MIT Dance Troupe Is the Largest Dance Organization at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

About Us

MIT Dance Troupe is the largest dance organization at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We are a student-run group dedicated to bringing a variety of dance style to everyone in the MIT community, regardless of level. Every semester, we offer various dance classes to our members and produce one full length concert. Our concerts are some of the most highly anticipated and well-attended events on campus.

Membership

Membership is open to everyone, regardless of experience level. We welcome undergraduate and graduate students, alums, staff, and anyone else in the area interested in dance. Members pay dues once a semester: paying dues allows members to take unlimited Dance Troupe classes and participate in the concert. (Concert participation also depends on audition).

Officers

Dance Troupe is run entirely by a group of student officers, all of whom are elected by the members of Dance Troupe. Officers for all positions except Vice President are elected at the end of the spring semester. Vice President is elected at the end of the fall semester. Being an officer is a two-semester long commitment, although a person certainly can be reelected once their term ends.

Classes

Dance Troupe offers classes of different styles and levels to all of its members throughout the year. No audition or experience is required to attend classes.

Concert

Dance Troupe produces one concert every semester, usually with four shows over the course of one weekend. Our concerts are made up entirely of dances choreographed by students, and often include dance styles such as hip hop, jazz, ballet, tap, modern, and more. All members who want to be in the concert must audition. Auditions take place at the beginning of each semester. Members may participate in anywhere from one to four dances, with roughly one to two hours of rehearsal expected weekly per dance. In addition to rehearsals, dancers must attend First Showings and Second Showings (two run-throughs of the concert) and Production Week. Prod Week takes place the week before the concert and involves several dress rehearsals.

For more information about auditions, concerts, or contact information please visit our website at http://web.mit.edu/dancetroupe/www/.

Welcome to Bel Air

Music: Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince - Fresh Prince of Bel Air
Choreographed by Anna Kuperstein

Lighting Design by Kurt Stiehl and John Head

Performed by

Jeannette Allen / Erica Koval
Jackie Beer / Elizabeth Kwack
Connie Chace / Grace Lin
Joseph Cheng / Yunjie Ma
Kerry Cheung / Liz Nguyen
Isa de Castro / Erica Pavao
Kathryn Der / Anjum Sharma
Katie Dong / Munhee Sohn
Abraham Hsu / Raymond Tong
Adam Kho / Tiffany Wang
Mary Yu

Now this is a story all about how
My life got flipped turned upside down...

Over and Over Again

Music: Nelly ft. Tim McGraw – Over and Over Again

Choreographed by Heather Levites

Lighting Design by John Head

Performed by

Christina Huang / Katie Matlack
Heather Levites / Drea Urmanita

Get Right

Music: Jennifer Lopez – Get Right,

The Game – Put You On The Game

Choreographed by Isa de Castro

Lighting Design by Heather Brundage

Performed by

Yi Cai / Ada Lipkin
Jenny Chen / Yunjie Ma
Sophia Harrison / Shannon O'Connell
Michelle Law / Christine Yang
Janet Li / Kitty Zhou
Connie Lin / Sisi Zhu

These girls can hip, hop, and make your heart stop beating 'til you drop.

Juicy

Music: Ashanti – Only U

Choreographed by Amelia Laughton and Heather Levites

Lighting Design by John Head

Performed by

Suelin Chen / Viviana Serra
Amelia Laughton / Jessica So
Heather Levites / Bettina Tso

With guest appearances by

Abe Hsu, Jordan Medeiros, and Raymond Tong

Start with a prima ballerina. Then throw in some Britney, Janet, and JLo. Eliminate indecent exposure. Shake things up and add a few boys. Voilà!

Don't Hold Your Breath

Music: Shrek 2 Soundtrack - Holding Out For A Hero,

Trick Daddy – Let’s Go, Destiny’s Child – Lose My Breath

Choreographed by Kim Hinchey and Brandon Kraft

Lighting Design by Kurt Stiehl and John Head

Performed by

Aimee Beasley / Erica Koval
Connie Chace / Franklyn Lau
Catherine M Cresson / Ada Lipkin
Katie Dong / Anna Massie
Monica Hixon / Desiree Pujari
Stephen Steger

Featuring choreography from across the river at BU, this dance is a fusion of hip hop and jazz that will leave you breathless.

Something of Anguish

Music: Nightwish – Nemo
Choreographed by Irene Brisson

Lighting Design by Jon Gonda

Performed by

Emily Ambs / Webster Heffern
Irene Brisson / Rowena Mittal
Augusta Dibbell / Karen Verschooren
Ji Han

"Between the lips and the voice something goes dying. Something with the wings of a bird, something of anguish and oblivion."

-Pablo Neruda

Drop It

Music: Wisin y Yandel – Reggae Rockeao, Snoop Dogg ft. Pharrell – Drop It Like It’s Hot, MVP ft. Stagga Lee – Rock Ya Body

Choreographed by Ilia Santiago and Viviana Serra

Lighting Design by John Head

Performed by

Jackie Beer / Ashleigh Leonard
Meisha Bynoe / Jessica Luttkus
Suelin Chen / Rowena Mittal
Isa de Castro / Wendy Pierce
Christina Huang / Ilia Santiago
Elizabeth Kwack / Viviana Serra
Amelia Laughton / Bettina Tso

Take a vivid and ethereal Van Gogh. Then spice it up with volatile hip-hop. This is the recipe for bodies in perfect harmony to an unrestrained tempo. Simply put it’s a party in paradise, just that it’ll be as hot as hell. Felicidades Mami!

Finally: The Duet

Music: Madonna - Die Another Day, Forbidden Love,

Britney Spears and Madonna - Me Against the Music

Choreographed by Anna Kuperstein, Jessica So

Lighting Design by Jon Gonda

Performed by

Anna Kuperstein Jessica So

Try not to blink as 4 years of dancing with DT flash by in 4 minutes. One last time on the DT stage. It's you and me baby. Let's go.

BusT'n Stop AfterParty

Music: B2K – Bump That, LL Cook J – Headsprung

Choreographed by Joseph Yitan Cheng, Abraham Hsu

Lighting Design by John Head

Performed by

Kaliq Chang / Anthony Lim
Diana Cheng / George Lin
Derek Chu / Grace Lin
Kat Der / Liz Nguyen
Tony Eng / Anjum Sharma
Daphne Hao / Paul Sierra
Sandy Hwang / Raymond Tong
Michelle Law / Angela Wu
Jessica Lee / Mary Yu

Once upon a time, the Dance Troupe concert had just ended, and Abe and Joseph decided to meet up at the afterparty, Abe by way of bus and Joseph by way of the T. At the bus-stop, Abe befriended ghetto crip-walkin' hoodies, freestyle student with backpacks on, and little Asian girls. At the T-stop, Joseph danced with newspaper holdin' tuxedoed men sitting on a bench, crisp pop'ers, and even a mom and little kid joined in to dance. One can't even imagine what happened after these two groups met up at the afterparty...

Finding Strength

Music: Josh Groban – You Raise Me Up

Choreographed by Michelle Machon

Lighting Design by Jon Gonda

Performed by

Irene Brisson / Rowena Mittal
Shani Daily / Jess So
Amelia Laughton / Ling Tu
Michelle Machon / Christina Wright
Anna Massie / Mandy Yeung

In troubled times, strength can be found from the people in our lives. They are astounding and inspiring; they are our rocks for stability; they are our guides in the search for our true selves; and finally they give us wings to help us soar.

riDONKulous

Music: The Faint - I Disappear, M.I.A. – Sunshowers, Alicia Keys – Heartburn, Black Eyed Peas - That Boogie That Beat, Jennifer Lopez – Get Right, Missy Elliott - Lick Shots, Nick Cannon - Get Crunk Shorty

Choreographed and Performed by

Suelin Chen / Liz Kwack
Christina Huang / Will Merrick
Rasika Kumar / Paul Sierra
Anna Kuperstein / Drea Urmanita
Mary Yu

–  INTERMISSION –

* 15 minutes *

K-bomb

Music: YG Family – Mut Jeng Ee Shin Sah, 1TYM – Hot Ttu Guh

Choreographed by Kat Der, Hyon Lee, and Jordan Medeiros

Lighting Design by Heather Brundage

Performed by

Kathryn Der / Connie Lin
Bo Feng / Jordan Medeiros
Jonathan Fu / Ashley Shurick
Daphne Hao / Munhee Sohn
Abe Hsu / Ray Tong
Hyon Lee / Debbie Watkins
Jennifer Liang / Jennifer L Wong

The "K" comes from "K-pop" or "Korean Pop." Now, why are we a bomb? Because we'll drop it like it's hot. K-pop was first born in early 1990's, influenced by the Korean-American hybrid culture developed in the biggest K-town in America - LA. Of course, being on the West coast, the biggest influence was Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. Slowly, Koreans learned how to be a laid back pimp like Snoop. Naturally, we took the title from Snoop's latest hit "Drop it like it's hot" and named ourselves the K-bomb. The male part of the dance will take this idea and consist mostly of crip walking, popping and a small amount of break dancing, in a combination we call "laid-back hip hop". The female part of the dance will be very cute and flirty at parts.

Singing in the Rain

Music: Gene Kelly – Singing in the Rain

Choreographed by Anna Massie

Lighting Design by John Head

Performed by

Catherine Cresson / Erica Koval
Erika Erickson / Anna Massie
Erin Koksal / Katherine Romer

This dance is dedicated to all of us who have to walk back from class and endure the hideous weather that occurs here at MIT, for all of us who as children played in puddles and were scolded for getting ourselves drenched, and for all of us who still play in puddles because it simply makes us happier. For everyone in the first two categories an important lesson is to be learned from this song - If life gets you down...dancing and singing will make the world a much brighter place.

XtC

Music: Black Eyed Peas – Shut Up, Kelis – Trick Me

Choreographed by Bettina Tso

Lighting Design by Kurt Stiehl

Performed by

Jackie Beer / Jessica Luttkus
Derek Chu / Will Merrick
Christina Huang / Desiree Pujari
Adam Kho / Kenny Rosche
Amelia Laughton / Ashley Shurick
Heather Levites / Paul Sierra
Grace Lin / Bettina Tso
Andrea Urmanita

There's nothing more to us than XtC. Watch us as everything inspires us to dance: the energy in people, the music, the rhythm, the movement. Dance hasn't just impacted our lives. It is our life. It's all about having fun and not caring, so sit back and feel us!

Fuimonos!

Music: La Sonora Carruseles - Arranca en Fa

Choreographed by Ilia Santiago and Viviana Serra

Lighting Design by Katrina Kimovec

Performed by

Sebastian Castro / Carlos Dorta-Quinones
Silverio Garcia / Ilia Santiago
Ana Matos / Viviana Serra

Salsa is something that runs in our veins. It takes us back to our roots, it represents who we are, and it keeps causing sensation every time people express the passion and sexiness involved in the dance. This piece is a trip to the streets of old San Juan... enjoy this hot salsa with lots of Puerto Rican, Mexican, and Ecuatorian flavor! Fuimonos! Ana thanks so much for all your help!

Your Goodies

Music: Ciara – 1, 2 Step
Choreographed byAnjum Sharma

Lighting Design by Kurt Stiehl

Performed by

Aimee Beasley / Jen Liang
Nina DeBenedictis / Meghana Limaye
Rajini Haraksingh / Jackee Nowicke
Sophia Kamran / Erica Pavao
Jessica Lee / Ashley Shurick
Ashleigh Leonard / Debbie Watkins

Dandias, rhythmic dance sticks used in Garba/Raas, a dance form from the Indian east side, compliment the Hip Hop moves of these bling'd out sexy ladies like peanut butter and honey on a warm whole wheat bun...yummm, surprisingly good. We had a punktastically awesome time putting this together for you all, especially since this type of fusion hasn't been done on stage before. Audience: your goodies will SLIRM!

Triptico

Music: Gotan Project – Triptico

Choreographed by Jessica Luttkus

Lighting Design by Kurt Stiehl

Performed by

Jessica Luttkus / Christina Wright
Michelle Machon / Mandy Yeung
Juliana Olmstead

OK, we all know it, ballet can be boring. For this dance traditional moves were tweaked to make it more contemporary and fun. Order leads to chaos and the energy keeps building. It's all about playing with the music then seeing what happens.

Make Me Wanna Scream

Music: Janet and Michael Jackson – Scream

Choreographed by Derek Chu and Grace Lin

Lighting Design by Katrina Kimovec

Performed by

Kaliq Chang / Heather Levites
Joseph Cheng / Grace Lin
Derek Chu / Will Merrick
Abe Hsu / Paul Sierra
Anna Kuperstein / Bettina Tso
Liz Kwack / Mary Yu

Welcome to Dolce and Gabbana's dance. Sit back and get your seat blown away by the intensity and energy of Kaliq "I'm a Boy-Band Member at Heart" Chang, Joseph "Watch Me Do the Girl Part" Cheng, Derek "I Have the Best Co-Choreographer Ever" Chu, Abe "You're Squishy" Hsu, Anna "Jessica Simpson" Kuperstein, Liz "I think Derek's a Cutie" Kwack, Heather "I Finally Have a Tall Partner" Levites, Grace "I Am Not Writing My Own Nickname" Lin, Will "I Can Dance Better than You" Merrick, Paul "Bettina's Butt Hit My Face" Sierra, Bettina "I Think Paul's Hot" Tso, and Mary "I look Hardcore, but I'm Actually Really Really Silly" Yu.

Please enjoy our interpretation of the craziness that is "Scream," andnote that while we love Michael Jackson's music, we do not endorse his alleged extracurricular activities in any way.