Frelon occupies the dance floor, wows sold-out crowds
By Brittany Worthington, Staff Writer
Kate Belew, K'15, and Charlie Weber, K'13, dance during one of the two-hour shows at Dalton Theatre.
Frelon celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of their annual show Friday night with a full house and a variety of crowd-pleasing performances. The show got off to a late start. There were more people than available seats. Seven people were asked to volunteer to leave in order to allow room for out-of-town family members. Not distributing any pre-show tickets to students during the week leading up to the performance resulted in overcrowding. However, the delayed show was well worth the wait.
The performance showcased different varieties of dance from tap to Latin to interpretive. Frelon exposes the audiences to different types of dance outside of mainstream styles, and shows these dances to be just as engaging as the mainstream to watch. The swing dance number, featuring students in retro 50s costumes doing impressive flips, kicks, and spins, was one such performance that got the crowd cheering.
Frelon also highlighted cultural dances. The heat of the couple’s salsa dance elicited cat calls from the audience as performers did dramatic dips and sensual shimmies under the red stage lighting. The men and women performing in the Indian dance entitled, “Desi Beats,” were incredibly talented and entertaining. Not surprisingly, the belly dance was a crowd favorite, as well.
In between every couple of acts, a musical interlude was provided by a small jazz ensemble, keeping the energy high even when dancers weren’t on stage. A face-off between the saxophonist and guitarist worked the crowd into a frenzy, preparing them for the next set of dances.
Some of the strongest dances were in the style of hip-hop. The dance performed to “Roman’s Revenge” by Nicki Minaj under flashing lights was a high-energy show of talent. The skill-level and enthusiasm was consistent among all the dancers; the crowd was riotous by the end. Other strong performances included those set to “E.T. Feels Starry Eyed” and “Girls Run the World.”
The dances with the most participants were the annual Junior and Senior Dances. Juniors rushed down the auditorium aisles to the stage dressed as superheroes and pumping their fists to “And We Danced.” This fun and high-energy performance concluded the first act of the show, while the Senior Dance served as Frelon’s grand finale. They danced to a medley of songs that were released over the course of their lives, from the crooning of boy bands like the Backstreet Boys and the pop anthems of the Spice Girls, to more contemporary favorites like “SexyBack” and “Party Rock Anthem.”
This year’s show was consistently excellent, with almost every dance meeting the standard of excellence set by the one preceding it. While prolonged transitions between dances created a restless audience at times, the minute the performers came on stage, the room was filled with nothing short of adrenaline-pumping enthusiasm.
About kzindex
