Dancing with the ’Dores, Vida’s annual spring showcase, will take place Friday, April 10, in Sarratt Cinema. Vida is Vanderbilt’s audition-based Latin dance group, and their showcase highlights a wide variety of Latin dance styles through a “Dancing with the Stars” format. The showcase provides an opportunity for non-Vida members to learn and perform various styles of Latin dance, from bachata to tango, salsa to reggaeton.
Vanderbilt students, each representing a different student organization, pair with Vida choreographers to put together a short performance of their assigned dance style. Unlike “Dancing with the Stars,” Vida members do not perform with their “stars,” letting students new to Latin dance take center stage.
“My favorite part of the show as a whole is just like, expanding the love of Latin dance and people coming in randomly from the Vanderbilt community who, some have no dance experience at all,” Vida president and senior Kate Gonçalves said. “To see them smiling and lighting up on stage, and then to see our members who choreographed for them so proud of their own dancers because of the work that they put in, that makes all of the work I do behind the scenes worth it.”
Dancing with the ’Dores has been going on for over ten years. The showcase usually displays eight to ten styles of dance, with over 25 dancers. Each style features one or two couples (most Latin dances are done in pairs), and each group competes for the first-, second- and third-place spots. The competition is judged by a panel of Vida alumni and Nashville social dance community experts.
To break up the setlist, Vida members will show off their skills, dancing a cha-cha and a Cuban salsa. Vida’s executive board will also perform a samba to open the show. Additionally, Ballet Folklórico, Vanderbilt’s Mexican folkloric dance group, and Nilaja Amari, Vanderbilt’s African dance troupe, will be featured as guest performers.
“It’s so uplifting to the Latin community, because I feel like you just get the energy from them, whether it’s Folklórico with their skirts and powerful steps, or even Nilaja with their Afro style. I think it’s really, really fun to get so many styles being showcased,” Vida vice president and junior Zion Gonzalez Salgado said.
The night will begin with a dinner of Venezuelan food in the Sarratt lobby, then move into the cinema for the show kickoff at 7 p.m. CST. The entire event is free, but tickets need to be reserved in advance through the Box Office.
Vida has been preparing for the showcase since the fall semester. In December, the group opened up a form for students interested in participating in the show. They received over 45 applicants and then worked to match dancers with choreographers, assign dance styles, and schedule rehearsal time.
“We open up the show for everyone. Whether you have dance experience or not, we just want to bring you into this beautiful show that we have and teach you a little bit of what Latin dance culture is like,” Gonzalez said.
Dancing with the ’Dores groups practice for one hour per week for months leading up to the showcase. Vida choreographers spend extra time coming up with their dances and planning behind-the-scenes details like costumes, lighting cues and audio mixes. Sophomore and Vida member Dinah Beylison choreographed a cha-cha to a Celia Cruz song.
“The rehearsals are always a really fun vibe. It’s very social. The dances are easier and low pressure because we’re trying to keep this a fun activity and not something super stressful,” Beylison said. “We very much work with the desire and drive of our dancers.”
Groups rehearse every week, beginning with the basics of social dance. Students learn how to dance as a couple, communicating with each other through movement and creating a synchronized performance. Gonzalez discussed the difficulties of choreographing for students newer to dance.
“It’s such a challenge, not just for the new people trying something new, but also for us, because we are so used to being with people who have some sort of knowledge when it comes to dancing, or have been practicing with us for so long, that you actually have to take a step back and go into the basics,” Gonzalez said.
Senior Becca Guetzov will be dancing in the cumbia group. Cumbia is a percussion-driven dance that originated in Colombia. Guetzov describes it as circular, with dancers dancing around each other instead of back and forth, as is common in many other Latin styles.
“This was an opportunity to learn a new dance style in a very casual setting where the choreographers are working directly with me and my partner,” Guetzov said. “I really appreciate that they fully are there for your experience to teach you and accommodate to you.”
Guetzov will be performing as a lead, which is the dancer that controls the spinning and dips of the follow. Traditionally, leading is a masculine role while following is a feminine role. However, Vida tends to switch things up in their performances. In Guetzov’s cumbia group, all four dancers are women.
“We’re all very excited about it, to the point where me and my partner have been meeting outside of rehearsals just to practice, and our choreographer even will come to those extra rehearsals just to sit in if we have any questions,” Guetzov said.
Throughout the months of February and March, dancers learn their choreography and work on staging. Each group performs for around one and a half minutes, which may not seem like a long time, but requires significant dedication and practice to perfect. Even so, rehearsal is an enjoyable experience for both dancers and choreographers.
“There’s this one move that I showed and one of my follows did it better than I probably ever will be able to, just because of her previous dance experience. And I love it when that happens. I love it when people enjoy my choreography,” Beylison said.
As the show date draws near, dancers prepare their costumes, perfect the final details of their performance and attend a dress rehearsal. Meanwhile, Vida members work behind the scenes to promote the show. One entertaining element of the showcase is the introductory videos played before each performance. During rehearsals, each group performs a funny skit introducing themselves, while their choreographers are interviewed about how they think their dancers will perform. It is a fun way for dancers to show their creativity and hype up the competitive spirit.
Guetzov also participated in last year’s Dancing with the ’Dores, in which she performed merengue. She said she hopes to replicate the high-energy vibes of last year’s show.
“There was just a lot of excitement, because we filled every single seat to the point where people were standing or sitting in the audience, which was really fun, and everyone was just cheering for you,” Guetzov said. “It’s really cool to see the final product where you don’t even know if someone went from barely being able to step on two feet, to being able to do an entire minute and 30 second performance. So it’s always a big surprise how good the other dancers are.”
At the end of the showcase, the judges award gold, silver and bronze medals to their top dances, who win bragging rights until the next year’s showcase inevitably rolls around. Even for those who do not win, Dancing with the ’Dores provides an opportunity for Vanderbilt students to learn a new skill and have fun performing for their peers, as everyone who attends gets immersed in the world of Latin dance.
“Our set is very energetic,” Gonçalves said. “It’s electric. So if you’re looking forward to a fast-paced, upbeat, exciting show, you should come.”
