"It's too late now to say sorry" for not going to DSQUAD's free spring showcase in the Alice Haynes Room on Wednesday night.
The student-run group of 21 women was welcomed by a room packed with spectators. They had to bring out more chairs as people continued to arrive after 9 p.m. The show featured 11 performances with hip-hop dances to songs such as "Love Yourself," "Monster," "Beg For It," "Down in the DM" and "Sorry."
"Our pieces are typically hip-hop with a little bit of booty shaking and a girly touch to it," said Lyndsay Patterson, a senior in DSQUAD.
Patterson has been a member of the squad since her sophomore year and said every one of the dancers is amazing. This year's group is the largest DSQUAD has had since Patterson joined.
"My favorite thing about this show, and the saddest, is that it's my last show, which is crazy," Patterson said. "I've been doing dance performances since I was three, and now I'm graduating so it won't be as easy to have that outlet."
Melissa Cooper, a senior and co-president of DSQUAD, choreographed most of the dances, including those with the whole ensemble. Additional choreographers were co-president Ellen Silka, Alaina Hyde and Sarah Carroll. They drew inspiration from popular dances on YouTube.
Cooper choreographed a series of dances for each grade level, with four back-to-back performances to different hip-hop songs. Freshman danced to "Elastic Heart," followed by sophomore and junior groups. The seniors closed the event by dancing to a "Hotline Bling" remix.
The squad started rehearsal after returning from break in January, with weekly two-hour practices and additional meet-ups on the weekends when necessary.
Other on-campus dance groups such as the SpinnURs and Embody made special guest performances during the show as well, with members of DSQUAD performing with multiple groups.
"I thought they fit in really well with DSQUAD," freshman Zoe Ready said. "They all kinda had the same tempo, and the dances all fit together well."
Ready came to the show to support her friends Heather Gardiner and Rachel Bochner, both freshmen in the group.
"It gave me a break from schoolwork, and the girls make dancing so much fun," Gardiner said.
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To end the showcase, the whole team performed the dance from Justin Bieber's popular music video, "Sorry." The squad was decked out in vibrant clothing and sunglasses as they blew final kisses to the crowd.
"I'm definitely sad it's all over," Bochner said. "I love the 'Sorry' dance so much and that's the only time we got to perform it. But anytime I hear that song now, it'll remind me of this performance."
Contact reporter Kay Trulaske at kay.trulaske@richmond.edu
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