VIBE dance company blew the audience away with its show, “The Remix,” on Feb. 11, which featured Vanderbilt’s improv comedy group, Tongue ‘N’ Cheek.
Langford Auditorium was packed with friends, family and dance gurus alike traveling from as far as Chicago and Florida. Some boasted fatheads of their favorite dancer while others showed their pride with loud cheers.
Three members of Tongue ‘N’ Cheek started the show, waltzing out in matching plaid pajama pants. They rallied the crowd with some humorous call and response before the show commenced, even tossing around some “vibe” related puns throughout the evening.
The VIBE performance started with a bang, with the company dancing to the aptly titled “Rih-Mix”: a combination of Rihanna’s top hits. Choreographed by VIBE executive members, this energetic performance was complete with strobe lights. This dance undoubtedly set the tone for the rest of the show.
Members of Tongue ‘N’ Cheek gracefully transitioned to the next dance after what they called a “moment of gratitude,” and the dance “Whole Lotta Money” took off. This next mashup featured denim-clad and dynamic dancers.
After a feature from Momentum Dance Company, VIBE performed “Now We’ve Got Bad Blood” with a few of Vanderbilt’s Next Step students. If a Taylor Swift song wasn’t enough to hype up the viewers, this fun dance had the whole audience clapping along.
Choreographer of “Slow Havana Motion” and VIBE dancer Talia Kunin, a sophomore, spoke on the effort required to make the show come to life.
“We spent hours on end making sure every individual step was accurate, together, precise and perfect,” Kunin said. “The most fun part is definitely seeing our visions come to life and the process in which we do that. It really gives us a unique form of self-confidence when we hype each other up when we are dancing, and it really bonds us.”
The performance included two other performances from Vandy Tap That! and VIVID. Tap That!, a tap dance group, had the audience cheering when they came onstage and tapped to Luke Bryan’s “Country Girl (Shake it for Me).” VIVID, Vanderbilt’s K-pop dance group, put on a captivating and lively dance medley to Korea’s hottest pop songs. These features kept up the energy throughout the entire show.
When the audience was not clapping for the dance performances, they were rooting for the five audience members that were brought on stage for a Tongue ‘N’ Cheek dance-off.
VIBE choreographer and dancer Marly Fass, sophomore, reflected on her favorite part of being a dancer for this show.
“The best feeling on stage is hearing someone cheer your name. I have the most amazing friends and family who came to support and it motivated me throughout the entire show,” Fass said. “Coming out of the dressing room post-show and seeing so many other people who came for me than I even expected overwhelmed me with so much happiness.”
VIBE President Kayla White, junior, spoke on how the dance company worked tirelessly yet passionately for the past semester and a half to put the show on.
“We started prepping for the show the second week of October,” White explained. “We practiced for about two hours a week but, as we got closer to the show, it ramped up to four hours per week. Depending on how many dances [a student] w[as] part of, [they] could practice for up to nine hours.”
The performers’ smiles while dancing proved that their hard work paid off. Great vibes were definitely flying through Langford Auditorium last Saturday night!
