< it when they crawled at me,” Danny Nathan ’12 said of his Ebony II experience, adding that he particularly appreciated the continuity of the theme of crawling throughout the entirety of the dance performance.
Nathan was among the hundreds of Carleton students who flocked to Sayles Last Friday and Saturday night for a healthy dose of Ebony sequins, spandex and sass. This term, 205 Carleton student-dancers took the floor and put on a two-hour show, shaking, shimmying and crawling to songs by popular artists like Beyoncé, Florence + the Machine and OK Go.
Peter Schlesinger ’12 scored a front-row seat for Saturday night’s show and effused that he “loved being so close to all of the action.”
Despite his initial apprehension about being in such close proximity to hundreds of gyrating hips and the aforementioned crawling, Schlesinger felt students delivered one of the best Ebony performances he had ever seen and enjoyed the unique, “full experience” of sitting in the front row.
A blast for spectators and performers alike, dancer Hannah Neville ’14 has participated in Ebony a total of four terms, attributing her enthusiasm and loyalty to the diversity of styles of dance and “freedom of expression” that Ebony offers.
This term, dances ranged from the technically challenging dance to “Set Fire to the Rain” by choreographer and co-director Chelsea Lau ’12, to a delightfully scandalous “mandance” to LMFAO’s “Sexy And I Know It,” organized by the senior trio of Karl Snyder, Brian James and Cameron Combs.
“This show was a little more raunchy than fall term’s, but we’ve heard nothing but great things from those who attended,” said Ebony co-director Hannah Jensen ’12 with a laugh. “We’re very proud of the work we did.”
In all, 25 students organized this term’s 16 dances, with over half of these students being first-time choreographers.
That’s another big reason students like Neville just can’t get enough of Ebony.
“Anyone can join,” Neville said. “There’s not a lot of pressure and no one will judge you if you’re not the best dancer. It’s all about having fun.”
Jensen and co-directors Lau, Hannah Joy Wirshing ’13 and Gustave Maisonrouge ’14 are already looking forward to Ebony’s spring performance, hoping for a turnout of over 300 dancers and a packed audience in West Gym.
“Be on the lookout for some Robyn,” Jensen said slyly.