Picture this: 1,100 RC and 350 EC students in a ballroom, having consumed a total of 500 bottles of wine, staring expectantly at the stage where Alex Michael “two first names, one vision” (NH), and Vikram Sharma (NE) were standing mike in hand.
Alex is the quintessential New York party boy; sharp, flamboyant, and often seen dancing with one pant leg rolled up. Vikram is the expert engineer from India who somehow ended up in Cleveland, Ohio; calm, brainy, and an absolute TOM expert. Yet an idea for Holidazzle brought them together as emcees of the first annual RC Dance-off.
Ten couples took the stage to compete for the title of best dancers. From Olympic champion dancers to first-timers, most sections entered a team, while NF cheered on two. Only one couple would walk off a winner.
Once on stage, participants introduced themselves with lines like “He’s a Midwestern stud with an affinity for Mountain Dew, she’s an East Coast beauty who can run spreadsheets in her sleep – please welcome the swinging sensations of Mr. Kevin Kaberna and Ms. Claudine Madras!” The crowd cheered, although not because they could actually hear what was happening on stage. The copious amounts of alcohol consumed during section slide shows, combined with poor acoustics in the room, meant that the clever introductions were missed by most.
From the Lambada to a retro-like Tango, the competitive dance teams pulled out all the stops to win a coveted prize: Two tickets to the Newport Ball. With section dues, retreat weekends, and a truckload of SA events still leaving most of us staring sadly at an empty bank account, the prize took on a whole new meaning. The winners, Kevin and Claudine from “G-Unit,” took first place with a flip that impressed everyone in the audience. With only 15 minutes of practice the night before Holidazzle, the couple from NG relied on good ole-fashioned jitterbugging, mixed with a touch of adrenaline, to rile up the crowd.
Holidazzle, the culmination of two months of tireless planning on behalf of the SA social committee and the RC and EC social chairs, was the perfect evening to celebrate the end of the fall semester. From sexy musical numbers in NE to jam bands in ND, the RC sections outdid themselves with a range of entertainment fit for late-night television.
