Yale's dancers say: 'Nobody puts Baby in a corner'

During these past frozen weeks, my view of New Haven has been limited to the small crack between my scarf and hat. Self-mummification will be defied on Sat., Feb. 5, however, when Yale's eight dance groups and other local dancers meet in Woolsey Hall, unzip their parkas, peel off their mittens, and reach right out into New Haven with "Stand Up and Dance 2000." This gala performance is your only chance to see all of Yale's dance groups perform together, and one of the rare occasions in which a Yale show opens itself up to the New Haven community. This event draws from local talent and gives all proceeds to local charities in honor of New Haven's children.

JOHN YI/YH Yaledancers' winter show is a display of rhythm, agility and a mean dose of booty-shaking to heat up Woosley.

"Stand Up and Dance" started out on the right foot in November 1997 by raising $4,000 for local charities. This year, however, Yale-New Haven Alliance for Dance at Yale (ADAY) has undertaken coordinating the event for the first time. Ambitions and expectations are higher than ever. "This year's performance is bigger and better and has a fresh lineup of dedicated charities," Sidra Bell, SY '01, the event's executive director and co-founder, said. She added that the event promises "even more spectacular dancing as it fills its coffers for the people of New Haven." All proceeds will be donated to three local New Haven charities: AIDS Interfaith Network, providing services and care for people living with AIDS, the Boys and Girls Club of New Haven, a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the daily lives of New Haven's youth, and Douglas House, an emergency shelter for young people.

Bare feet and metal and rubber soles pound and prance on the Woolsey stage, mixing unique and diverse styles from lyrical ballet to hardcore hip-hop. Woolsey also provides the dancers with ample performance space. The ability to do a split without getting stuck between two walls is a true challenge for many other college dance programs. Sophie Lucas-Herrera, who teaches a class on Middle Eastern dance at the Payne Whitney Gym, decided to join in on the production after seeing it last year. "I was so impressed by the variety and quality and so inspired," she said, "I decided that the following year, I would bring my dance and choreography into the party."

Whether you have seen all the groups perform separately, or have never even watched a dance performance at Yale, see this show to experience the broad range of dance styles. This is an unusual opportunity to view how these diverse dances work in conjunction with one another.

The members of Taps will be among the participants, with a fresh and riled-up rendition of "It Don't Mean A Thing." Their rendition of "Fever" will also spread a fever throughout the hall, regardless of whether or not you got a flu shot this winter. Their choreography heats up these songs, as they obliterate the limits of tap dancing.

The members of Steppin' Out also have some rhythm in store. They move in rigid line formations, generating an exultant beat from their stepping and a distinct attitude from their verbal exchanges. The Yaledancers will also feature three dances, including Elshaday Gebreyes's, PC '02, "Sorry I am" with Dustin Browne, JE '99, executing a tight set of pirouettes. Also featured is Elizabeth Vacco, SM '00, and Alex-ander Jean's, BR '03, stunning pas de deux, in which Jean lifts Vacco and elegantly sweeps her across the stage. Vacco's own dance is playful. The dancers move like marionette puppets, toppling over, getting hoisted up, and playing to the music of stringed instruments. The other groups include Rhythmic Blue, Dance-works, A Different Drum, and 12 of the New Haven Ballet's young dancers.

Lopsided snowmen and other snow-figures around campus with their heads lopped off are emblematic of the dehumanizing effects that these past weeks' bitter cold has wrought upon us. You can find some warmth and humanity this Saturday, however, as artistry and charity combine through the medium of dance. Bell believes that "Stand Up and Dance" is "a wonderful event that uses the universal language of dance to unite two communities." World-renowned dancer Mark Morris, a guest last semester at a Calhoun College Master's Tea, might agree that dance has this natural unifying quality, since in The Hidden Soul of Harmony he says, "The first thing people did, maybe, after they stopped killing each other with rocks, was hold hands to dance together."

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