They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. It would have been nice if this article about Saturday night’s Step It Up and Dance performance could have been accompanied by photos – I even brought a camera with me to the Concert Hall and everything. Sadly, an accident took place involving some absentmindedness, a purse, and a water bottle that tends to spring leaks. So you’ll have to make do with a thousand words as I try my best to describe what Step It Up and Dance looked like.
This year was the second (and hopefully annual) performance of Step It Up and Dance, a dance concert whose aim is to “explore the diversity of black movement.” The performance was even more popular than the first Step It Up, as the Concert Hall was packed up to the balconies even five minutes before the show was to start. The crowd made it no secret that they liked the performance. Each of the four acts was met with riotous applause.
The first performance, done by ASEAP, was all the more impressive because all of the dancers were kids. They hail from the Hopkins Public Schools in our very own Twin Cities. The next two troupes, Alpha Phi Alpha and Omega Psi Phi, are both part of the fraternity tradition of black dance. The leader of Alpha Phi Alpha explained to us some of the history of their dance: in the 1930’s and 40’s, men of the fraternities would go out to the college yard and use these dances to show off to the other frats.
Did your high school have a dance drill team? The performances of ASEAP, Alpha Phi Alpha, and Omega Psi Phi were a little bit like that, with a hearty dose of ROTC mixed in. All four of the performances were different, though, ranging the spectrum from dance-like to drill-like.
The finale of the evening was done by Full Effect, a professional team from Chicago. The theme of their dance was the Flintstones, complete with purple dinosaur and lines from the show melded into the music. Full Effect danced out Fred’s misadventures with his boss and his mother-in-law. It all ended well.
Step It Up and Dance was made possible by a partnership between the Black Student Alliance and Campus Activities. Hopefully, Carleton students will be able to enjoy this performance again next year.
P.S. My camera was just fine after I let it drain for 24 hours. So no worries. There will be photos in future articles.