The dance moves and the drumsticks came together for Boomshaka’s 26th annual spring show titled “Set in Motion.” But this was also the last show for seniors. Erica Schmitt has the story.
[drums beating]
LIKE A BEATING OF THE HEART, STEP INTO THE WORLD OF –
[drums beating]
BOOMSHAKA.
SHANLEY PAVILLION’S LIGHTS DIMMED AND THE DRUMS AND DANCING CAME TOGETHER FOR BOOMSHAKA’S 26TH ANNUAL SPRING SHOW THIS WEEKEND.
SET IN MOTION WAS 90 MINUTES OF STUDENT-CHOREOGRAPHED PERFORMANCES. WEINBERG SENIOR HARRISON ISRAEL IS ONE OF THE CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS FOR BOOMSHAKA. ISRAEL WORKED WITH THE EXECUTIVE BOARD TO DECIDE WHICH PROPOSED PIECES WOULD RUN DURING THE PERFORMANCE.
[HARRISON] Something that’s really unique is we’re able to do this, what are called small cast pieces, which have like little segments of the cast. Not everyone is in every piece. And it really brings out people’s creativity and allows everyone to get a chance to write.
AND THE SHOW HAD SEVERAL ELEMENTS TO IT –
[HI] It’s definitely a roller coaster of a show. We have sort of everything from like, humor in the show, which is really exciting. But there’s also sort of some really intense like serious vibes. There’s some pieces that are sexier, there are some pieces that are really like angry and intense. And then a bunch that are humorous and fun.
WEINBERG SENIOR SOPHIE GILBERT IS ONE OF THE TWO CREATIVE DIRECTORS OF BOOMSHAKA. AS A DANCER FOR BOOMSHAKA, SHE MAINLY FOCUSES ON THE ARTISTIC IMAGE OF THE SHOW. SHE CHOREOGRAPHED THREE OF THE PIECES, INCLUDING THE OPENER TO THE SONG “BAD GIRLS” BY MIA.
[nat sound]
[SOPHIE] I’m doing the dancing. Harrison is doing the drumming and it’s just like full cast fun, hype piece. I’m also choreographing a small cast piece to “Me and your Mama” by Childish Gambino – that’s again, drumming and dancing. And that was just kind of because that was a song I’ve always wanted to dance to and I also thought it would sound really cool with drums.
THIS YEAR, THERE WERE ENOUGH SENIOR DANCERS AND DRUMMERS TO CREATE A SENIOR PIECE – ISRAEL AND GILBERT WORKED TO CREATE A PERFORMANCE TO “GREEN LIGHT” BY LORDE.
[song]
[HI] It’s kind of sad and nostalgic, but it’s definitely a very emotional moment in the show.
ISRAEL SAID THERE ARE SOME OTHER WAYS BOOMSHAKA CELEBRATES THE SENIOR’S LAST SHOW.
[HI] We do senior speeches before the Saturday 10pm Show, where all the seniors give sort of like an emotional heartfelt speech, which is always a very sad and bittersweet moment.
FORMER BOOMSHAKA DRUMMER AND CLASS OF 2020 ALUMNI, EMILY COFFEE WENT TO THE FRIDAY PERFORMANCES.
COFFEE SAID IT IS A COMMON TRADITION FOR ALUMNI TO COME TO THE SPRING SHOWS UNTIL THE LAST CLASS OF PEOPLE THEY DANCED WITH GRADUATES. THIS YEAR, SENIORS THAT PERFORMED, INCLUDING ISRAEL AND GILBERT, WERE FRESHMEN WHEN COFFEE WAS A SENIOR.
[Emily] Before you do a spring show, you have all the other people in the group telling you ‘Oh the alumni will be there.’ You write different pieces of the show thinking about the people that will be there. When you become an alumni and generally a partner crowd and then you get to see kind of the other side of that eventually like kind of that exciting factor as well. So it’s really fun to be an audience member and see the parts of the show that the performers are really excited about.
COFFEE IS NOW THE STAFF ADVISOR FOR THE DANCE GROUP. SHE SAID THIS WAS ONE OF HER MOST SPECIAL SHOWS TO WATCH.
[EC] It was really an amazing show. It’s so cool every year to see kind of how Boomshaka changes in a lot of ways to help save and save other ways with each task, but this year, like one of my favorite shows, honestly, it was really, really exciting. All of the pieces are super fun. And it’s just good representation of kind of like how the performances can be like silly and quick as like laughable but also have some really cool art on on stage as well
BUT HER FAVORITE PART OF THE SHOW?
[EC] One of the skwids, or the new members was facing off with one of the seniors who were like dropping solos on the stools and we were sitting in the audience with like the new member right in front of us. So we were really cheering loud for him. And it’s really fun to see kind of a Boomshaka member’s like first show.
ACCORDING TO COFFEE, BOOMSHAKA’S COMMUNITY EVEN CONTINUES ON AS ALUMNI.
[EC] It’s fun to be a part of and it’s super fun to be an alumni as well. Particularly because of the longevity, we have like 40 year olds who were Boomshaka founders who came to the 20th anniversary show our freshman year. We were just amazed by how these people started Boomshaka and are now just still here. It’s a really special community, I think.
[Sounds of performance]
FOLLOWING THE END OF SATURDAY’S SHOW, THE SENIOR BUCKET TRADITION TOOK PLACE, WHERE SENIORS RECEIVE A SMALL WHITE BUCKET WITH THEIR NAME ON IT.
[HI] The underclassmen filled up with all sorts of treats and surprises and stuff. And that’s a big full circle moment. Because when you first enter the group is like a new member, you get a white bucket that says your name. And it says the word ‘squid’ on it, which is what we call our new members.
AS GILBERT WRAPPED UP HER FINAL SHOW THIS WEEKEND, SHE IS LEFT WITH A FEELING OF BITTERSWEETNESS.
[SG] I’ve learned so much each year and gotten to figure out kind of what my creative voice is and this is like the final iteration of that, but it definitely makes me really sad. Like for me, I’ve been dancing since I was like three. It’s just kind of always been a part of my life. So I feel like it hasn’t really hit me yet that this is like the last time I’m ever gonna get to, like do a performance like this.
LIKE GILBERT, ISRAEL IS FEELING A MIX OF EMOTIONS. BUT, HE IS EXCITED TO SEE WHAT THE NEXT GROUP OF LEADERS DOES.
[HI] I’m super proud of the show. And I’m really proud of what the entire cast was able to do to put this together. I think it’s our best show yet. There’s so much variety in it. And it’s just been an honor and a privilege getting to watch everyone over the year grow and develop their own creativity.
[drum nat sounds]
AS THE CURTAINS WENT DOWN AND THE DRUMSTICKS WERE PUT AWAY, BOOMSHAKA’S SPRING SHOW CLOSED WITH LOTS OF TEARS.
FROM WNUR NEWS, I’M ERICA SCHMITT.
