The members of Sarabande may be classically trained, but their show tonight is anything but a typical ballet recital.
The event, "Film Screening: Sarabande," unites four different styles of dance under a common theme: movie soundtracks. Each dance, whether it's ballet, jazz, modern or tap, will be performed to a song from a movie.
Some of the films in tonight's eclectic program include "Garden State," "Moulin Rouge," "Tarzan," "Napoleon Dynamite" and "West Side Story." The dances range from a modern routine set to Frou-Frou's "Let Go," to a tap dance to "Trashin' the Camp," to a jazz interpretation of "Roxanne."
Sarabande is the only dance group on campus that requires auditions for permanent members. Consequently, Sarabande tends to attract some of the highest caliber dancers on campus.
"We want people who can perform," junior treasurer Beck Rudney said of the group.
Every piece in tonight's program has been meticulously crafted, from synchronizing each tiny dance step, to perfecting the vibrant lighting, to sewing innumerable sequins onto costumes. While the dances and the show itself are skillfully planned and executed, the group hasn't been spared from challenges.
In the past two weeks, two Sarabande members have come down with mononucleosis, and another has landed in a sling. However, the group has worked together to overcome these challenges by putting new members into some dances, and reworking other dances so that they require fewer participants.
Sarabande's teamwork also manifests in the theme of their spring show's cohesiveness.
"We try to push ourselves as a team, which is why we came up with a theme. It's a challenge," junior treasurer Becky Rudner said.
Pizzonia said, "We've never had a theme before, so the show's really tying together in that way ... what we're exploring this semester is who we are as a group in the Tufts community."
Several guest groups will be joining Sarabande onstage tonight. Performances by Spirit of Color, Turbo, B.E.A.T.S, Major: Undecided, Tae Kwon Do and the Tufts Dance Collective will occur throughout the night.
Another group performing will be Phunk Phenomenon, the halftime dance team for the Boston Celtics. The team, which includes Sarabande and SOC alumni, will be opening the second act of "Film Screening."
"Phunk Phenomenon is bringing in a totally different atmosphere," Pizzonia said
A contest at intermission will also break up the night. Members of Sarabande will perform fouettes (quick whipping movements of the raised leg that normally accompany pirouettes, for those not fluent in ballet-speak,) while members of Turbo do spins, and the two groups will compete to see who can go on for longer.
While the dancers of Sarabande all have the required techniques down, they also have a little bit of something extra.
