Week 5
It’s a windy Thursday afternoon. As students file into Gampel Pavilion, the chants from various cultural centers echo out over the massive crowds. The SUBOG officials announce homecoming court and congratulatory yells spill from the crowd in the forms of “I voted for him!” or “She deserved to win!” Everyone waits in anticipation as the MC takes center stage. After a few brief announcements and the customary “UCONN – HUSKIES” chant, the crowd goes silent and the tension builds as the MC asks, “Are you ready for the first performance?” The crowd goes wild knowing that one of the biggest events of the year is about to begin.
This was the scene Thursday as LipSync began. After weeks of practicing, planning, the culmination of all the hard work the university has put into this event comes to fruition. The various cultural centers, Greek organizations and other student run organizations have put in hundreds of hours and it all culminates in a series of 8-minute mini-musicals, which behind the Homecoming parade, is probably the most anticipated Homecoming event in all of the Storrs community.
Now Lipsync isn’t just a simple dance competition there’s actually a lot more that goes into it. The judging criteria for Lipsync is based on multiple categories, including the dancing, the lip-syncing, how well the story line was carried out and how easy it was to follow, the creativity of the performance and the use of props. With this in mind the various organizations around campus look to exemplify these attributes through their performance and make it the most memorable of the night. Between my experiences and speaking with alumni and faculty members who have attended both current and past LipSync events I can say that this year’s line up proved not only to be the longest topping off at about 17 performances but also the most suspenseful. With the high quality of performances this year there was no clear-cut winner in any category, and that added to the adrenaline rush.
Now onto the actual performances, this was by far the most entertaining LipSync that I have attended in my 3 years here at UConn. There were 18 performances and I can honestly say every organization brought something new to the stage. Whether it was acrobatics, props, or simply the intensity of the performers every show had the crowd out of their seats. As a performer with the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center I’ve always tended to pay the most attention to the cultural center performances however, this year, every organization commanded attention. No matter what organization you represented that night you couldn’t help but be impressed with everyone.
As I said earlier, all the performances were amped up 150% from past years, but even beyond the dancing new thrills were brought to the stage. For example the Asian American Cultural Center shed new light on their performance of Finding Nemo by actually using handheld lights during their dance. Also the Rainbow Center’s costumes were great. You really got a sense that you were in the actual film Snow White. Also one thing I found particularly entertaining about the Greek organizations performances was the props and way they chose to incorporate their respective films along with the Homecoming game. My personal favorite out of all the performances however would have to be the rendition of Aladdin, It’s always been my favorite Disney movie.
Overall, I think LipSync 2010 was the best one so far. The music selections not only got the crowd excited, but took us back to our childhood in some cases with the great Disney soundtracks. The organizations brought a level of intensity that rivaled professional performances, and you could tell that everyone was passionate about bringing who they are to the stage. I think this Lipsync more than anything else got people excited for LipSync 2011, and now none of us can wait to see what next year holds in-store.
Be on the look out for a follow-up post where I’ll give a category by-category breakdown of the winners of the night.
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