On December 9 and 10, Rangos Ballroom in the University Center was home to this semester’s Dancers’ Symposium. Dancers’ Symposium, more commonly known as DS, refers to both an organization and an event. Each semester, members of DS choreograph dances, hold auditions, practice their routines, and have a performance for the student body. The show is done in a two-act structure.

The night began with a brief introduction by the DS directors: MCS/HSS fifth-year Abby Rives, Tepper senior Melissa Blohm, HSS senior Cheryl Gering, HSS junior Karl Sjogren, SHS junior Kristan Hoffman, and HSS junior Eugene Hsia. They explained that the twenty-one acts the audience was about to see were done entirely by students. All undergraduate and graduate students at Carnegie Mellon are allowed to participate as a dancer in DS. In order to choreograph, one must have participated as a dancer in at least one prior DS performance.

This year’s DS had theme of “Bounce,” which was represented in many of the performances. Many of the dances involved the bouncy and/or jerky moves associated with urban dance techniques such as Pop-n-Lock and break-dancing. Occasionally, the dancing came off the stage and onto the floor; one dance actually had chairs set up in front of the stage for dancing. All of this was accompanied by a wide variety of costumes. Dancers wore everything from flowy teal skirts to traditional Indian clothes to lingerie. Black and white seemed to be a popular costume theme, with several groups wearing at least one of those colors in their ensemble.  

In the DS constitution, the idea of diversity in both membership and dance is stressed, and this year’s performance tried to hold to this ideal. While many of the dances involved various hip-hop dance styles and music, some of them were dances to rock, classical, Latin, and Indian music. Most of the dances also had very well thought-out choreography, but coordination and energy seemed to drag in the majority of the performances. The dancers tried hard, but things did not quite seem to gel together in most of the acts.

However, a few dance acts did sparkle. “Hotel California,” choreographed by MCS junior Stephanie McMahon, was a sultry smooth dance with red dresses to the Eagles’ classic. The subtle yet sexy moves gave the song a flair that does not exist on its own. “Peace Up, A-Town Down,” a step dance choreographed by HSS sophomore Faryal Khan, used street style and intensity to pump the crowd up. For those who do not know, step dancing refers to a style of dance where a group performs moves involving quick motion, clapping, and stomping, all without the aid of music. The performance involved fun step moves, funky airbrushed t-shirts, and lively shout outs such as, "We cute! We Fly! And we don't even try!"

The finale of the show, entitled “Lose Control,” was an impressive, high-energy hip-hop dance to Missy Elliott’s song of the same name. Choreographed by BHA junior Tria Chang and Hsia, most of the performance’s appeal came from having so many dancers onstage who were so extremely hyped up. All doning black hoodies, the dancers busted out their best moves with facial expressions that made it look as if they didn't even have to think about what they were doing. The ensemble made their dance look easy.

In terms of technical performance, MCS junior Priya Palit’s “Beat of Passion presented by Tanah,” an Indian dance piece, wins for being both well executed in terms of coordination and a joy to watch. Every dancer in the performance not only knew the timing of their moves very well, but also looked happy to be doing them.

This year’s DS may not have been perfect, but the good parts of it outweigh the lesser ones. Applause should be given to all involved.

For those who wanted to participate but missed their chance this semester, auditions for next semester’s DS will be on January 22, 2006 in Rangos Ballroom. For more information, check out their website.

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More than one of the Dancers' Symposium acts included breakdancing.	In the dance "Revenge of the Sex Goddesses," CIT first-year Tatiana Aguilera struts her stuff on stage.
Girls get down and dirty at Dancers' Symposium.	At this semester's Dancers' Symposium, a group of breakdancers coordinate their moves to put on a spectacular performance.
Breakdancers give each other a lift at this semester's Dancers' Symposium.	HSS first-year Daria Maximov stands out front in a dance to the Eagles' "Hotel California" in this semester's Dancers' Symposium.
Step dancers perform synchronized movements and create their own music by stomping and clapping.	Although the majority of the dancers in Dancers' Symposium are female students, many male students also contribute to the show.
At Dancers' Symposium, Carnegie Mellon students choreograph, learn, and perform dances to the delight of their peers.	In "Peace Up, A-Town Down," a group of students performed an elaborate step dance for Dancers' Symposium.
The Carnegie Mellon Ballroom Dance Club sponsored "The Foot Medley" at this semester's Dancers' Symposium.

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