For the dancers of AU in Motion, this weekend was the culmination of a difficult semester.
The largest student-run dance organization at AU performed in front of a packed audience of students and family members in the University Club on April 20 and 21.
The showcase’s title “Under Pressure” refers to the difficulties the organization had this semester to produce a show.
Executive Director Juliette Blank remarked that the members had to scout multiple locations on and off campus because their preferred stage, the Greenberg Theatre, was booked.
Once they had the venue, they had to hire their own workers, find their own special dance floor and set up their own lights.
But despite the stressful rehearsals and problems offstage, there was no sign of that while they performed. Instead of the tired faces during practice, there were glowing and assured performers onstage.
The showcase presented a variety of styles ranging from hip-hop to Irish folk dances. The night began with a dubstep piece where the dancers donned masks and gloves that glowed in the dark that made the audience scream.
The next couple pieces in the first act included graceful ballerinas, tap dancers, impressive solos and a guest performance by the Kaution Dance Kru, a D.C.-based dance group.
After the intermission, the performers came back with choreography that involved stories or fused multiple styles. One piece choreographed to “Jai Ho vs. O Saya” by Artistic Director Alina Imam mixed Bollywood with ballet and jazz.
“The girls were being pushed to do their best because it is very aerobic,” Imam said.
The last piece choreographed by Daniel Leon told the story of a guy dating a “fly girl” but kept getting seduced by a stripper. The stripper and the fly girl, along with their group, fight for his attention but in the end, the guy leaves with the fly girl and leaves the stripper dead on the floor.
For some of the dancers, these performances felt personal. Augusto Gebel, a sophomore in the School of International Service, played the male lead in the last piece. He said the song “Climax” by Usher used in the last piece was especially personal.
“I really like this girl and when she walks away, I feel lost,” Gebel said.
Mostly, however, the performances were a form of release from the pressure they have been on all semester long.
The dancers have worked so hard to put on a good show that hearing the uproarious cheers from the audience as the show finished was gratifying.
“Getting to this point is relieving,” Leon said. “[The show] is built on the dancers that even though we are not in the theater we want, the show is still great.”
