Volume CXXXIII, Number 4 September 28, 2001 f

Obvious dance group
JULIE THOMPSON
Staff Writer

All right, let's face it: we all wish we could dance. Inevitably while channel surfing and landing for that split second on MTV, we all imagine ourselves up there with J.Lo, shaking it with the best of them. Sadly, many of us are rhythmically-challenged and can only admire the talents of our more gifted friends from afar.

Fortunately, for the would-be-dancers among us, a new dance group has emerged on Bowdoin's campus this fall. The dance group Obvious, formed by Kristen Dummer '04 and Emily Bruce '04, combines the freshness of modern hip-hop dance with its equally groove-worthy beats. As if hip-hop dance wasn't difficult enough to learn and addictive to watch, Obvious will also incorporate the technically difficult yet visually stunning element of break-dancing.

Obvious formed as a way to breathe life into the Bowdoin dance scene. (Emily Bruce, Bowdoin Orient)

While talking with Dummer about the group, it became clear that Obvious was not just another dance group with a quirky name. Both former members of Vague, the co-founders came up with the idea for the group late last year as a way of focusing predominantly on hip-hop dance and music. Because of the enormous turnout the Activities Fair generated (they had 73 people sign up), Dummer and Bruce decided to split the group into three smaller sections, each of which will perform its own dance.

"We wanted to take a different approach to dance, focusing more on hip-hop and street music," Dummer said of the group's formation.

"I like how the group brings a new cultural perspective to Bowdoin's dance community," Bruce said. "We knew that there was a great interest in hip-hop on campus, but it hadn't been realized yet."

One of the things Bruce brings to the group is her break dancing ability, learned from a Washington, D.C. street jam class. "We want to incorporate all of the components of hip-hop into our dances. With the help of Ben [Needham '05, the other break dancing instructor], I hope to teach the basics of the skill, so that our performances reflect hip-hop the way it's meant to be."

Currently in the process of obtaining a charter from Student Government, Dummer said she is excited about the prospects of the group not only as a performance ensemble, but also as an athletic enterprise. The leaders emphasize warming up together before rehearsal, and Dummer sees the group as both a performance-oriented dance troupe and as a sport.

The group plans to perform not only at Bowdoin but in the community as well, with trips to area high schools in the future along with a possible appearance at a benefit for the victims of the New York and D.C. attacks. With so many possibilities and such an appealing genre, Obvious is poised to make a big impact on dance at Bowdoin.