Will Smith, it turns out, is as charismatic in person as he is on screen. Smith, an accomplished musician, actor, and producer, was the guest of honor and distinguished host at the 14th annual Harvard Foundation Cultural Rhythms show held Saturday, Feb. 20, in Sanders Theatre.

More than 1,000 people attended the festival, in which student groups such as the Hellenic Society, the Kuumba Singers, Fuerza Latina, and the Harvard Philippine Forum helped exhibit the diversity of races and ethnicities at Harvard. While a kaleidoscope of color and sound unfolded on the Sanders stage, Smith entertained with his comic improvisations -- executing a full split, for instance, as he did an impromptu dance during the performance of the Persian Society.

The audience was equally lively. Students prompted Smith when he forgot to finish telling a story he'd started, then later shouted that he might pass a rose he received from the performers on to his wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, who sat in the audience.

While students and faculty enjoyed Smith's relaxed and unreserved style, they also applauded his achievements. When welcoming Smith, S. Allen Counter, director of the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations, referred to the performer and philanthropist -- who is widely known for his television persona, "the Fresh Prince" -- as "real American royalty."

Smith was selected as the Foundation's Cultural Artist of the Year because of his outstanding contributions to both American performing art and intercultural relations. Between student performances, Dean Harry R. Lewis presented Smith with an award for his humanitarian work through the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, and for his contributions to music and the performing arts in the rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, the television sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and films such as Six Degrees of Separation, Independence Day, Men in Black, and Enemy of the State.

"I want to thank the Foundation for choosing such a deserved recipient," Smith joked. But on a more serious note, he also told his audience to "make it a point to share your best self with absolutely everyone you come in contact with. . . . If you can find the strength to give the best of yourself, throughout your life you will find that, at some point, someone was watching. . . . Find that goodness in yourself and share it, and good things will always happen."

The Cultural Rhythms celebration included 16 performances by student groups, and was followed by more music and dance during a food festival at the Science Center.

Holoimua o'Hawaii, in the first act of the show at Sanders, opened with a Samoan slap dance, which tests an individual's coordination, timing, and rhythm in preparation for battle. The Hellenic Society followed with a virtuosic leaping dance. And the Harvard Vietnamese Association presented a dance that illustrates the separation of men's and women's work in the rice fields.

Members of the Harvard African Association stomped and slapped their tall, red-tipped rubber boots, to create the throbbing sound of the Gumboots dance. James Irungu Mwangi '00 explained that this protest dance originated in South African mines, and is influenced by Zulu, Pedi, and Xhosa cultures. The commands that are shouted among the dancers are concealed messages about apartheid.

The Society of Arab Students demonstrated the use of the oud, tabla, and daff, three instruments that correspond to the guitar, drum, and tambourine in Western music. Ramy Adeeb '00, who is Egyptian, played the oud. "The music I played is very classical," he explained. "Back home, most people my age play modern stuff. But when I came to this country I missed the culture and I switched from guitar to oud."

Native Americans at Harvard and Radcliffe performed a mixture of traditional, ceremonial, and jingle dances that occur during intertribal powwows. Whereas many other student groups rented or shared their costumes, members of the Native Americans at Harvard and Radcliffe each wore tribal dress that they owned. Amanda Proctor '97, of the Osage tribe of Oklahoma, wore a layered dress that she beaded herself. "I have been beading it since 1995, and I'm still not finished," she said. "It's a skill that I've learned from my family back home."

Perhaps the most surprising performance, however, came from the French Club. When Smith introduced the group, Sam Sternin '01 strolled onstage to the familiar music of French singer and actress Edith Piaf. But Sternin quickly tossed his beret and his baguette, and was joined by David Horn '00, Ziad Obermeyer '01, and Hatim Belyamani '99 in performing a French rap. "The aim of the French rap was to present an alternative image of the French national identity," explained Obermeyer. "France is no longer a homogeneous country; it's 10 percent North African."

Belyamani added, "The idea of doing something like that for Cultural Rhythms was really exciting for us, because Cultural Rhythms is all about categorizing cultures. This is what history does, accept myths about what identity is. We wanted to replace the homogeneous white French image and replace it with a multicultural one. And then we just wanted to shock and have fun."

Said Obermeyer, "Obviously, the first thing people were going to think when they saw Sam walk out with a baguette and beret with Edith Piaf in the background is that this would be a very typical French act."

There was nothing typical about the 1999 Cultural Rhythms. The mesmerizing combination of costume, music, and dance was enlivened between acts by Smith's unforgettable comic antics. Counter suggested on stage that Smith might be invited to teach a class or seminar at Harvard in the future. When asked about possible seminar topics during a press conference after the event, Smith said he was considering the transitions among music, television, and film. "I've been thinking about the creative aspects of different media and how to make the leap as a performer or a producer," he said.

(See the photo essay about Cultural Rhythms by Marc Halevi)