One Morning After you are bound to enjoy

Have you ever been so happy that you just started to dance? Well, that's the case for the 230 dancers featured in this weekend's Tufts Dance Collective (TDC) end-of-semester concert, "The Morning After."

The feel-good theme kicks off the performance as the lights go up on several sleeping and clearly burnt-out dancers. The hungover bunch staggers off stage in what TDC's senior co-director Sean Bjerke describes as a "walk of shame type thing" (you know, "The Morning After..."). The only pair left on stage is perky as can be, as the two exclaim, "We were at the TDC show last night!"

"It's one thing to see people dancing, but it's another to see people having a good time," said Bjerke. And as the energetic show opens blasting James Brown's "I Feel Good," it's clear that having fun is what matters for these dancers. Their enthusiasm is contagious.

TDC differentiates itself from other on campus dance troupes by holding no auditions and having no cuts. The student organized group, headed by an executive board of five, gives anyone and everyone who wants it a chance to dance. The result is one "big melting pot of diversity," according to Bjerke. The dancers' diverse experiences and backgrounds are put to good use in the incredible variety of dance styles ranging from lyrical ballet to tap to hip hop and swing.

TDC participants first convene at the beginning of the semester at a general interest meeting, where there are usually upwards of 300 dancers. There, choreographers compile a list of about 18 dance numbers set to different music. Dancers are able to put their name on the list for up to three dances. Only 26 performers can be on stage at once, thereby limiting the number of overall dancers. Everyone is pretty much guaranteed to get into at least one of the numbers for which they signed up.

This process results in groups of performers ranging from those who have never slid into a pair of ballet slippers to some who have been dancing their entire lives. With such a variety of levels of experience and skill, it is essential that choreographers accommodate the mixture. The choreographers have obviously done their job in one number, "Good Vibrations," as simply synchronized dancers complement those doing back flips in the foreground.

It is also clear that the best moments in this show are not those of astounding artistic innovation, but rather moments of dancer-audience flirtation that make the performance so much fun. "It's all in the personality," said sophomore dancer Ali Blaufarb.

By tailoring a diverse show to the varied tastes of the audience, the TDC's co-directors ensure that "The Morning After" has a little something for everyone. Senior co- director Amanda Selden explainsed that the dancers and the audience fire each other up, and that the performers aren't afraid to start "shaking their hips and just doing silly things" to make sure that the audience is excited and having a good time.

"I think everyone who's in the show loves it," explained Selden. "And I've never heard anyone leave the show and say they had a bad time."

TDC creates a fun and welcoming atmosphere that is as engaging for the audience as it is for the dancers. "I've never been involved in organized dance before," said sophomore performer Julie Buce. "I feel worse than everybody, but loved by everybody."

TDC's original and fresh performance gains its strength from combining so many different levels of dance with just as many styles. From a jazz number complete with French subtitles and Frank Sinatra hats to a lyrical interpretation of Enya's "Return to Innocence," dancers and choreographers cater to every aesthetic out there, while simultaneously keeping the show fairly PG-13.

By including everyone who wants to participate, TDC has created a fun and interesting show that definitely has something for every member of the audience. After all, all you have to do is a have a good time and you're bound to start dancing.