By Jocelyn Sterling
Shaking hips and hair flips. Salsa dips and tap dance kicks. Handstand tricks and Lady Gaga Mix. Not your average University of Portland event.
These elements were part of UP's second annual dance showcase on Friday night, April 3, in Buckley Center Auditorium. The UP Dance Club put on the event which included an eclectic mix of dancers and dance types, ranging from hip hop to the hula.
The main performers of the night were the Pilots Dance Team, which is part of the UP Dance Club, in which its participants must try out to make the team. The dance club is open to anyone who wishes to participate, while the dance team is more competitive and performs during the UP basketball games.
This year the showcase improved by the inclusion of several different outside groups performing along with the dance club and team.
"This year was better because the outside groups brought variety," said senior Katie Mitchell, the club president and team captain. "And it was more professional with theater lights which made it feel like more of a dance show."
Mitchell, along with senior Krystle Hass, started the dance club two years ago after the dance team they were on freshman year disbanded. Mitchell and Hass wanted to continue dancing for UP, so their sophomore year they formed a new club. In the club's first year, Mitchell and Hass put on the first dance showcase, which was followed up and improved by the performance Friday night.
Mitchell and Hass worked hard to recruit outside dancers, compile the music and manage the lighting, all of which made the show have a professional, alluring and exciting atmosphere. The dancers also worked hard, as they faced the challenge of restructuring their dances to fit the small BC Auditorium stage.
"We had to adjust to the size of the stage because it was a lot smaller than the basketball court which we're used to," said junior Allie Shepherd of the dance team. "We had to completely redo some of the dances."
The dance team performed six numbers throughout the night, beginning with a vibrant opener in which the dancers poured down the aisles of the auditorium starting the night off with an energetic and exciting atmosphere. They further impressed with a booty shaking number to a Missy Elliot mix, which was a crowd pleaser.
Two Hawaiian numbers were performed, a Tahitian and a hula, in which the women were clad in purple attire and greenery decorated their hair. The audience cheered as the progression of the number became fast paced and the dancers' puka shells made rhythmic sounds as their hips swayed to the calming Hawaiian music.
One of the most interesting performances of the night came from three sophomore men who presented the audience with a performance of Free Running/Parkour, which is "originally a French sport generally done in an urban atmosphere," according to Parkour performer, sophomore Gregory Fleming. Parkour consists of free standing flips, flips off of walls, handstand maneuvers, and beyond average jumping abilities. The performance awed the audience, while some held their breath during every flip, hoping the performer would land safely on his two feet.
Sophomore Parkour performers Fleming, Danny Polich and Luke Matthews were excited about being able to show their talent to an inexpectant audience.
"We're some of the first people to do this around here," Fleming said. "And Portland is a great city for it because it's open minded and has an urban atmosphere."
A few other numbers were performed by dance team individuals and separate groups. Sophomore Marianna Hunnicutt performed a Flamenco tap solo, which she originally performed at the Miss Portland pageant two weekends ago. The Howard Hall salsa class performed a salsa number to display the skills they learned in their weekly class. The four couples dressed in red exhibited fancy footwork and their learned skills, trading partners throughout the dance and showcasing their personalities.
"Everyone was relaxed and came out with high spirits," said junior salsa student Jon Lamb. "This was most of the salsa people's first time dancing for an audience and it was really fun and we did well."
A dramatic jazz number was a nice change of pace near the end of the show and included a mixture of dance team members and fresh faces. Sophomore Amy Estrada of the dance team choreographed the number and invited a few outside dancers to sign up to be in her dance. Another smaller number was a sensual and dark dance to Rihanna's "Disturbia." Shepherd organized the number, and worked hard to learn the moves from a YouTube video of a friend's choreography.
"It took a long time to teach myself from a video," Shepherd said. "I had 'Disturbia' stuck in my head for three weeks straight."
The showcase also included a music video which showed the dance team dancing in various areas of campus. The crowd uproared with laughter at the sight of the dancers, in funky '80s gear, dancing through the library and Commons and with a Bon Appétit chef in the Cove. Sophomore Jasonn Hannibal was briefly featured in the video and came to the showcase to support the dancers.
"The girls are always at our games supporting us, so I thought I would come out and support them because this is like their game," Hannibal said. He mentioned that the showcase went really well and he appreciated the great variety.
The dance team continues to practice twice a week in preparation for their involvement with Relay for Life. They will be performing and teaching a Hip Hop workshop in front of Franz Hall at 10 p.m.
Mitchell hopes that the club and team will continue to flourish after she graduates. It's been her pride and joy over the past two years, and she wants to see improvements, such as garnering a coach and eventually making it to an official competition.
"It's hard for the program to grow because we're at a small school," Mitchell said. "But I'm hopeful for the future."
