Despite a less-than-enthusiastic audience and some technical difficulties, last Sunday's Supershow proved to be a successful evening of dancing, singing, and laughing. Hosted annually by Sarabande, Tufts' auditioned dancing troupe, Supershow features appearances from almost all of Tufts' performing groups and is one of the most anticipated on-campus events of the year. Supershow acts as a sort of teaser - focusing on Sarabande's various performances, while giving the audience a taste of what other performing groups are up to and showcasing some of the best talent Tufts has to offer.
Students who escaped from the warmth of the library to brave the cold of Cohen Auditorium were treated to Sarabande's diverse dancing talents. From Rebecca Stone's classical ballet rendition of Celine Dion's "Water From the Moon" to Christina Lachance's creative tap routine, "Hoofin'," and Michelle Clair's playful "Sneaky," the dancers and choreographers proved that hard work and training pay off.
"Fur Elise," also choreographed by Rebecca Stone, opened the evening and set the unspoken theme of Supershow: classical training applied to modern style. A single ballerina graced the stage, dancing to "Fur Elise," which soon morphed into a "Fur Elise Remix" as more dancers flanked the ballerina and the style changed from classical to popular. Sarabande's dancers, for the most part, come to Tufts with traditional training under their belts. Participation in Sarabande allows them to take their foundations and experiment with newer forms, choreographing and dancing to their own kinds of music.
Particularly successful was Marin Blake's "Full Circle," choreographed to "Coyote" by Yo Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin. With mellow lighting and rhythmic, pulsing dancing, the performance gave an underwater, cyclic atmosphere to the stage. In a similar style was "As Is," choreographed by Blake and Gillian Galen. The dancing took the meaning of Ani Difranco's song to another level, featuring a circle of women surrounding and supporting a dancer center-stage and suggesting girl power and unity.
Interspersed between Sarabande's performances were cameos from other on-campus groups, including other dance companies, theater, mime, and improv troupes. The surprise of the evening was the Ballroom Dance performance. Anyone who has toured campus knows about our famed ballroom dancing club, but how many students who aren't already involved in ballroom actually make the effort to watch them? The dancers put on a great show, complimenting Sarabande's theme of classical training imposed upon younger styles. Dancers began in traditional, formal style and attire and soon moved into a more enthusiastic swing, ending to "Let's Get Loud." If the dancing wasn't enough to catch your attention, then the outfits were -girls in too-short skirts and beaded mesh tops proved that ballroom dancing can appeal to a younger crowd.
Spirit of Color, whose own show will be on Dec. 1, demonstrated its own style of street dancing reminiscent of popular music videos. This is a good thing: dancers silhouetted by a red backdrop, sporting bowlers and black outfits and moving to a funky beat were quietly sexy while still being technically precise and "cool."
Tufts Dance Collective filled the stage with an elaborate tangle of dancers, choreographed by Kate Holohan and Elaine Wang to Dido's "Here With Me." Though the song is overplayed on the radio, creative choreography, and sheer power in the numbers of dancers gave it a new feel. Dancers took the stage, opening in an intricate pose and dispersing to fill every corner with motion. Though TDC dancers traditionally come from different backgrounds - some with lots of training and some with none - dancers like Dena Chase and Leslie Kung showed that hard work and raw talent can be just as effective as years of performing.
Bringing new meaning to the term, "cool guy," Tufts' only breakdancing troupe, Turbo, busted out to "Tennessee." Introduced by Masters of Ceremony Sean Cusick and Jeremy Goldstein as the Clark Kent to the Daily Editorial Board's Superman.
Dancing aside, Supershow also featured performances from less musical student groups. The Traveling Treasure Trunk performed Preetha Mani's adaptation of William Steig's "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble." Mani's creative and modern take on the story of a young donkey who finds a pebble that grants wishes included sexual and political humor, appealing to a wide audience. Trunk is always a popular group, and for good reason. The members perform at high octane, suggesting either a caffeine overdose or crack use. But the enthusiasm and silliness they generate infuse the audience with child-like euphoria and laughter.
And then there's Hype!, Tufts' only mime troupe. Mimes get no love. Mocked to no end in movies like Singles and underappreciated in general, miming as an art form (and as comedic expression) deserves the spotlight once in a while. And "Thirstin' For Virgins" proved that Hype deserves center stage. Starring three vampires, among them Rachel Evans, who also performed with Cheap Sox, the mimes awaken from slumber and leave their coffins -- thankfully the only time Hype! resorts to cliched routines like being stuck in an invisible box or climbing a rope. They proceeded to draw parallels between hunting and dating, arguing wordlessly the thesis that everyone's looking for a virgin.
The lackluster audience was put on the spot by Cheap Sox's improv comedy performance, and though volunteers and suggestions were scarce, the members of Cheap Sox did the best they could with scant material. Their two skits involved Earwax Man, Choose Your Own Adventure, a bonsai tree and Webster... you try putting these things together and getting a laugh. Evans of Hype! shed her mime face and found her voice, acting as the narrator for the skits, and MC Cusick donned a pink shirt to take his place among the Sox -both performers showed how versatile a quick wit can be.
Cohen is a notoriously poor venue for a cappella. The singers need to use microphones to be heard, but this compromises the integrity of their carefully blended sound. The ability to work with this technology instead of against it ultimately played a part in how successful the various a cappella performances were.
Essence was billed first, but easily could have been held to the second act. Their tight harmonies and melodic voices should be enough to entice any audience member to stay through intermission.
SQ has come a long way in the past four years, and its arrangement of "Come Undone" showcased the talent they have to work with. But there's still an element missing from their performance - perhaps recognition or confidence - that keeps them at a level just behind headliners like the Bubs. They have the ability, they need to perfect the performance.
As for ability, Shir Appeal's soloist Nili Riemer takes the cake. Her unbelievably high range compliments the strong backups of the rest of the group, allowing her to either attract attention as the soloist or blend with the others. Though many of Shir Appeal's songs are in Hebrew, good arrangements and variations in intensity and tension effectively communicate sentiments to an audience who may or may not understand the words.
As usual, the Jackson Jills win the prize for having the most attitude. The black-clad singers projected energy and sex appeal to match their arrangement of "She Bangs," but paled in comparison to their counterpart, the Bubs, who really know how to perform. The Bubs' rendition of "Bills Bills Bills" by Destiny's Child stole the show, both for musical talent, comedy, and audience enthusiasm. Soloist Greg Binstock brought the house down, clutching the microphone and giving 110 percent to an audience happy to be receiving.
MCs Cucisk and Goldstein provided entertainment in between acts, introducing Sarabande over and over again with new jokes and antics as well as throwing glowing things to uninspired audience members. Who doesn't want glowing things? With a good cop/bad cop routine, they effectively killed time and entertained the audience between sets, and even managed to take part in a hit-and-run during intermission.
Supershow only comes around once a year, and performers put a lot of effort into it. People understand this, and appreciate the final product, evidenced by the audience members standing in the back just to get a peek at the action. Sarabande's closing number, "Ooh La La" was not only a conclusion to the evening, but also a release of the energy and stress put into organizing Supershow. Dancers were all smiles, happy that their work had ended and glad to be on stage having fun. And that's the theme of the evening, working hard and rehearsing to get to the end result: a good time.
