Yaledancers is hot. Of course its members are talented, entertaining and artistic. But mainly, they’re hot. They lift, twist and turn effortlessly in their costumes and always remind us that what we were doing at Toad’s last Wednesday night was NOT dancing. Their sassy, diverse and flawlessly executed fall show is a testament to their hotness.
The Yaledancers fall show is held in the faraway Education Center for the Arts Theater on Audubon Street — something that would usually deter me from attempting to attend. But once the show starts it becomes obvious why they keep going back to that location. Many Yale productions suffer from inadequate spaces: bad lighting, poor seating and small stages limit many shows from realizing their full potential. ECA has excellent lighting, plentiful seating and a huge stage — hint: Yale productions, use this space; it is superior to Off Broadway. Yaledancers takes full advantage of the stage and its lighting right from the start.
The hour-and-a-half-long show opened with the silhouettes of nine girls seductively snapping against a red backdrop. The first piece, “It Don’t Matter,” sets the show off on the right note. Set to the song “Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That” by Robert Randolph and the Family Band, and choreographed by Amanda Gould ’12, the piece is sexy, soulful and fun just as the song elicits. It began quite sassily, with sharp, synchronized movements reminiscent of a classy burlesque show. The dancers then transitioned into more technical dance moves with a modern twist, ending with a playful fingering of their suspenders.
Yaledancers then completely changed the pace, with a beautiful piece by newcomer Tim Creavin ’15. Creavin’s “You Begin” is a powerful, melancholy solo set to Mum’s “K / Half Noise.” It is hot, but in a different way from the show’s overtly sexual introduction. Creavin moved fluidly, taking advantage of the whole stage and emoting in a way that opened himself to a vulnerable audience. The juxtaposition of his smooth dancing and the sassy feminine performance that preceded would have been enough to hook me for the whole show. Luckily, the show continued to be powerful and entertaining throughout the performance.
Throughout the night, different styles of dance were put next to each other in the lineup. Everything from the costumes to the lighting to the song volume was deliberately planned to make each piece a unique experience. While the show presents itself as a package, Yaledancers puts on a new show with each act.
The show was the result of a semester’s worth of work, with all of the acts choreographed, taught and presented by the group members themselves. Yaledancers is unique among undergraduate organizations in that it includes graduate students. There was even an exclusively graduate girls piece set to Beyonce’s “Run the World (Girls),” aptly named “Grad Girls Run The World.” One especially beautiful piece was choreographed by an injured dancer who is not currently a member of the group. Choreographed by Molly Gibbons ’14, it created a beautiful story set to Lady Gaga’s country-ish hit “You and I” that showcased the most incredible lifts of the show.
Yaledancers brings the audience into each performance. “Useen Vee Bhangra Paonde! (We dance bhangra, too!)” choreographed and danced by Natalia Kholsa ’14 and Scott Simpson ’11 is my favorite piece and will probably be yours too. A departure from the traditional dance typical of Yaledancers, it was incredibly fun (with their trademark hotness) and authentically choreogoraphed right down to the traditional outfits. Simpson and Kholsa smiled throughout the entire dance, and you will too.
There are a lot of shows out this weekend, and it will be tempting to go to the one closest to your dorm. The Yaledancers show is well worth the ticket preorder and subsequent walk. Catch the show at the ECA Theater Friday, Dec. 2 and Saturday, Dec. 3.