Last Thursday, a sprinkling of teachers, parents, siblings and a herd of students flooded the Harriton auditorium in anticipation of the school’s 2nd Annual Dance-Off, benefiting the Alvin Alley American Dance Theater (AAADT). They weren’t disappointed.
Organized by senior, Sean Green, and faculty advisor, Ms. Murray, the event was filled with explosive performances from enthusiastic and talented dancers.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is a multiracial modern dance company which has performed for about 23 million people around the world.
The AileyCamp not only educates young inner-city dancers, but also teaches new ways to live by supporting self-esteem and self-discipline through personal development classes. These classes range in subjects from nutrition to career development. By supporting Harriton’s dancers in the Dance-Off, audience members also supported the kids of AileyCamp and the work of AAADT to spread Alvin Ailey’s belief that “dance is for everybody.”
A group hip-hop number choreographed by Sean Green started off the night with a bang. Later, a large group of APUSH students in dark glasses performed the Internet sensation, “Gangnam Style.”
A girl group dubbed the Beauties & the Beat danced to “The Boys” by Girls Generation. Elisha Odom brought the house down with his performance, dancing into the audience and briefly bringing in backup dancers.
Other performances included the trio G(x) dancing to K-Pop, Virginia Vass and Isabella Bumbera dancing to a musical number from Chicago, Shanze Faisal and Noor Butt rocking a Middle Eastern dance, and 4Eva Carter, a threesome of brightly dressed hip-hop dancing girls.
During intermission, the audience cast their ballots for the winner of the Dance-Off. The intermission featured a Gems Not Genocide jewelry table, candygrams for the dancers, a snack stand, and a raffle for assorted gift cards and baskets.
After the break, everyone returned for the finale. Following an informational video about the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and AileyCamp, the entire group performed a closing number choreographed by Sean Green. Dancers pulled audience members to their feet to join in the fun.
Last year’s winners, Liza Tishenko and Arthur Toth, returned for another dance. Afterwards, the ticket numbers of the raffle winners were announced.
At the end of the performances, the winner of the competition was announced. Elisha Odom took first place, while Gianna Robertson and Brendan Scanlon were the well-earned runners-up.
As evidenced by the earsplitting cheers and applause after every dance, the students’ hard work paid off. After auditioning, they rehearsed the group numbers for two months, twice a week, under the direction of Sean Green.
“Sean came up with the idea last year because he wanted to help youth in theater [through the Alvin Ailey program],” says Ms. Murray, who affectionately called him her “third son” in an ad in the program.
Prior to the event, Murray commented, “This year, there’s more diversity in the students who are participating and in the types of dances they do. Two groups performed dances from their own cultures: Korean and Middle Eastern. We’re really looking forward to another successful Dance-Off and raising more money for Alvin Ailey.”
Both Ms. Murray and Sean Green were overwhelmed by the success of this year’s event. Sean explained his reaction that night by saying, “I put my heart and soul into this fundraiser and I’m just so glad that I can make a difference in some child’s life. People don’t get how much theater and dance help people through their struggles and it’s unfortunate that some people can’t experience it because they can’t afford to.”
