Have you wanted to check out the dance groups on Grounds but haven't gotten the chance yet? You're in luck -- seven dance groups will be performing in the University Program Council's first-ever Dance Showcase tonight at 8 p.m. in the Newcomb Hall Ballroom.
Mahogany, Rhapsody, Sharaara, the University Dance Club, Swing Club, Belly Dance Club and Salsa Club will all take the stage for the two-hour event.
Monica Till, fourth-year College student and president of Sharaara, said she is "really excited about the different groups and dance styles" featured in the showcase.
Sharaara, a nine-girl South Asian dance group, fuses hip-hop with eastern and western dance styles for a routine as diverse as the list of performing groups.
"We tried to make it a lot of dancing styles and make it different and appealing to everyone," Till said.
Sharaara has spent all semester working on the routine for the showcase, which will be backed by an eclectic mix of music from Arabic to classical.
Though the University Dance Club only performs one show per semester, the group is prepared to share a routine at the UPC showcase.
Mike Herring, third-year Engineering student and president of the University Dance Club and Swing Club, shared that UDC will be presenting a tap dance from their fall 2005 show that includes "an old jazz routine" while the Swing Club will be performing a routine that's a bit fresher. This is the first time UPC's Performance Arts section has sponsored a mixed-group dance event, and it is the first showcase for the Swing Club.
"We've never done a performance piece before," Herring revealed.
The University community will also have a chance to see a type of dancing from the other end of the spectrum: belly dancing.
Belly dancing "is very much an isolation technique. It will add a different flavor to the show," said third-year College student and Belly Dance Club president Danielle Scott.
Though the club teaches two styles of belly dancing -- cabaret and tribal -- only cabaret, which is "more of an individual dance," will be featured at the showcase. Two routines will be devoted to the cabaret style, complete with bright costumes, beads and sequins. The first routine features choreography that beginner belly dancers learn when they first join; it will give interested audience members a taste of what they could expect as part of the club. The second routine includes some of the group's newest choreography. This dance will be performed by a select troupe of cabaret dancers within the club.
Two emcees, first-year College students Brooke Bandy and Nadine Natour, will guide the audience through the dance showcase. Each dance group will perform a five- to 10-minute routine and if they choose to do so, give a short talk about their club and what it offers.
Mahogany, formed in 1990, has over 65 official members and focuses on hip-hop style dancing.
Rhapsody Ballet Ensemble is a performance group which puts on two shows a year based on ballet and classical dance technique. Don't think ballet is for sissies though -- at the University, Rhapsody is listed as a club sport.
University Program Council's Dance Showcase takes place tonight at 8 p.m. in the Newcomb Hall Ballroom. There is no charge.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
