Millersville’s Black Student Union and Essence Dance team hosted Traveling Down Broadway in Lyte Auditorium Friday Oct. 30.
The show was a refreshing blend of Dance and fashion, Hip Hop and Broadway.
Traveling Down Broadway featured six universities including Millersville and succeeded in bringing together rival schools for a night based solely on entertainment.
Cheyney, Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, Lincoln University and Shippensburg all came together at Millersville to strut their stuff and dance off to a well put together combination of two very different genres of music.
It is not often that Chris Brown and John Travolta get to share the same stage in one night. Each school chose a different Broadway musical to depict, hence the name Traveling Down Broadway.
Along with the various show tunes, models danced to a range of Hip Hop, Rap and R&B. Beyonce’s Ego, T-Pain’s Phantom, and Chris Brown’s newest single, I can transform ya, were all featured in the night’s performances.
Each performance was a well choreographed dance interspersed with aspects of a fashion show. The performers would stop in the middle of a song and form a cat walk on the stage, showing off what they had, while still moving to the beat of the music.
The judges, hosts and organizers of Traveling Down Broadway all agreed the show went well and turned out just as they had hoped it would.
“I think that the show was great. Every school brought their own style and creativity. Lincoln, as always, was amazing and I would walk with their models any day,” said Antwain D. Hill, one of the three judges said.
Cheyney University, whose group goes by the name “New Heritage Modeling Agency” performed “Grease.” It was obvious they were well rehearsed and had fun on stage.
Danny and Sandy, the two main characters from the musical, danced to “You’re the One That I Want.” They did a good job imitating Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta while still putting their own original twist on it.
Then the lights went down and gunshots echoed throughout the auditorium as Bloomsburg’s “Vice Versa” dance and modeling troop took the stage. They had chosen “Chicago” for their number. Possibly the best act of the whole night came from Bloomsburg, as they did an amazing rendition of the ventriloquist doll scene from Chicago featuring the song We both reached for the gun.
“Bloomsberg took the show of course, they were everything, I love everything about their skit as well as their battle,” said Hill
Next up was Lock Haven’s “Nolabel Royalty” who put on Phantom of the Opera.
Though Bloomsburg was obviously a difficult act to follow, some felt that Lock Haven University did not give the performance their all, as did the other schools that participated.
“Lock Haven should have stayed home, they just weren’t prepared, but I give them credit for coming,” said Hill.
Lincoln University’s “We Are One” took the stage after Lock Haven with their version of Hairspray. They came onto the stage spraying the air with mist and succeeded in adding a lighthearted performance to the night in comparison to the more serious acts that surrounded it.
The final school to present was Shippensburg University. The “Elite Fashion Geeks” worked the runway with “Moulin Rouge.” They finished round one off with a very artistic performance of “Lady Marmalade”, the theme from the movie.
The audience was as enthusiastic as the performers and turned the whole auditorium into a dance party at one point, until host Brandy Staton forced them back into their seats.
Staton also made a lot of cracks at Cheyney regarding the fight that broke out in January 2007. Cheyney and Millersville University ended up in a brawl during a basketball game, which all started when a Cheyney student threw the first punch at a Millersville student after losing the game.
“Cheyney, stay calm. Don’t get upset,” she said.
Staton did not receive any injuries after making the comments. She also poked fun at Bloomsburg for the amount of people they brought to support them.
“What’d you do? Bring a bus?” she asked.
Traveling Down Broadway was hosted by Brandy Staton, Jasmine Henderson and Jennifer Henderson. Judges were Hill, Suede Square and Shaneese James. The event was organized by Rahiem Johnson, Morgan Morrow and D’Angelo Virgo.
“I know what to look for on a runway, huh, I invented the runway. So I must say that MU did an outstanding job hosting and I believe I can speak for all three judges by saying that Morgan and Rahiem deserve a standing ovation,” said Hill.
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