Some Fairfield women explained this weekend that they want “big spenders” and the lovey dovey “kiss, kiss” and that if their demands aren’t met, “it’s too late to apologize.”
These ladies are none other than the members of the Fairfield Dance Ensemble, who, in their show “Rhythm Nation,” performed in front of an excited, rowdy audience Friday night at the Quick Center.
The performance consisted of routines ranging from lyrical ballet to Irish step dancing to hip-hop.
The women experimented with more styles this year, showing the choreographers’ innovation. In a tap dance to “Hairspray,” choreographed by Jacquelyn McDonough ’09, 18 dancers in paisley spandex tights jumped and clacked onto the Quick Center stage.
“Night of the Dancing Flame,” choreographed by Rachel Brean ’08, staged a dance battle between the white-wearing angels and the cane-holding devils who also wore red top hats.
Another audience favorite was a dance to “Barbie Girl” by Aqua, choreographed by Samantha Tuffarelli ’09. In this dance, the girls assumed the personality of Ken or Barbie (easily noted by the Barbie’s shiny blonde wigs) and then danced with their other halves.
Not all the numbers were so high-energy, though. There were many lyrical numbers to songs by Frou Frou and an acoustic version of “Gotta Get Thru This” by Daniel Bedingfield. The dance to “Apologize” by OneRepublic even spurred singing in the audience.
James Marino, a former student who stole last year’s dance ensemble show with his mind-blowing hip-hop dancing returned to the stage this year, even though he has since transferred to another school.
“One week before the show started, they called me up and asked me if I wanted to do anything in the show, and I figured it would be one number, but ultimately they asked me to do three,” Marino said, “and as much as that is, and how tiring it got, I couldn’t turn it down.”
Marino said that because of the short notice, he didn’t have much time to choreograph a dance.
“Everything you saw on that stage, I made up on the spot as the music was playing, complete freestyle,” he said.
This year, Marino began his dance piece from the back of the Quick Center auditorium, traveling down the stairs to Justin Timberlake’s “Future Sex/Love Sounds.”
When Marino finally made it to the stage, he broke into a high-energy dance to Chris Brown’s “Kiss Kiss,” in which he incorporated some crazy tricks with a hat and some talented gymnastic skills by doing a back flip.
“I like how dancing makes me feel free, and when the music is on I forget about everything else except dancing and coming up with sick moves to show off,” Marino said.
Lindsay Bastable ’08, the president of the Dance Ensemble, was happy with this year’s performance.
“I think the show went really well,” she said. “From the feedback I’ve received, it was a very different show than last year which is not bad or good, just different.
Celeste Pennacchio ’08, the secretary of the Dance Ensemble, said that she believes the dance ensemble performances have only improved since she joined the group her freshman year.
“I definitely think the entire program continues to excel each year,” she said.
Hailey Conn ’10, who also featured in last year’s Dance Ensemble show, was very happy with the performance.
“I think the show went great, and having Hutch as an MC this year seemed to make it run more smoothly,” she said.
This was Conn’s debut as a choreographer in the Dance Ensemble performances.
“I choreographed a tap dance this year and it was very exciting to have people perform something that really was just a vision in my head,” she said.
“It was nerve-wracking, but very fulfilling in the end.”
Pennacchio agreed, as she choreographed six numbers in the performance.
“It’s a remarkable feeling to see the final outcome,” Pennacchio said.
Eight senior dancers will be leaving the group this year, and Pennacchio said she will miss “seeing my friends every night, going to practice and dancing in general.”
Bastable said, “Most importantly, I’m going to miss the friendships that have formed over the past four years.”
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