Enthuiatia Qock iu by Naomi Blum
Sing acts embody theme, attract atntion
s the last notes of the duet hung in the air, the lights gently dimmed into complete darkness. A slight rustling could be heard as bodies scuttled across the stage and moved into A position behind the curtain. Suddenly, a high voice screamed "Let's get ready to shuffle!" With a flash, the curtain rose, colorful lights decorated the stage and students dressed as playing cards began to sing and dance with enthusiasm. This colorful and lively act, "52 Card Pick-up," presented by Kappa Kappa Gamma and Phi Kappa Psi eventually earned the team both the Division B Title and the Overall Award at the annual IU Sing competition. Held at the IU Auditorium the weekend of Feb. 16.17, the event's theme, "Rock and Roll All Night," combined the singing and dancing talents of 47 groups into 27 acts over two evenings. "There was so much that went into it," said sophomore Kelly Robertson, songleader for Kappa Kappa Gamma. "We weren't expecting to win. I covered my mouth (in disbelief) to scream when they announced that we won because I just couldn't believe it." Members of Kappa Kappa Gamma and other organizations said emotions were indeed inflated at the award ceremonies. After all, Robertson said, months of work were condensed into seven-minute performances. Many songleaders began brainstorming and organizing their acts in October. Songleaders were responsible for working out the details of theme, story line, music, choreography and costumes for the groups they organized. Senior Sean Nolan, songleader for Phi Kappa Psi, like most songleaders, had been involved in IU Singboth as a performer and a leader. He said the position presented many challenges to himself and to the group. "Every songleader has their own ideas," he said. "You just have to throw them all out and narrow them down with everyone else. After Winter Break, we all have to come together and make the show take form." Because of the lack of residence hall participants who remained from year to year, songleaders in the dorms faced different kinds of challenges. In addition to the challenge of finding a songleader who also had practice as a performer, many residence hall participants were freshmen and unfamiliar with the logistics of the performance. Never having seen IU Sing, they were unsure of which characteristics the judges looked for in a successful act. "We really didn't know what to expect as continued
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