Energy was in the air at Saturday night's Cultural Extravaganza.

The atmosphere moved attendees to dance to the beat of the music whenever the chance arose.

The cultural celebration brought about 400 people to the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, and was part of Homecoming for the first time in the Extravaganza's 20-year history.

David Davis, overall chair for the event, said the Black Caucus and National Pan-Hellenic Council made the decision last year to add the Cultural Extravaganza to Homecoming 2003 in hopes that every student would be able to equally enjoy the festivities.

Participants said they felt the event was a success.

There was a variety of entertainment, including dancing, jazz performances, a comedian, and a choreographed fashion show. A dinner buffet was available and couples who attended could have their pictures taken together.

Nesha Christian Hendrickson, president of Nommo Performing Arts Company, performed a native African dance routine with other members of the group.

She said their presence at the event was important because it fulfilled the group's mission statement of wanting to plant seeds of African culture into Penn State's community.

"We have a very diverse group of people, with representatives from every culture," Hendrickson said. "We want people to see that African culture is very vibrant and others can share in and be a part of the cultural celebration."

While dance groups like Nommo excited crowds, other dancers without dates were prompted to strut their stuff with the comedian to get audience members involved.

Caitlin Wockenfuss, a member of Orchesis Dance Company, was persuaded by friends to go on stage and show off her dancing skills to the crowd.

"[The comedian] said that white girls don't care," Wockenfuss said. "Most of the time it's like a white girl can't dance, but it was a lot of fun."

Although dancing played a huge role in the atmosphere, the cultural fashion show was the most anticipated event.

The show invited Africans from all corners of the world to return home to Africa. Each segment of the show focused on different cultures, from Latin American salsa dancing to Arabian-inspired music and costumes.

During the fashion show, Josiah Green (senior-communications) and Kalilah Cummings (sophomore-architecture) were crowned as the Cultural Extravaganza's king and queen.

Green said he was surprised and excited by his new title.

"I'm so glad we have a cultural community to represent ourselves," he said. "It feels great to be a part of this celebration."

Cummings said she was excited as well.

"We have such a small amount of minorities on campus and we all lose track of our lives," she said. "We have to interact more and unite."

The Extravaganza attracted a more diverse group to this year's events, said Camille Selden, a 1998 alumna and employee in the School of Music.

"It seems like there are a lot more cultures," Selden said. "I don't recall there being this much of a diverse audience."

Anesha Ali, vice president of the Black Caucus, said she was glad that more groups were in attendance.

"We've worked since May to put this together and [it was] beautiful," Ali said. "We achieved our goal of having a celebration that was enjoyed by all and everyone is very pleased."

Davis said he was also proud of the turnout.

"We actually had to turn people away at the door because we didn't have enough seating," he said. "But look at all of the different people here. It really shows that students want diversity."

It's important for us to support other groups said Sara Ryan, co-president of Allies, an alliance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and their supporters.

"Homecoming is more than a parade and a football game," she said. "Now when we say 'We are ... Penn State,' we know it's a very diverse 'we.' "