A smorgasbord of talent

This past Saturday night, the Sarabande Supershow brought 11 different on campus performing arts groups together in an eclectic mix of genres. Following Saturday's performances, a few things became clear: pirates are always funny, mimes are not necessarily creepy, and Michael Jackson and construction workers are somehow a perfect match.

Sarabande, an all female dance troupe, makes their Supershow an opportunity for Tufts students to see a variety of groups they might not normally see or even know about. According to Supershow producer Sarah Fiorello, Sarabande works hard to get diversity in the acts. "We try to choose up-and-coming acts and groups that don't have their own show," she said. Sarabande's efforts to represent "a conglomeration of everything going on on campus" made the show interesting and unpredictable.

The show appropriately opened with Sarabande, who performed a dreamlike dance to Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life." Sarabande uses material one wouldn't normally associate with traditional dance styles; other routines were choreographed to Tori Amos's "Crucify," Ani Difranco's "OK," and the Rolling Stones' "Miss You."

Sarabande's more traditionally styled dances provided a strong foil to the other more unconventional acts of the evening. The first non-Sarabande group to perform was B.E.A.T.S., which brought its usual energy and thing-banging abilities to the stage. One of the coolest segments in its routine was a hand-slapping bit which far surpassed any playground "Miss Mary Mack" game you may remember from elementary school.

The next group up was Spirit of Color with "Work Me Down," which was welcomed onto stage with cries of "Let's go, 80's!" It's hard to say whether it was the impossibly high kicks or the sparkly red armbands that were more incredible. As one of the more athletic dances of the night, it definitely got the crowd excited for what else was to come.

Next up was the Arab Students Association, which performed a belly dance. The dancers sexily undulated to the sounds of accompanying instruments, which were also provided by the Arab Students Association. The dance lost its momentum in the middle, when a long pause almost wiped out the energy of the first part of the act. Luckily, the second half more than made up for any lags in action.

Hype struck a chord with anyone who had a bad roommate experience their freshman year. Their "Tilton 215" routine showcased an interaction between one innocent girl and one total jerk. With only a few boxes to serve as beds, Hype created a make shift dorm room in which the horrible roommate committed every possible ResLife infraction: drinking, smoking, and using drugs in the room; hooking up on the roommate's bed; puking on the floor; stealing the roommate's perfume. Hype's routine was innovative, not relying on standard mime tricks like the "glass box" or the "invisible rope."

After the intermission, Tufts Dance Collective presented "The Way You Make Me Feel." A bevy of dancers wearing jeans, wife-beaters, and construction helmets leapt enthusiastically across the stage. As usual, TDC had a ton of dancers, but each one was clearly so excited to be a part of the routine that the energy grew exponentially throughout the dance.

The improv troupe Cheap Sox put on a brief but funny "Dinner Party," appealing to the audience to give roles to the players which included lovers, pirates, and conjoined twins that work at the U.N. Johnny Depp might have had some criticism for the pirates' accents, but the skit was well-played and illustrated Cheap Sox' ability to think on its feet.

Cheap Sox also provided the show's hosts, Allan Rice and Graham Griffin. The two were able to work around technical difficulties, the death of a beloved bug, and an onstage spat to reconcile in an extremely touching performance of "Total Eclipse of the Heart."

The last non-Sarabande act was the Tufts Garba Team with a dynamic and flashy routine. At one point the dancers were spinning so fast that bracelets flew off their wrists and rolled off the stage. Cool tricks like leapfrog jumps and complicated stick-throwing made the traditional Indian dance exciting for everyone.

After the show, Cohen Auditorium's lobby was full of people marveling at the acts they had seen that night. The appreciation went both ways: "the audience was great and we had a good mix of groups from around campus to make a good show," Fiorello said.