Do you remember your senior prom? It probably was at a swanky hotel with a big dinner, a dance, and maybe a cruise. Now, can you imagine how much prom would have sucked if music and dancing were outlawed?
When Ren McCormack is forced to move from the Windy City to a small rural town in the musical production of Footloose, he encounters that very situation. Exit 22’s year-end performance is set in Bomont, where dancing has been outlawed after a tragic accident that killed four teenagers. When Ren arrives he starts to create a stir, but is able to win over the students of his new school, and bring the joy of dancing back to the heart of Bomont. Through a series of jumps, leaps, splits and spirit fingers, the story of a rebel who went against the system to make the world a better place is told.
So why should a musical adaptation of an 80’s hit movie matter to us? Well, it means that we can all dance up a storm in front of our classmates and peers. The Footloose Dance Competition is happening on Wednesday, March 24th at noon in the Birch cafeteria. By now, most of you will probably be getting super psyched and maybe even jumping because of the sheer awesomeness of this idea. You finally get to rock out to your favorite boy band beats in the cafeteria without looking like a... well, like a wierdo. You can go into the competition flying solo or get together your best crew of pro Single Ladies and get your groove on.
“We are really doing it to get some kind of campus fun happening around the school, as well as trying to promote the musical theatre production of Footloose”, says Arts and Entertainment Management student Jollean Tomsin, one of the organizers for the event. When the question of her competing came up, she laughed. “I won’t be dancing, since I have no coordination, but one of the other organizers, James, and his team will be dancing.” When content of the songs came up she told me that profanity is not allowed, so “please no f-bombs”. This is understandable for a public show, but it definitely decreases the amount of new songs you can dance to. Music should be brought the day of the competition in CD format with the song number marked clearly. Jollean went on to say “there are going to be fabulous prizes, including tickets to the opening night gala.”
We all know that everybody has a “go to” move. Most singers have the fist clench slow arm pump. Personally, I use the “finger point swivel”, it’s safe and doesn’t make me look too much like an incompetent dancer. What’s yours? Maybe it’s just a power stance and a little hand movement. Whether you pop and lock like M.J. or perhaps just bounce a lil' à la Snoop Dog, bring your freshest moves and your posse of flygirls, and sashay your bad self down to the Footloose Dance Contest.
Pick up your registration forms from outside BR126i. Registration ends on March 23rd, and forms can be dropped off in the box outside BR126i.
//Ben Drake
writer
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