Sarabande took the stage with brilliance and grace for its spring showcase “RUNAWAY,” held in Cohen Auditorium on April 4 and 6. Tufts’ all-gender contemporary and commercial jazz ensemble is a powerhouse of talented dancers and choreographers who spend countless hours rehearsing and preparing for an end of semester performance. This semester’s show was called “RUNAWAY” and featured a diverse range of dance styles and song choices, ranging from Lady Gaga to Ethel Cain. The show not only included 11 stunning dances from Sarabande, but also four additional performances from different Tufts dance groups. With fresh interpretations of newer songs and classic hits, Sarabande continues to inspire audiences through the medium of dance.
“RUNAWAY” featured a distinct black-and-white aesthetic, yet each dance within the show had its own unique mood and style. Senior Zoe London elaborated on how these diverse dances seamlessly blended together to form a cohesive 90-minute performance.
“For me, personally, I make pretty strictly contemporary dances, but a lot of my friends on the team will do really hard hitting jazz, and then a really depressing, slow sad dance and then we’ll do something super sultry and sexy,” London said. “This semester, I think we have all the above.”
The diversity in dance style and song choice allowed the dancers to show off their flair and high energy at one moment and delicately convey poignant themes of loss and love in the next. Throughout the show, the dancers maintained a profound connection with the music.
As a student-run group, the dancers are entirely in charge of choreographing and organizing the show. This provides members with a community and stage to practice their passion while enjoying the freedom of participating in as little or as many dances per semester as they want. London is in 10 dances this semester.
“I really wanted to do as much as I could for my last semester, but what I do think is great about Sarabande is there really isn’t pressure to do a lot,” London explains. “ It’s very much a choose your own adventure that can vary by semester. … There’s no hard time commitment.”
Each dance has one hour of practice per week, so the time dancers spend rehearsing is dependent on the number of dances they participate in. Making enough time for school and other activities can mean sacrificing being a part of certain dances. Sophomore Mattea Backus explains the pros and cons of this.
“This semester, I decided to limit myself, to not do any of the [later] dances,” Backus said. “It takes a lot of restraint because you really want to do all of them, especially since they’re all your friends and you’ve seen their work before.”
To Backus, though, there’s also something special about the moments in which she sees her teammates shine from backstage.
“At the same time, it’s so great watching the ones you’re not in because you get to see the magic of the group,” she said.
While time commitment varies from person to person, each member undoubtedly puts a great deal of effort and dedication into creating the final show. There are specific teams in charge of the technical aspects of running the show and making sure everything runs smoothly. Senior Jessica Mann explained some of the tasks in her role as head producer of Sarabande.
“Throughout the semester, we are collecting availability for our tech week, creating that schedule [and] reaching out to guest groups,” Mann said. “We are coordinating when we’re going to program the lighting in Cohen, and our job really gets more intense in the weeks directly leading up to the show, making sure that we have a schedule that works for everybody and gets everything settled.”
“During the week leading up to the show, we’ll be in rehearsals [for] about six hours a night total,” Mann said.
Choreographing is an especially exciting part of being in Sarabande for dancers. For Backus, who has previously choreographed twice for the group, choreographing “I Know the End” by Phoebe Bridgers meant trying new things and thinking creatively about different aspects of the song.
“I think that song specifically has such a cool build-up because it’s not like the traditional structure of a song with verses and then a chorus. It really builds and I felt like the screaming part at the end was just such a crazy opportunity to really make something cool,” Backus said. “And I love something dramatic; I love the red lighting.”
London choreographed the show’s opening dance “Anywhere With You” to Maggie Rogers’ song of the same name, expressing her excitement in seeing her vision come to life.
“I’m really so proud of my dancers, I think they’re just so impressive. I’m really just so stoked to see that come [out] on stage,” London said.
For London, though, the journey is just as important as the end result.
“For me, the show is definitely a highlight of the semester, but it’s not the highlight of the semester,” London said. “I value time in rehearsals just as much as I value being on stage.”
Mann opened the second act of the show with her rendition of “Bad Romance,” a song that holds a special place in her heart.
“[“Bad Romance”] was one of my first ever favorite songs, so I was really excited to choreograph to that,” Mann said. “I just loved making that piece so much. … I really love to experiment with funky shapes and choreography, and I love big movements so that was really fun to do.”
Backus attributed the creative possibilities in choreographing to the talent and work ethic of the group.
“With Sarabande, you can really make your exact visions come to life because everybody's so talented and so committed.”
Those who were fortunate enough to see either night's performance were undoubtedly not only impressed by the dancers’ skill and versatility but also by the meticulous attention to production details. The costumes, for example, brought an extra level of wow factor to the show. Pink boas made an appearance in ‘I Need Kerosene!’ and bald caps were an essential part of the Pitbull-themed senior dance.
With each dance, the audience was treated to something new and different. “Cup Runneth Over” charmed the crowd with playful movement and a whimsical mood while “American Teenager” celebrated the essence of youth and freedom.
Throughout many of the dances, the central theme revolved around friendship and interconnectedness among the performers. The sense of community and support for one another resonated authentically. But for the seniors, their last show with Sarabande has been an especially emotional experience.
“I’ll be doing a dance and be like ‘Why am I tearing up right now?’” London said. “In random moments, I’ve gotten very emotional. It’s just the most supportive group of people, and I think this also kind of speaks to the way we experience dance in our lives.”
Mann explained how much the group means to her.
“I would say that my time in Sarabande has been one of the true highlights of my time at Tufts. I feel like being in this group gave me an immediate community, especially since I was in my first semester right as COVID was hitting [in] fall of 2020,” Mann said. “This was a group that took me in and I immediately had a community of people, freshman through senior year.”
For this show, Sarabande wanted to extend their love of dance to communities where dance isn’t as accessible. As announced in the show and in their program, Sarabande is proud to be supporting BalletRox, an organization that partners with Boston public schools and the Greater Boston community to provide dance classes to underserved youth.
Mann spoke about how proud she is of the group.
“I just am in awe of every single one of them every day,” Mann said. “This was a great last show. Actually, I’m still sort of in denial that it’s all done.”
“RUNAWAY” was an exceptional show on many levels and the group delivered a truly impressive performance. Sarabande certainly has a special place in the Tufts arts community and in the hearts of its dancers.
