Dance Tech: The Funnies

The five reasons why you should go see “Dance Tech: The Funnies” are as follows:

1. It was indeed, funny

2. There are multi-colored tutus (actually, all of the costumes are really unique)

3. Dogs are involved, seriously.

4. The music in all of the dances is fun. Warning — you might have urges to get on stage and join the dancers.

From “If looks could kill, I’m expecting your glance” photography from Jared Canada.

5. Richard Simmons makes an appearance

If those reasons aren’t enough for you then I don’t know what is. When I was growing up, all of my friends danced. I went to every show, a lot of rehearsals and pretended to be just as talented as my compadres deep into the abyss of my mind.

“The dance reminded me of a bunch of Skittles or the colors of the rainbow dancing to French music.”

These girls can move. I’ve never seen so much booty shaking at a Dance Tech performance. I will say it was very entertaining, and it can stay. Actually, this performance was so different from any of the dance performances I’ve seen while at Tech. This show displayed the creativity of the choreographers, but it was apparent that all of the dances were meant to be playful and fun. The looks some of theses dancers make on stage are hysterical.

In Act 1, the opening dance is called “Punchline.” This dance told an actual story about a woman’s father who is an avid joke teller. I truly like this dance. The entire song is narrated and at the beginning, whatever the narrator says, literally happens in the dance. There was a lot of play on words.

From “Punchline.” photography from Jared Canada.

The dance starts out to be very comical. There’s cursing, music from “The Little Mermaid” soundtrack, and a mime is involved. As the dance continues, the story drastically changes, but I’ll leave it up to you to see what happens next.

The next dance was called “She Ain’t Me.” This dance was one of my favorites. There was SO much color, a lot of tutus and a lot of movement. You can tell that the girls and choreographer had a blast creating this dance. I was having fun just from the audience.

From “She Ain’t Me” photography from Jared Canada.

The dance “If looks could kill, I’m expecting your glance” was interesting. It wasn’t as big a production as the first two dances, but there was a different aspect to it. The skirts that the dancers performed in were chosen to specifically heighten the dance. The dance basically focuses on them to help tell a story.

And then the show just went to the dogs. No, I’m serious. This entire dance, “Bark Park,” was focused on dogs. All of the performers wore dog costumes and I died in my seat right then and there. It was magical. The show started out with a video of all of the dance performers and their dogs and if not their dogs, a lot of cute ones that I would gladly adopt. Following the video the dancers proceeded to show me how much talent they all have. It was a great finale to the closing of the first half.

From “Park Bark” photography from Jared Canada.

“I’ve never seen so much booty shaking at a Dance Tech performance.”

After a 10-minute intermission, the dance that opened Act 2 was “A Bull in a China Shop/The Elephant in the Room.” This was another dance I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at. I really liked the outfits and intro choreography to this number. The dancers were dressed like it was the 20’s or early 30’s. There are “Napoleon Dynamite” references and even roller skates are involved.

What I found so interesting about this show was how much they incorporated video with the actual choreography. It was a nice change of pace to traditional dances.

“Spring Trilogy” was a fun performance. The tutus were the most neon-colored clothing pieces I have ever seen. The dance reminded me of a bunch of Skittles or the colors of the rainbow dancing to French music.

From “A Bull in a China Shop/The Elephant in the Room” photography from Jared Canada.

Last, but certainly not least, the dance ‘Let’s Get Physical’ was a fabulous finale. The dance starts out as a battle to fight for the fittest (no pun intended) between a yoga group and a bunch of hard a$$ pilate goers. As the dance progresses it turns into a bunch of Insanity confessions. There was even a basketball dance portion that almost puts ‘High School Musical’ to shame. Take that, Zac Efron. Finally, Ricky Martin music plays at the end. Shout out to my 90’s nostalgic self.

Dance Tech: The Funnies will be performed on the Maedgen Mainstage from Jan. 23 through Jan 26. Curtain times for the 2013-2014 Mainstage theatre season are 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sundays.

Tickets for Dance Tech: The Funnies are $18 for individuals and $5 for students with a valid student ID. A limited number of free student rush tickets are available for Texas Tech students. For more information call the Maedgen Theatre box office at (806) 742-3603.

Performers: Sarah Grudle, Breana Young, Chelsea Bohny, Leslie Gomez, Mandy Hanrahan, Allison Jones, Ally Sanov, Rebecca Seitz, Bailey Williams, Jillian Kurt, Allison Pelham, Katee Ice, Jessica Teague, and Kimberly Sheeran

Choreographers: Genevieve Durham DeCesaro, Trent D. WIlliams, Jr., Tricia Zweier, Ali Duffy, and Nicole Wesley

From ‘Let’s Get Physical’ Photography from Jared Canada.

Production Staff:

Stage Manager – Jenn McKown

Assistant Stage Manager – Diego Rodriguez

Sound Board Operator – Scott Ferrell, Jr.

Light Board Operator – Leni Morales

Costume Running Crew – Brittany Bell, Kayla Furgerson, Jordan Hammack, Hartlee Terrell, Virginia Waddell and Tawny Westbrook

Program Design – Troy Battle and Jason D. Beasley

Poster Design – KVN Studio

House Supervisor – Ashley Meyer

Assistant House Supervisor – DeRon Williams

House Managers – Students of THA 3104

Ushers – Students of THA 1104

Editor’s note: The stage manager, Jenn McKown, is the executive director of The Hub@TTU.