By Mike Rougeau
Fans of dance troupes made popular by movies like “Step Up” and TV shows like “America’s Best Dance Crew” gathered in Blackman Auditorium last night for the second annual “Dance For Me” dance competition.
Sponsored by the South Asian Student Organization (UTSAV), Northeastern Filipino culture group Barkada and the Council for University Programs (CUP), the performance and competition benefited the Sociedad Latina’s Unique Rhythm Dance program, which “uses dance to promote cultural identity and pride through music and performance” among Boston youths ages 14 to 18, according to the organization’s website.
Ten Northeastern groups performed during the nearly three-hour event, and the three judges commented on each performance once it was completed.
The night kicked off with a performance from Barkada’s dance team. The group, consisting of about 25 male and female students, was one of the largest to compete. The judges – one student, an alumna and a professor – said they admired the group’s energy and presentation, but recommended they work on synchronizing their movements more precisely.
Three members of the dance group “Jump Move,” whose specialties are step and double-dutch style dancing, performed a number they said they had been practicing for over a week.
Two members of the group, freshman business management major Brittany Chambers and junior English and cinema studies major Constance Thomas, said they weren’t worried prior to their performance.
“I’m really excited to do what I have to do,” Thomas said. “I hope people enjoy it.”
Stephen Lavenberg, CUP’s vice president for collaboration, helped organize the event while also performing with other members of CUP.
Despite the group’s lack of dance experience, it managed to accurately imitate the aerobic-themed music video for Eric Prydz’s song “Call on Me,” garnering laughs from the audience and judges alike.
“We were just having fun with it,” Lavenberg said. “Our dance experience is spotty at best.”
Other highlights included the all-female Northeastern University Dance Team, who performed to a medley of different versions of “We Will Rock You” by Queen, and the Kaliente team, four male-female couples who performed a mixture of Salsa, Cha-Cha and hip-hop dances. In addition, dance crew Kinematix’s female members performed a near-perfect routine, according to all three judges, and UTSAV’s NU Bhangra team, sporting semi-traditional garb and a high level of enthusiasm, impressed the crowd and the judges.
Kinematix placed first overall, with UTSAV’s NU Bhangra placing second and Jump Move earning the award for crowd favorite.
Lavenberg said the event was more successful than he had hoped it would be.
“There were a lot of people involved, but everything came together smoothly,” he said. “The groups were all fantastic. A lot of people came out to support a good cause.”
Nicki Ruiz de Luzuriaga, arts and wellness coordinator at the Sociedad Latina, said she was surprised when Lavenberg contacted the organization and offered to give them the proceeds.
“It was a little bit out of the blue, but it was great,” she said. “It’s nice to know there are folks out there who care and want to donate.”
She said the Sociedad Latina, located at 1530 Tremont St. in Roxbury, is in the process of strengthening ties to Northeastern.
“We have a lot of volunteers that come from there, since they’re so close by,” she said.
Luzuriaga also said the volunteers help the youths with choreography and practice.
Lavenberg said the program seemed like the perfect organization to donate to.
“I figured, what better charity to try and look for than one that is an after school dance program?” he said. “We were fortunate to find basically exactly what we were looking for: the dance group that keeps kids involved with positive activities outside of school.”
He said that CUP plans on holding the event again next year, but said the group will try to streamline it to make it shorter.
Clara Rice, a junior photography major, felt the event would have been more effective if the judges took less time to speak, but said she enjoyed most of the performances.
“I liked the variation a lot,” Rice said. “It went from groups like CUP, who obviously don’t dance, to groups like Kinematix, who all they do is dance everywhere.”
