Winter Carnival is an opportunity for the College community to get involved in various winter activities both out in the snow and inside. Once the skis were put away and the last snowball was thrown, student performers moved indoors, broke out their dance moves and exercised their vocal cords at student shows that made this snowy weekend unforgettable to arts audiences.
Performing to a packed audience at Sarner Underground on Friday, Sheba, Sugarplum and Raaz competed in a dance showcase, sponsored by Collis After Dark, to kick off the masquerade-themed "Carniball" event. After hours of competition, Sugarplum, a contemporary dance group based on ballet fundamentals, walked away with a $500 prize.
The dance-off was included in this year's Carnival program as a last-minute decision to coincide with the College's Year of the Arts initiative, Sugarplum member Veronica Burt '16 said. Because student dance groups were notified just two weeks in advance of the performance date, only three groups were able to compete.
Hip-hop dance troupe Ujima was unable to participate because of time constraints, but believe the event was a great opportunity to showcase student dance and hope to participate in future years, member Hersh Trivedi '16 said.
Participating dance groups were driven by the competitive spirit of the event, Sheba member Peter Hsieh '16 said. In addition to being able to see other groups show off their styles, the event provided "healthy competition and a motivation to do better since there was more at stake on stage," he said.
Burt said she looks forward to the competition expanding in the future, and that inviting different dance groups on campus for a larger performance would more effectively entice the student community to further support the arts.
Despite the competitive nature of the event, the dance-off created a sense of unity, proven by how supportive everyone was of each other and of other groups backstage, Burt said.
"Each different dance group caters to a specific audience, so it brings so many different people together and also promotes dance groups in general," Trivedi said.
Urban dance group Sheba, Sugarplum and Indian-inspired dance ensemble Raaz each performed a four-minute set and audience members were given tickets to cast votes for their favorite performance.
"It had great music and catered to a much wider audience," Trivedi said.
Burt said that Sugarplum plans to use their prize money to rent out Moore Theater for a showcase next term. Moving out of fraternity spaces would allow Sugarplum to create a "more powerful and vibrant" arts culture on campus, Burt said.
"We are hoping that the showcase will be the start of a new tradition for us and will be a nice send-off for the seniors who started the group, letting them know that we are going to keep building," Burt said.
On Friday, the Sing Dynasty presented Winter Whingding, an annual a capella show celebrating the coed group's fifth anniversary.
The show, held at Spaulding Auditorium, featured an array of student performers, including Dartmouth Idol finalist Jeremy Whitaker '15 and a dance set by Sheba. Vassar College's oldest coed a capella group, Matthew's Minstrels, could not attend as scheduled due to inclement weather conditions.
Winter Whingding was hosted by Sarah Wildes '13 and Sean Kaufman '13.
"A number of our alumni were able to make it to the concert and performed with us in final song of the concert," Sings president Bobby Arao '13 said. "It was Can't Take My Eyes Off of You,' the first song our group ever sang at a show at EBA's with Casual Thursday in spring 2008."
While maintaining these old traditions, the Sings also worked to incorporate new arrangements with classic numbers.
"As has always been the case with our group, we were looking to perform songs from a variety of genres," Arao said. "This was our first time hosting a rotation show as a group, and the Sings were looking forward to putting on an energetic and entertaining performance."
The show provided the opportunity to focus on musical techniques collectively as a group, Sings member Silpa Raju '16 said.
"The vibe we collectively feel when we sing together is powerful, and it's neat to be interconnected that way," Raju said. "We wanted to focus on performance, but also on pure musicality and dynamic control."
In addition to focusing on voice techniques, the group aimed to appeal to a diverse audience, with songs ranging from Mika's energetic "Big Girl" to Adele's soulful "Skyfall."
"We might be able to breathe a little easier now that the big show is over, but that doesn't mean we'll stop working," member Jeff Bass '16 said. "I know that the Sings have a ton of untapped potential that can take us even further than we've already come."
