Not everyone can dance. And not everyone should. But it’s okay, because the members of D’Motions have got enough moves to go around. This UR hip-hop dance group is set to perform their annual spring show at the end of this month.
The show will be a culmination of everything that the D’Motions dancers have been working on since September. As one of the biggest dance events of the year, it will also feature several guest performances and be hosted by In Between the Lines. Besides, they’ll be dancing to the hottest tracks on this side of the Genesee.
“It’s going to showcase a lot of what we can do. We’re not a professional dance group – we just like to have fun,” D’Motions President and junior Kiana Frank said. Frank, who has been a member of D’Motions since her freshman year, had never danced before coming to college.
“My sisters are dancers and I was the kid that [people] didn’t know how I came from that family. So, I joined D’Motions, and I really liked it. Now I can go home and tell my sisters, ‘Bring it!'”
D’Motions is known for its hip-hop moves. However, the music, which they will be dancing to in the show on April 27, will not necessarily be limited to hip-hop.
“Since we choreograph all of our own songs, we like to pick songs that we really like and then we’ll add hip-hop to it,” Frank said. The music set for the program will include songs by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jordan Knight, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and many others.
Since the theme of the show is “Jungle Fever,” the audience will be guided along a tour of the “safari” through the art of dance and improvisation.
“We’re working a lot harder this year to tie everything into the theme,” D’Motions Vice President and junior Kelly Crockett said, who has been dancing since she was two years old. “We’ve actually grown over the past couple of years a lot.” The group, which was established sometime in the early 1990s, currently has 21 members, all of whom will be performing.
Preparing a two-hour show has meant practicing overtime for members of D’Motions. In order to perfect all of their routines, they have been dancing up to three times a week, four hours a night. Amazingly, the group of dancers, a mix of different ages and skill levels, works quite well together.
“Overall, our group, we’ve just been jamming all semester… our group alone is dancing like 13 songs in the show. So we’ve worked really hard,” Frank said.
A unique mix of popular tunes and hip-hop moves is what this show is all about. “There are a lot of surprises. I don’t think [the audience] will be expecting some of the things we’re going to show them,” Frank said. “It should be a really, really fun night.”
In addition to the D’Motions routines, there will be appearances by UR Bhangra, Capoeira, the Ballet Performance Group and Radiance. And, with In Between the Lines adding some comedy here and there, the show is sure to keep you entertained the whole way through.
The D’Motions Spring Show will take place on April 27 at 8 p.m. in Strong Auditorium. Tickets are $5, available at the Common Market or at the door. A pre-show party will also take place this Saturday, April 21 at the Drama House.
Crews is a member of the class of 2008.
