The Michigan Theater is a building whose beauty rivals even that of Hill Auditorium. This was my second time visiting the theater and my first time sitting on the balcony, which is a whole new experience. The setting itself was astounding, but that was nothing compared to the dance competition.
The event started around 7pm. Nova Nassa was the first team to compete. Their theme was “Finding Nima,” a spin off of the movie, Finding Nemo. They kicked the night off with a high energy performance, the highlight, in my opinion, being when one of the team members did a back flip from the wings onto the stage. The stunt was perfectly timed, with strobe lights beginning the second his feet touched the ground. The team executed many synchronized lifts, creating depth within their members with some dancing on their knees.
The second team to take the stage was UIUC Fizaa. Their theme was “Knockout” and it was about a girl who started boxing in order to better control her anger. Their costumes were very well-coordinated with said theme, everyone dressed in reds or pinks. At one point, there was an amazing mass lift in which every female team member onstage was lifted from the legs and spun around in a graceful, synchronized maneuver. This team used lighting well, and during the final fight scene, their dance was made even more dramatic by the dark light sequence.
The third team, Broad Street Baadshahz, an all male fusion team from Philadelphia, danced for “The Pursuit of Happiness.” They began under a colorful backdrop, with an upbeat dance number. The mood, however, soon turned, illustrating that the pursuit of happiness isn’t always an easy journey. Later, they used colored saaps to illustrate solving rubix cubes, which was pretty cool. Their team was set apart from the others because they had a live singer in the front of the stage.
After BSB, UNC Chalkaa started their performance. Their story was that a group of people got caught in a Super Mario Bros game, ending with the main couple getting engaged. This team used lights onstage as opposed to just those on the ceiling, creating a more interactive performance in which the audience was further subjected to more dramatic parts of the dance. There was an instance in which the male lead “died,” but was soon revived by the classic 1-up green mushroom dancing across the stage.
There was an intermission, and then the board members were introduced.
The fifth team to dance was Temple Agni. They were an all female group also from Philadelphia. Their story consisted of a president coerced into sending her troops to war because her daughter was kidnapped. The daughter was later murdered, and the president revealed the moral of the story: all lives are important. She did not send her troops to war for that reason. The dance itself was invigorating, showing the daughter’s metaphorical revival through dancing.
After Temple Agni, OSU Genesis took the stage. They are an all male fusion team. They reenacted the story of Peter Pan. They had a very cool promo video, with very poetic narration. This team also used onstage lights and they told the tale behind Captain Hook’s hatred for Peter Pan. They used shadows against the far wall to create a more dramatic setting. At the conclusion of the dance, their story seemed unresolved. It ended with Hook taking Pan’s hand, almost an eye for an eye sort of theme.
The Slu Shakti team went next. Their theme was a spin off of the movie, Brave. They used lights on the brim of the stage (pictured below) and Roman themed columns and torches that had lights placed into them for effect. Their costume colors also corresponded for most of the light sequences, their main colors blue and green. This team also used shadows against the far wall (also pictured below) and discussed the necessity of breaking old traditions to create new ones.
The final team in this competition was Rutgers S.A.P.A. They told the story of the struggles of a transgender student, using the popular movie, Inside Out, as their theme. They even used light colors to illustrate which mood was being used (ex. green lights meant Disgust was telling her story).
After that, the main coordinators of the event came onstage and discussed their purpose for the event: to raise awareness for human trafficking. They promoted endslaverynow.org, which is an awesome place for people around the world to get involved in solving this global issue.
The exhibition act, Furteelay Shokeen, appeared onstage next. They are Detroit’s premier all-male bhangra team. They were incredibly popular and used fire and a live drummer to pump up the crowd.
OSU Genesis won the best mix award and they placed second in the overall competition. The best male lead was given to Captain Hook from Genesis, as well. UIUC won third place with Slu Shakti taking first.
