At a school full of traditions like Dartmouth, it’s no surprise that sophomore summer — a quintessential Dartmouth experience — contains many of its own. For one, the opportunity to join a summer performance group is a highly anticipated part of many students’ Dartmouth experience. Dance, a capella and comedy groups all host open auditions for students on campus and welcome dozens of new members for the term. For existing members of full-year groups, the chance to perform in a new ensemble allows them to explore new artistic styles and expand their creative boundaries.
The names of the summer dance and a capella groups are creative spin-offs of their full-year names. Among the dance groups, Fusion becomes Fission; Raaz, Raazberry; Sheba, Shebalite; Sugarplum, Splenda; and Ujima, Ujimelt. As for the a capella groups, the Brovertones become the Stepbros; the Dodecaphonics, Summerphonix; the Subtleties, the Doms; the Sings, the Summer Sings. The Aires, Cords and Rockapellas do not have summer groups.
Similarly, sketch comedy group Can’t Sell Culture becomes Can’t Rent Culture, and the improv groups Casual Thursday and Dog Days become Summer Casual Thursday and Dog Days of Summer, respectively.
Jay Nathan ’27 — a full-year member of the Aires — said he joined the Doms and Shebalite this summer to “diversify [his] performance outlet.”
“[Singing] is something that’s always been really important to me and … brings a lot of balance to my academic life,” he explained. “And then I’m getting to explore something completely new, which is dancing, [which] has been a fun way to tap into an even newer side of myself that I’ve never fully tapped into before.”
Will Vrattos ’27, a full-year member of the Brovertones and summer-term member of Can’t Rent Culture, said he joined the comedy group because he has “always been a little obsessed” with watching sketch comedy.
Over the past several terms, he has also been exploring sketch writing. This spring, a sketch he helped write was even performed by Can’t Sell Culture. This experience further inspired him to audition for the summer group.
“All the people I saw audition and get into the group were hilarious and really good performers, so it will be fun to perform with a bunch of talented, funny people,” Vrattos said.
He added that part of the appeal of joining a summer performance group is the opportunity to let loose in a lower-pressure environment.
“I’m definitely excited to write some sketches and hoping that, because it’s the summer, people won’t be as cautious about how the crowd is going to react, or whether stuff will play with an audience,” he said. “Maybe we’ll be able to be a little more out there, and try some crazy ideas for sketches.”
Nathan also invoked the theme of experimenting during sophomore summer, pushing past comfort zones.
Even though he’s no stranger to a capella, he explained that singing with the Doms has allowed him to engage with music through a new lens. For example, whereas the Aires are an all-male group, the Doms are co-ed.
“[Singing with the Doms] expands my view of how to approach this art that I might think I know a lot about, but there’s a lot more to it,” he said.
On the other side of the process, Vratos has enjoyed welcoming new members to the Brovertones. He explained that their varying musical backgrounds introduces a refreshing challenge to the learning process.
“Some of [the summer members] have sung a lot before; some of them aren’t singers but have a lot of musical experience, and can read music really well,” he said. “It’s interesting to see where different people are at.”
Margaret de la Fuente ’27, who has danced in both Sugarplum and Ujima during the school year and is involved in both Splenda and Ujimelt this summer, said the opportunity to work with new members of both dance groups has helped her “grow a lot” as a dancer and teacher.
“I’ve grown a lot in my teaching abilities — even in the past two weeks — just thinking about how to teach things in a way that makes sense to people who don’t have dance experience,” de la Fuente said. “I think it’s really fun getting to do choreos we had done in the past and learn them through the lens of a teacher.”
Nathan added that he has found a strong sense of community in Shebalite in the process of learning the new art form, feeling that dance lends itself to social connection.
“Inherently, there’s a lot of fluidity and this carefree feeling that comes with the art of dancing and expressing and moving your body,” he said. “I think that, in a way, translates to some kind of social fluidity… it’s a very quick way to connect with people. And I love it.”
Annabelle Zhang '27 is a reporter and editor from New Jersey. In the classroom, she studies Geography and Government modified with Philosophy and Economics. She enjoys creating recipes, solving puzzles and listening to music.
