Crowding into LPAC this past Saturday, students and guests spilled out of seats and onto the floor in order to watch Rhythm n Motion’s 10th Anniversary show. With shout-outs, whistles and wild applause erupting throughout the performance, the audience showed its appreciation for the Tri-Co dance troupe by transforming the event into a full-blown celebration, featuring their friends and classmates’ semester- worth of hard work.
“I thought all of the dancers were really amazing,” Rita Zevallos ’15 said after the show. “They had amazing control over their bodies, and at the same time, had a really powerful energy behind their movements that enabled me, as an audience member, to feel that energy. It was a lot of fun.”
The performance included everything from traditional African pieces to breakdancing, with innovation ruling the night. Combining their choreography with crowd-pleasing musical selections like Tyga’s “Rack City” and Jay-Z & Kayne West’s “N*ggas in Paris,” RnM dancers whipped up excitement in their appreciative audience.
Many of the pieces focused on a central idea or storyline, which was included in the program. Exploring scenarios from heroin addiction to heartbreak in styles ranging from salsa to funk, dancers employed movement, costume choices and lighting to package their narratives.
The end of the performance featured a number choreographed and performed each by the “newbies” to RnM and the graduating seniors. The group will say goodbye to 13 seniors at the end of this year, including Co-Directors Tanya Rosenblut and Thomas Soares, Artistic Director Allison Stuewe and Publicity Manager Monica Ajinkya.
“ It ended up being a really great show — it came together really nicely,” RnM dancer Tim Vaughan ’15 said. “Everyone was ecstatic and really happy that it had gone so well, and more than anything it was so much fun. After so many weeks of rehearsal where the choreographers were panicking because the dances didn’t look how they imagined them, and crazy six hour days of rehearsals, it all became very worth it in the end.”
“There were a lot of tears,” Rosenblut said. “A lot of the seniors have been dancing together for three or four years. Being in RnM is a huge time commitment and a huge experience — for me, one of the only big experiences I’ve had at Swarthmore beyond academics. I’m definitely excited to come back in the future and see the shows. I think the group will definitely continue growing … there’s a lot of talent, especially in the freshmen and sophomore classes.”
