WRB: 10 and still kickin' it

In her welcoming speech to Rhythmic Blue's 10th anniversary show, Co-President Jamie Rosa, SY '01, encouraged the audience to cheer and to call out the names of the dancers during the show: "We love energy," she explained. But she certainly asked for enthusiasm not because her group lacks it; Rhythmic Blue's love of dance and of energy is tangible in every piece. Every dancer's movements are filled with electricity, and when united as a group, their energy project onto the audience.

ERIN I. LEWIS/YH What to do when table dancing gets old.

The Rhythmic Blue performers, while clearly serious about their dancing, also know how to have fun. They execute their moves with precision and flair and combine subtle yet sharp moves using their shoulders, heads, and wrists. Larger, full body movements often included breakdancing and gymnastics. Throughout the show, their smiles were relaxed and uncontrived, exuding confidence, energy, and their love of dance.

This energy could also be seen in a more literal sense in the choreography of individual pieces. Nina Kwon's, CC '01, dance, for example, opened with Edward Teng, TC '02, spinning around eight other motionless dancers, stopping briefly at each one. As he neared them, he gestured at them, and they responded with movement. It was as though Teng gave his fellow dancers the potency to move. And as each dancer received his signal, the audience could almost see the transfer of energy from one person to the next. As a dancer passed a movement to another, the audience could see the recipient respond immediately as he or she was hit with the invisible force.

While many of the dances moved to similar beats and were built on some of the same moves, the show was far from repetitive. It would have been interesting to see a piece with fewer dancers to mix up the show a little bit; the company's ability, however, to look professional and synchronized with many dancers on stage is a tribute to their collective talent and hard work. Furthermore, their synchronicity was incredible to watch, especially when they hit the sharp quick movements exactly in unison as they did in Cheryl Davis's, JE '02, dance to Janet Jackson's "If."

Throughout the show, the dancers never lost their dynamism, and if anything, their energy level rose as the show progressed. After each dance, the audience eagerly awaited the next piece, and was increasingly impressed with the dancers' skill, athleticism, and artistic talent. Before the penultimate dance, one of the dancers yelled from backstage, "You ain't seen nothing yet." Just picture the finale.

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