Dance Groups Gear Up For Competition

Boston MA

21 March, 2022

11:36 AM

Description

By Katherine Canniff, Josie McNeill and Paterson Tran, The Heights March 21, 2022 The Brighton Dance Studios have been abuzz with activity in recent weeks. Hip-hop music pounds against the building's walls. Tap shoes leave scuff marks on the scarred floor of a studio room, and feet pad gently against the surface as dancers saunter over to grab sips of water. Dancers from 16 of Boston College's dance teams trickle into the hallway, lining up at the water fountain. Dance teams have been practicing their routines for ALC Showdown, set to take place on March 19, in spaces across campus from Brighton Dance Studios to Carney Hall. But even as dancers pass each other in the halls of the dance studio, they won't divulge any details about their team's chosen theme for the performance, according to Angela Liew, co-president of AEROdynamiK Dance Crew (AeroK) and Lynch '22. "Your theme is your biggest secret weapon," Liew said. Kathleen Fox, co-president of BC Irish Dance and CSOM '22, said that keeping the group's theme a secret builds suspense for the competition. "We're all technically rehearsing for the same performance, and there's just an underlying understanding that if we keep each other's secrets it will be better anyway," Fox said. According to Destiny Gonzalez, president of Phaymus Dance Entertainment and MCAS '24, the competition aspect fuels teams to deliver their best performances on the Conte Forum stage. "The competition piece is always fun," Gonzalez said. "We love all the other dance organizations, but it does give everyone a little bit more of an incentive to dance a little harder and really just go out there and try your best. It guarantees excellence all around." This year's Showdown competition is taking place earlier in the semester than in past years. Showdown 2019 took place on April 1, and 2018's competition was held on April 15. This weekend's competition will mark the return of this BC tradition after two years of cancellations. In 2020, students were sent home in March due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic before competition could take place. But, in the frenzied days of packing up dorm rooms, dancers got together for an impromptu performance of their unfinished routines on the lawn in front of 2150 Commonwealth Ave. Last year, ALC canceled the event in response to racially biased incidents on campus and planning difficulties brought on by the pandemic. Instead, OSI offered dance groups time to record their performances in Conte Forum. According to Lubens Benjamin, UGBC chair of the AHANA+ Leadership Council (ALC) and CSOM '23, the Showdown planning committee informed the dance teams on Dec. 17 that the competition would happen in the spring to gauge the teams' interest in participation. After coordinating with the BC athletics calendar and the availability of the arena, Benjamin informed teams of the competition date on Jan. 27. Benjamin said that the Showdown planning team secured additional practice space for dance teams to help them prepare for the earlier competition date. Sixteen dance groups will participate in the competition this year. Sexual Chocolate, Full Swing, and Females Incorporating Sisterhood Through Step (F.I.S.T.S.) did not respond to requests for comment. After learning about the earlier date of this year's competition, presidents of the dance teams sent a letter to ALC requesting that the competition take place later in the semester, according to Danielle Salina, president of Boston College Dance Ensemble (BCDE) and MCAS '22. Matthew Razek, the Office of Student Involvement's (OSI) associate director of student programming and UGBC's advisor, said that the date could not be changed due to the availability of Conte Forum and the availability of GBM6, the production company working to put on the show. "Before locking this day in, we did all that we could to see if there was a later day option knowing that later is preferred by the performance groups" Razek said in an email. "But when that wasn't looking possible, we didn't want to lose out on the opportunity to host the show this year (or delay solidifying a date so teams could plan ahead) and determined that the show must go on." This story was originally published by The Heights, the student run news publication at Boston College.