The functions and festivities of Orientation 2008 drew to a close last Friday, Sept. 5 with the Hopkins Dance Showcase that featured electrifying performances by 10 dance groups.
With a respectably-sized audience watching, Friday night's dancers aimed to show off their moves - which they did - and ideally to attract the newest Hopkins students to join their ranks.
The Eclectics, a co-ed group that uses any dance style you can imagine, started the show-off with a routine choreographed to a medley of popular songs, including "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis and "Low" by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain.
Their performance alternated between the entire group being on stage and smaller subsets having their time to shine. Although dancers constantly were running on and off stage after the end of each song clip, the Eclectics's act not only remained cohesive, but they also all seemed to draw energy from one another.
Next up was JOSH, an all-girl dance team that blends components of Indian dancing with Western dance styles. JOSH incorporated hula hoops, ribbons on sticks from rhythmic gymnastics and a two-dimensional boat cut-out for a unique desert island theme.
Hopkins's youngest student dance group, Jaywalk, danced to Frou Frou's "Let Go," a song that became a huge hit as part of the movie soundtrack from Garden State. Though they had only five members, their graceful yet more modern spin on ballet was impressive.
In order to show the range of their capabilities, the JHU Modern Dance Company decided to present two contrasting routines for the showcase. The first had only three girls with large canes dancing to music that sounded like yodeling. Their performance, which was reminiscent of sheep herding, focused on flexibility and on combining contemporary dance with old-fashioned ideas.
The Modern Dance Company's second number was on the opposite end of the spectrum. Dressed in camouflage pants, they concocted an intense representation of war or a battlefield, using elements of ballet with a modern approach.
Shakti stood out from all the other performances in that the group relied on classical Indian dances, not to mention that they wore beautiful traditional costumes and anklets with bells called "gejje." The girls' extraordinary ability to twist their hands and fingers into complicated positions while staying in perfect sync with one another deserves much admiration.
Following Shakti was S.L.A.M., which stands for Stop and Look At Me. Dressed in red and black, this co-ed group of nine gave the edgiest hip-hop performance of the night and brought club dancing to a new level. S.L.A.M integrated moves like dancing against each other and forceful hip swinging, but the highlight was when one dancer jumped off the front of the stage, danced around and then flung himself back on the stage in what seemed like one extended motion. Advertising themselves as not just dancers but also as entertainers, S.L.A.M certainly delivered.
Like the Modern Dance Company, the JHU Ballet Company chose to choreograph multiple routines for the Orientation showcase. First off, ballerinas in black leotards and tights presented a short dance, but the Company really set itself apart when two of its dancers in elegant white tutus danced in flawless coordination, as they clasped one another's hands. After that, the ballerinas in black came out again, danced with fans and with the intent of expressing a mixture of flirtation and innocence.
Known as the Official Dance Team of JHU, the Ladybirds chose George Thorogood & the Destroyers' "Bad to the Bone" for the show. In colored bikini tops under black mesh shirts, the all-girl, student-run and student-choreographed group was athletic and seductive on stage.
Egyptian Sun, a belly dance troupe that accepts members from outside the Hopkins undergraduate community, was the second to last group of the evening. They showcased two individual performances and one that featured five belly dancers.
The first performer did an exotic belly dance while wearing a pleated cape which added an extra element of movement. The second Egyptian Sun solo act featured a sword balancer. She earned a loud applause from the audience as she kneeled down on the floor, shook her hips and shoulders back and forth, proceeding to lean her body back and then easing her way up to standing again without the sword falling.
Although the whole troupe only performed a short belly dance, they wowed the crowd with a routine that was distinct from the rest.
Hopkin's Breakdance Group, comprised of eight guys, proved to be the perfect finale. Each breakdancer took turns doing headstands while spinning, handstands with distorted arm and leg poses, back rolls, flips and other tricky moves on the floor.
The most exciting moment was when two performers balanced against each other as they held complex body positions and a third jumped over them; At that point the cheering was louder than the background music.
The Hopkins Dance Orientation Showcase was short but sweet, with a taste of the diversity of talent the University's dance program has to offer.
