After spending 40 minutes digging out a car from under the snow, nine members of SHEBA, along with this reporter, split off to pile into two cars. A suitcase and several duffel bags packed with costumes and makeup accompanied the dancers on their trip.
"I got all my accessories right in here," Richard Stephenson '12 said, pointing to his wheelie luggage bag.
For a while, the two cars lost each other on the highway. After a bout in heavy traffic, SHEBA finally arrived in Boston with just over an hour to change, put on makeup and prepare for an audition scheduled for 4:15 p.m. the group had initially planned to arrive at 1 p.m.
SHEBA received an e-mail invitation over the summer to audition for the talent competition, according to the dance group's co-director Lauren Gilhuly '11.
"We started planning out the routine for the audition this term and began practicing shortly after," Gilhuly said. "We performed the routine at AZD and Sigma Delt to test it out on audiences."
Joined by four members who were already in Boston, the dancers, now totaling 13, hustled into the convention center, baggage and all, as if they were catching a flight at Logan. They threw open their bags, ripped through their costumes including a pink sweatshirt with pink sunglasses and rushed into the nearest bathrooms to change quickly.
"You are about the witness the true art of turning into a SHEBAn," Stephenson told me.
Joseph Yi '13 had bought two t-shirts just for the audition. Initially, one of his group members, Walker Fisher '14, advised him to cut two strips down the front and back of one shirt and tuck them into his belt, but Yi decided to take a simpler fashion route.
With a pair of scissors, he cut the sleeves off both shirts and tore a hole through the outside shirt. Grinning, he informed me that he probably would not wear the shirts again.
"It's just for this one-time thing," Yi said.
Amidst all the excitement and hectic preparations, one group member, Korey McCants '11, realized he had not even told his family about the audition.
Another member, Liliana Kennedy-Paesler '14, had told her parents, and her mother, Christine Kennedy, decided to make the long trip from Raleigh, N.C. to see her daughter audition with the group.
"I left 78-degree weather to come enjoy the snow and the audition. It's just so fantastic that she's with such a great group of people," Kennedy said. "This is a great journey, wherever it takes them."
With about 10 minutes left before the audition, SHEBA assembled to do two quick practice runs as other audition groups, including a live statue group, two male gymnasts and another dance group dressed in black and red makeup practiced nearby. Kate Shelton '14 said she was not too nervous. Just afterwards, group member McCants called five minutes.
"Now I'm a little more nervous," Shelton admitted as she ran to the audition room where SHEBA was gathering.
The group cheered as a one-man band carrying drums labeled "Professor Paddywhack" left the audition room.
"You guys look fabulous!" he said, blowing a whistle as he passed.
They huddled together for one last pep talk.
"Do the dance, have fun," Stephenson said. "Please have fun, smile."
With that, the group members psyched themselves up with a pre-performance ritual, then quietly whispered, "SHEBA!"
As they entered the audition room, another complication surfaced the dance floor was too small. However, the group managed to work around the problem by expanding their dance onto the carpeted floor.
The audition facilitators no, SHEBA was unfortunately not performing in front of any celebrity judges asked a few basic questions: How long have you know each other? Where did you all meet? What are your majors?
The group began its 90-second audition piece with a deceptive "nerd" sequence to the Jeopardy theme song before breaking into standard form for Rihanna's "Rockstar 101" complete with the middle finger. Weeks of preparation had boiled down to these 90 seconds.
After the audition, the group was informed of the logistics of the audition process. The audition, which had been taped, would be sent to executives in Los Angeles to be reviewed, the facilitators said.
A decision will be made after two weeks and a notice will be sent sometime after three weeks, between late March and early April. If SHEBA moves on to the next stage, the group will audition in front of celebrity judges in New York.
On the car ride back to Hanover, members said they thought they did well. They were exhausted, though, having subsisted on granola bars and sandwiches for most of the day. But even the prospect of appearing on national TV does not absolve SHEBA members of the drudgery of schoolwork upon returning to campus, dancers set to work studying for exams and writing research papers due Monday.
