Down the HUB-Robeson Center's staircase by the craft tables, Late Night Penn Staters will get a lot more than a stamp-decorated seasonal card.

Turkish belly dancers and maybe a French can-can line will be waiting at the bottom.

The Penn State International Dance Ensemble (PSIDE) will perform two shows starting at 10 p.m. and midnight tomorrow on the ground floor of the HUB as a part of Late Night Penn State.

PSIDE is a student-run organization that brings international cultures together through song and dance. The group's 25 student members come from a variety of backgrounds including first, second and third generations from India, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Ireland.

Since the dancers come from all over the world, PSIDE does not stick to a particular style.

"We're different from other groups because we don't do the same kind of dances over and over again," PSIDE Director Puja Gandhi (senior-marketing) said. "You end up learning so much more."

Among seven different acts, the group will present its staple Greek dance and Indian Bhangra dance. It will also perform American hip-hop and swing. William Abbott (senior-geography) will perform in the Chinese Iron Fan dance and the American hip-hop routine. He joined the club last year when he mistook PSIDE for a salsa club.

"I was looking to learn how to salsa," Abbott said. "I liked to dance, but I just couldn't do it."

Although he didn't get what he was looking for, Abbott fell instantly in love with the club. "I had no background whatsoever," he said. "I never thought I could do any of that stuff."

After his first semester with PSIDE, Abbott learned enough to apply his new moves to his own tango choreography. "Sooner or later, you find yourself dancing in the club and knowing what you're doing," he said.

Eliezer Moreta (senior-psychology), originally from the Dominican Republic, will dance alongside Abbott in both the Iron Fan and hip-hop routines, his two favorites from the program's lineup. "They are both really upbeat dances that get the crowd going," Moreta said.

He co-choreographed the hip-hop routine and will be performing in all the other dances that require a man.

PSIDE holds classes and workshops during the semester to learn choreography from professionals, PSIDE alumni and the club's current international members. Although the group modifies routines so it is more presentable on stage, "we try to make it as authentic as possible," Gandhi said.

Because the dances are versatile in technique, the club does not require its members to have any previous experience. Club tryouts are in the beginning of each semester.

Prior to PSIDE shows, every member learns all of the routines. PSIDE will then hold auditions within the group where members will be assigned a few acts to perform. "Some people are awesome at some dances and not at others," Gandhi said.

In the spring, PSIDE prepares for its much larger show that is usually held in the White Building, Ghandi said.