Hip Hop Showcase
Exonians cheered as dancers took to the assembly stage last Saturday night at the annual Hip Hop Showcase. The riveting event was emceed by seniors Ori Evans and Abel Ngala and featured 14 amazing performances from dance groups, duets and solo dancers. Acts included Beat of Asia, Imani, Precision, InMotion, the duo Jacob Hunter and Khine Win, Rachel Won freestyling, ITXC, Outkast’s throwback choreography commemorating their 20th anniversary as well as Alexis Lee and Mary Lee, also known as Le(e)^2, who gave life and movement to the Wii theme song.
Beat of Asia kicked off the show with “District 9” by Stray Kids. The energy from the performances fired up the audience who, though the song was Korean, danced along. Jacob Hunter, in red shorts, and Khine Win, in red plaid, followed them with a duet performance, displaying slow, alluring moves. Upper Adrian Venzon, co-head of Beat of Asia and InMotion member, felt that the Hip Hop Showcase was “a chance for us to see what our fellow students are doing outside of sports and academics.” To him, it spotlighted “the purest form of passion that we might encounter at Exeter.”
The Outkast and Precision rivalry was as strong as ever. The nine boys in Outkast, wearing black and white, took to the stage first, and with rhythmic stomping and clapping, sometimes moving so fast the audience couldn’t keep up, shook the stage. Precision did not disappoint in their follow-up. They taunted their competitor by saying “O-U-T-K-A-S-T...sounds like you have two left feet.” Outkast had been seated but reared up immediately and chanted their name for all to hear.
The showcase was a culmination of work done throughout the year. It required numerous morning practices, and though the students get no academic credit, they took their performances seriously and danced with heart. Allison Duke, the director of dance, hopes people realize that “dance is actually quite athletic because there was quite a lot of pretty skilled movement in the show and that it’s also artistic.” In order to acknowledging the enthusiasm for hip-hop on campus in clubs and events like this, a hip-hop dance class for a physical education credit will be offered next year so students can study the dance style and make it a part of their regular day here.
For many seniors, the showcase was their final opportunity to dance at Exeter. Senior and co-head of Precision Claire Melvin reflected upon the experience saying, “I was getting a lot of ‘I’m not going to be here next year’ feelings.”
Duke also hopes that seniors would carry on their interest in dance and “find a way to keep dance in their life.” Melvin has expressed that she definitely will. She has a lot friends in the other groups, and watching them pour their hearts into their performances “made me realize I don’t want to give up dance after Exeter. I wasn’t expecting that but I left some tears in the assembly hall.”
The audience was astonished. Prep Phoebe Ibbotson, co-head of ESSO Dance, was inspired by the amount of people with incredible talent in the show. “I am not a hip-hop dancer at all, so it amazes me to see people’s hip-hop abilities,” she said. Prep Phillip Oravitan loved the showcase as well, particularly Alexis Lee’s solo. “She was amazing! How could she move like that?” he said. He was not the only one in awe of her talent and that of the rest of the dancers.
Le(e)^2 hit the audience with two separate performances. In their first act, Mary Lee and Alexis Lee had two dances battles and left the crowd on a theatrical cliffhanger. They came back and ended the show explosively with choreography to “R.I.C.O.” by Meek Mill.
Melvin believes that the Hip Hop Showcase helps Exonians realize that there’s a community of people on campus that put so much time and effort into these things. “We’re not dancing to hype people up for going against Andover, we’re not at assembly, which is supposed to be a required appointment. It’s people showing up on a Saturday night because they want to see us dance,” Melvin said. “I think that’s really different and really important, and I hope it never, ever goes away.”