different cultures to this event, not just black people,” said Kerri-Ann Nesbeth, director of BSUMP. “We worked with a company called Penn House Productions, and they helped bring out the East Indian dancer.”

According to Jennifer Ullysse, secretary of BSUMP, $1,000 was spent on the entire event. $800 of that was spent on the dancer, while the remainder of the funds went toward promotion and setup.