With dance club being one of the biggest, if not the biggest club on campus, Dibden’s 500 seat capacity auditorium is typically close to packed with the JSC community, family and friends each and every time that JSC’s dance club holds a show. These shows, which frequently happen during the last couple of weeks of a semester, pull together a compilation of all the routines that student choreographers and dancers have been working on with minimal time and maximum pressure.

This time, the show occurred not at the end of the semester, but on March 27-28. With almost a month less of rehearsal time, it was a little bit questionable whether or not the club would be able to pull it off with the same strength in synchronization and choreography that leads to the high level of entertainment value that we have come to expect.

Through the combined efforts of the dancers, choreographers and crew members, the club delivered a performance that was just as good, if not better, than shows of the past.

What particularly stood out was the light design, which was always mood appropriate and made sense for each dance. The light crew, spearheaded by Ethan McGovern and Michael Brokowski, must have gotten their hands on some new equipment, because the vibrancy and variety of the colors and the images projected onto the cyclorama were unlike any other that have been used in the past. But what use is good equipment without a well-trained crew behind it?

The audience also found out that the tech crew members have some on-stage skills of their own, with the two surprise techie dances to “I’m an albatraoz” and “Roadie” being two of the greatest crowd pleasers of the nights.

Those dances, along with others such as “The nicest kids in town,” “Lips are movin’” and “The safety dance,” choreographed by Cody Logan, Juliana Turcotte and Ellen Faith Hood, respectively, looked like pure fun which helped the audience to really feel that it is “safe to dance.” The large number of upbeat pieces are what grabbed the audience’s attention from the very beginning and kept it throughout the show.

The piece “Lampshades on fire,” choreographed by dance club Co-Captain Taylor Brown and light designed by Ethan McGovern, was particularly engaging due to the impactful burst of fog and red lighting that shot through the side walls. It caused me to think that something had actually caught fire, before I realized that the only thing that had really ignited was my interest. The same level of energy was delivered throughout the entire dance with the sharp, big and synchronized movements that Brown is consistently good at producing and delivering throughout all of her involvement with dance.

The only dance that I was left wanting more from was “Haunted,” choreographed by Ashley Cormier. This isn’t because it was bad, but because I was sad that it had to end. The combination of strobes, fog and a cemetery projection, designed by Nick Ray, and Cormier’s diverse choreography made for a great piece. Plus, you can’t go wrong with Beyoncé.

Having been a part of dance club in the past, I know the difference that having one less rehearsal can have on the ability to perform the piece or some sections well, especially when rehearsals only occur for one hour each week. To be able to produce serviceable dances and a complete, approximately 2 hour long show with three or four rehearsals less than usual is an accomplishment that the dance club succeeded in achieving.