Hi everyone, and welcome back to my blog! Last weekend was a very packed one for me, as it’s finally reached finals season, and secondly, because I had my very first DASAC Showcase on both Saturday and Sunday evenings. DASAC stands for Dance and Step Amherst College, a dance group on campus that specializes in hip-hop and styles rooted in Black American Culture and the broader Black Diaspora. Every semester, they hold a showcase that has its own theme and a number of student-choreographed dances. The theme this year was School of Hip Hop, which involved dances that ranged from modern styles of hip-hop and classic throwback songs and moves.
DASAC is an audition-only group; however, they also hold workshops and classes open to everyone. If I think back to the audition, I was incredibly nervous and ultimately decided to audition at the last minute. I had danced in the past, but was largely nervous due to the fact that I had no professional dance training and had to perform the audition piece in front of others. However, the audition went smoothly! What’s great about DASAC is that everyone is so supportive of each other and loves to hype each other up. After a long semester of rehearsals twice a week, checkpoints, dress rehearsals, and staging practice, the show finally arrived! DASAC performs their Fall showcase in The Powerhouse, which got so packed on both nights that people had to stand on the sides or sit on the stairs. The first night was definitely filled with a mix of nerves and excitement. My pieces were the last two in the lineup, which meant super quick changes and only a few minutes to catch my breath between each one; however, it also meant I got to enjoy a lot of the show with the audience. All the dances were incredible already, but it was even better seeing them on stage with all the lighting and the cheers from the audience. Once it eventually got to my pieces, if I’m being honest, it feels like I blacked out during my first performance, rushed to change, and then went back on stage to black out once again for my second. As in, by the point I got to performing, all the choreography was muscle memory, so it was super fun to just be performing on stage! Both nights were successful, with lots of praise and positive feedback from people! One of my friends, Julia, also gifted me with some flowers after the first night! The second night was a bit more sentimental, knowing it was the final performance. However, it also meant that the energy was at an all-time high!
Overall, the show weekend was great and definitely one of my highlights for this first semester. I’m happy I decided to just take the leap and audition! When researching colleges in my final year of high school, I saw DASAC when doing my research on Amherst College. I looked at a few of their videos on the DASAC YouTube (in a few weeks, the Fall showcase videos will be up, so go check them out! 😛 ) and always thought it would be something I would love to be a part of! Starting college felt like the perfect time to go back to some of my old hobbies and activities, such as dancing, and it’s something I believe I’ve found a love for again!
Thank you for reading, and see you next week !!