One hundred sexy and extremely talented male and female dancers, great music, lots of fun... What is it? It is this semester's Spirit of Color performance, entitled, "Dynomania - An Irresistible Urge to Dance." It's an unusually active night, with two acts of hip-hop, street jazz, and jazz, with a twist of ethnic influence. Each piece is full of energy, precision, and excitement.
Spirit of Color director Kim Wong called it "the biggest party Tufts throws - so full of energy, spirit, and fun." The show opens with an entertaining "behind-the-scenes" video of Spirit of Color. It features clips of the choreographers and dancers working hard in rehearsal to learn all their moves in preparation for the big night and, it seems, having a great time, too.
Then the live performance begins, and the dancers show the audience just what they can do onstage - everything from break-dancing to kicking to STOMPing to simply dancing their hearts out, all to popular music. Some of the music is from the Nutty Professor II soundtrack ("Just Friends"), music by Michael Jackson ("Thriller" and "The Way You Make Me Feel"), Method Man ("Even If"), and various other artists.
Also, Spirit of Color holds its infamous annual dance contest halfway through the evening: for better or for worse, it tests the audience members' abilities to get their own grooves on.
"The audience has as much fun as the dancers, screaming and yelling," sophomore assistant director Jocelyn Hall said. Each year tends to feature highly animated show-goers.
Spirit of Color is a TCU funded dance group founded by Tufts students in 1996. It is a student-run organization that puts on incredibly energized performances of student-choreographed dances. Most of its shows are played at the end of each semester to sold-out audiences.
At the beginning of each semester, Spirit of Color holds a general meeting so that the choreographers can share their different ideas about the various individual dances. Students then audition for the offered dances and practice one to two hours a week until the show. Of course, the final week or so becomes a little more hectic, as everyone puts the finishing touches on the dances, and ties the entire show together. There are about three dances that are open to all dancers, and close to 20 dances total each semester. No previous dancing experience is necessary - only the ability and desire to move your body and have a good time.
Interested? Come see this semester's show on Friday, December 1, 2000 at 8 p.m. in Cohen Auditorium. Tickets are on sale now for $5 at the Balch Arena Box Office.
