17 groups perform at O-Dance Show

On Friday night, students from freshmen to seniors filled Shriver Hall in anticipation of the yearly JHU Orientation Dance Showcase, featuring 17 of Hopkins’ dance troupes performing dances from tap to ballroom to breakdancing. The speakers were oddly silent as the audience came in, so it felt as though the crowd was also subdued and toned down; the whole room generally felt slightly lacking in energy.

The evening began with a piece titled “En Coulisse” by JHU Ballet. Though the dancers seemed to be hesitant and were not entirely synchronized, by the end of the piece they had noticeably picked up their energy. Still, they were constantly graceful, poised and masterful in their steps and technique throughout the entire performance.

After this first group, all the lights went out, and the audience immediately began screaming in anticipation for the next dance troupe, Temps D’Afrique. As the dancers performed, the audience clapped along, which spurred on the performers and gave them more energy to work off of. The smiles on the faces of every performer in the group made it clear that they were happy and excited to be performing that evening.

The first and only tap dance group at Hopkins, Listen Up Tap, performed next with their short but very choreographed piece that showed off their talent. Not only did they use their feet to create their own “music,” but they also used other parts of their bodies, including their hands and chest, to keep the beat.

Hopkins Hareepa was next on the list. With their high-energy Indian and Pakistani dances, one could possibly say that this was the group that was the most beloved, just from the volume of cheers at the end of the dance. The dancers interacted with each other and demonstrated their stamina to keep up with a dance that featured complex steps and much memorization.

It is easy to see why the Ladybirds is considered the Official Dance Team of Hopkins. Not only were they sexy and alluring, but they were also flexible and performed complicated moves. The audience was excited to hear music that they recognized, since this group performed to a mash-up of well-known songs.

Although Egyptian Sun was a small group, their talent was obvious, as one of the dancers managed to balance a sword on her head the whole time, clearly only moving the lower part of her body. The other performers punctuated their performance with small cymbals, and the entire dance had a mystic, exotic feel to it.

Jaywalk performed to quite a few popular songs, ending with “Cosmic Love” by Florence & the Machine and employing a lot of difficult techniques. They were energetic and intense from beginning to end. Unlike the other groups, this group engaged in more interpretive dancing based on the lyrics of the piece.

S.L.A.M. was provocative and was one of the groups with the most ethnic diversity. Though it was a large group, the dancers worked well together and gave the audience an extremely memorable experience.

Energetic and all-girls, JOSH combined different South Asian style dances with popular western styles to present a colorful display of music, dance and costumes. Their performance was highlighted by many leaps and jumps, showing their endurance and energy from the moment the music began to the end of the piece.

The Johns Hopkins Ballroom performers turned their dance into a story of jilted lovers, which was extremely interesting Unfortunately, they were not very “together”. They also seemed to lack intensity until near the end of the piece. Still, the story helped to make up for the stiffness of the dance.

VIVAZ, a dance troupe influenced by styles of the Caribbean, Africa and the US, performed in a tight space, but they managed to keep the rhythm going. Their colorful style and costumes accentuated the dance and kept the audience’s eyes on them the whole time, from start to finish.

Utilitizing mostly hand and upper waist movements, the JHU Modern Dance Company performed a piece invoking the Virgin Mary. Accordingly, their interpretation of the piece involved praying to Mary and the miming of weeping. Their costumes also fit the mood of the piece well, creating a very cohesive piece overall.

Shakti could be heard before they were seen due to the jingly arm- and wristbands they wore. However, this Indian classical dance team were able to step together and keep the jingling from being scattered and overwhelming. Their hand gestures were very intricate, captivating and impressive.

The notes of Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek” introduced Eclectics, a group that blends dance forms not normally seen together. They used short and jerky movements and blended many different types of music, eventually ending with “Cosmic Love” by Florence & the Machine.

Masti was unique in that they employed umbrellas in their dance. This Bollywood and hip hop fusion dance group also created a story through their dance. Throughout the song, they lip-synched along, and the whole thing felt like a scene from a movie-musical where everyone starts spontaneously singing and dancing.

Chinese Lion Dancing is rather unique in that it involves a couple of lion costumes and focuses on storytelling, with the background music only composed of cymbals and drums. Although physically demanding, the dancers managed to make it look like some lions were prowling across the stage, and even made them seem adorable as well.

The JHU Bboys have been around since 2004, and this breakdancing group wowed the audience with their complicated and fast arm and leg movements, complete with spectacular spins and turns. Although the music stopped abruptly midway through their performance, they kept going, with the audience clapping along. This ended the show on a high note and left the audience going home in cheerful spirits.