After weeks of preparation, all of DanceWorks’ practice finally came to fruition.

Last night at 8 in Goldstein Auditorium, the dancers put their moves to the test. And, according to many crowd members, the troupe passed its test with flying colors.

‘It was really good,’ said Pat Haig, a sophomore psychology major. ‘The dancing was just beautiful. Everything was well made. You see how much time and effort they put into it.’

With two more shows slated for 8 p.m. tonight and tomorrow, the show gave the dancers a chance to see how this years’ crowd would react to their performances.

Freshman Julie Dansker, a television, radio and film major and a DanceWorks performer, was pleased with the first show.

‘The crowd was good,’ Dansker said. ‘The energy was really awesome, even though we only saw our pieces. We’ve heard that in past years the crowd has just been insane, but it was a good crowd.’

Though the crowd wasn’t as rowdy as it has been known to be in the past, many of those in attendance were quite surprised with the range of dances that were performed.

‘They just tried to do a lot of unique things and change it up and make it interesting, which was good,’ said Stephanie Hunter, a senior advertising and marketing major. ‘I was really impressed, actually.’

From hula dancing to hip-hop, the troupe kept utilizing more styles as the night went on.

Even audience members who had attended shows from past years walked away from this year’s show impressed.

‘It was awesome,’ said Kristi St. Peter, a junior public relations and political science major. ‘I come every year, and I thought it was a lot better than last year’s.’

Gary Tirabassi, a junior finance and entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises major, was one of the few men interspersed within the predominantly female crowd. Despite being outnumbered by the opposite sex, Tirabassi enjoyed the show.

‘This is my first year (at the show), and I wish I came my first two years,’ Tirabassi said. ‘I wish I came my freshman year with all of the guys. They would have liked it, too.’

Though it was only the first of the troupe’s performances this weekend, the troupe’s preparation shined through during the performance.

‘I probably wouldn’t have guessed that it was a student production if I had just come to have a look,’ Hunter said. ‘I was just really impressed with the choreography and a lot of the dance skills. I feel like I have a lot of talented classmates, and I had no clue.’

Published on February 26, 2004 at 12:00 pm