Two sophomores recently created Sheba, a new student hip-hop dance group, to fill the void left by other campus dance groups.
"There are a lot of undergraduates here who have had dancing experience [but there was no opportunity at Dartmouth] to do the type of hip-hop modern dance that they love so much," said one of Sheba's co-founders Jennifer Pollina '97.
In answer, Pollina said she created Sheba.
"It's a forum to choreograph our own numbers and perform them," Pollina said.
Co-founder Shelley Castro '97, who has been dancing since she was four-years-old, said she felt exisiting student dance groups were too structured or not modern enough to suit her taste.
Castro said the group's dance style, described as hip-hop in its constitution, is similar to what you would see on MTV videos, particularly those by singer Janet Jackson.
Pollina said Castro chose the name Sheba.
"It's just something that stands out in your mind," Pollina said.
Castro said she and Pollina held an informal meeting recently to gauge how many students might be interested in joining the dance group.
About 20 students came to the meeting, so Pollina said the group, which is limited to 20 dancers, will hold auditions one week from today to determine its members.
At the auditions, Pollina said each dancer will be required to present a one-minute routine.
"It's just to display a good representation of what they like to do and their ability to dance and choreograph," Pollina said.
But with the bulk of the student body being off-campus during the summer, Castro said it would be unfair to fill up all the group's places at this time.
Sheba, Castro said, will practice probably twice a week, depending on members' schedules.
"Each [dancer] will be assigned different portions of the dance to teach the group," she said. "It will be self-choreographed."
Pollina said the group is looking for dancers of different "flavors."
"A group rests upon its members' ability to choreograph," she said.
Castro said she imagines the group will perform at College events and hold its own perfomances.
Pollina said she hopes Sheba's first performance will take place next spring.
Pollina said she and Castro will both be off-campus during Fall and Winter terms and so are looking for committed students to keep the group up-and-running until the spring.