Davis Dance Revolution to feature campus dance groups at Picnic Day
Every year Picnic Day brings a myriad of activities for students to participate in and witness. One of these events is Davis Dance Revolution (DDR). DDR began 11 Picnic Days ago and has continued its success each year. It is a highly anticipated and energized event that showcases the various dance groups on campus.
The competition is split between the traditional cultural dance groups, including Baile De Fuego, Bhangre Di Jaan, Davis Wushu, Filipino Association for Health Careers, Golden Turtle Lion Dance Association, Japanese American Student Society and Na Keiki ‘O Hawai’I, and the modern dance groups that include Agape, Beats Per Minute, Davis Ballet Company, MK Modern, Mobility, Released Contemporary Dance Company and SoNE1. One group is chosen from the traditional style dances and one is chosen from the modern style dances as champions. The winners are chosen by a panel of judges, which includes an array of professional dancers.
The victors are awarded a cash prize and bragging rights among the dance community. Therefore, the competition is regarded highly as all groups strive for success.
Nathaniel Harder, the president of the Golden Turtle Lion Dance Association, a Southeast Asian cultural lion dance group, and a fourth-year biochemistry and molecular biology major, hopes to beat out the other dance groups competing in the traditional category but still maintain the fun atmosphere.
“DDR is definitely a competition, but is also fun too. As long as we go out and give a good performance, then the end result doesn’t really matter; as long as we can be proud of our work in the end,” Harder said.
Armaan Bhattal, a fourth-year civil engineering major and president of Bhangre Di Jaan, echoed Harder in his desire to take the group’s hard work and translate it into a win.
“Bhangre Di Jaan has the most energy of any group,” Bhattal said. “We really want a win this year after not placing last year.”
All of the groups have put a great deal of hard work into creating innovative choreography for their sets to be presented at DDR, pulling out all of the stops for the most important performance of the year. They expressed a hope to be awarded with a bigger fan base as a result.
Janine Klein, a second-year wildlife, fish and conservation biology major and director of hip hop group Mobility, promised a fun set that would hopefully establish a dedicated group of fans.
“I would love a bigger fan base,” Klein said. “We have some supporters, called Mobsters, but would like more [supporters]. [We want to achieve this] through making people happy, making them laugh, grooving with the audience and connecting with them instead of performing at them.”
Fifth-year art studio major Gavin Cheng, who is the team leader and manager of k-pop dance group SoNE1, also wants to entertain the audience with great energy and surprises.
“We just want recognition [more than a win] because people don’t know about the genre. We have our best set yet this year because it is really geared toward high-energy dances with high-energy songs,” Cheng said. “The audience will be invested throughout the whole set. We hope to be a breath of fresh air for people who don’t know K-pop and surprising for those that do.”
All groups, whether traditional or modern, have exciting sets planned for the 11th annual Davis Dance Revolution that they hope the audience enjoys. Dancers promise a fun, good time showing off what they have been working on non-stop leading up to the event.
For tickets or more information go to csi.ucdavis.edu/programs/davis-dance-revolution/. Tickets can also be purchased at the door but sell out fast.
Graphic by Center for Student Involvement.
