The crooning voices of 3LW reverberate at ear-splitting volume off the walls of a dense, chambered room. Forty bodies, clad head to toe in cat-black attire, move in perfect synchronization. An air of excitement pervades the scene, felt both by the onstage performers and the expectant viewing audience. The event? The Mahogany Dance Troupe's pre-performance dress rehearsal.
The ensemble, which prides itself on its racial diversity and ability to have a good time, is preparing for their fall recital.
Friday's performance is made up of a variety of different dances, encompassing everything from hip-hop to lyrical modern. Though the repertoire adheres greatly to urban contemporary songs, (think Pink, N'Sync and NERD), past shows have incorporated anything from ballet to African movement into their program.
The show is choreographed entirely by students and exhibits fresh movement and technique that speaks to today's music genre. "We have a lot of new members and new talent," says Vicky Jones, the group's head coordinator.
In the past, choreography has been written primarily by older students. This semester, however, several first years have braved the task, adding new and distinct style to the ensemble.
The Mahogany Dance Ensemble is composed of 75 dancers -- some dance veterans and some new proteges. "Even if you're not the best dancer, everyone else helps you out," second-year College student Jobila Williams said. "That's what's great [about the club]
everyone just has fun."
All members seem to agree that the group shares a distinct closeness and openness that they have not found in other activities. "Dancers are usually trained as individuals, to look out for themselves," Jones said. "The great thing about Mahogany is that it's not like that
we don't have to have social events because every practice is a social event."
Lookin' for something to do with your Friday night? "If you wanna get down" with 3LW and a few hours of invigorating hip-hop, come to the Mahogany Dance Troupe's fall show for a little bit of attitude and a lot of fun.
(The performance will be held this Friday at 8 p.m. in the Newcomb Hall Ballroom. Tickets are $5 at the door or $3 in advance on the day of the performance, and can be purchased in front of Newcomb.)
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
