Dance – College Admission at Loyola

I am already getting close to finishing off my fifth week in the spring semester!

Where has the year gone?

With the organizations that I have been a part of, we have done a lot of work on Loyola University Chicago’s campus and off.

In the video above, my African dance team, AfroDescent, performed a reggae-dancehall routine at the Pan-African Night on Jan. 26, in Mundelein. This was a benefit night that the African Student Alliance collaborated with a local nonprofit organization, the Pan-African Assocation.

As a kick-off to their 5k event in May and as a thank you to their benefactors and community members, my team wanted to be a part of it as well to show off our new routine.

It was a great night of community with both Loyola students and the community of the Pan-African Association, as well as with the immigrants and refugees they support.

Recent Chitown Adventures: Part 1

By | July 11, 2012

My recent adventures have kept me from posting a blog last week, but I am happy to say that I have plenty to write about to cover not one, but two posts this week. Yay!

Last week, my mom treated me to Cirque du Soleil: Dralion, and any dream I have recently created for myself about joining the circus died. Why? Because I have zero chance and ability of doing what they were doing. Here’s a recap of my favorite parts:

1. During the first act, they kept bringing up this one specific guy from the audience up onto the stage. My mom and I were convinced that he was just an onlooker like us because he acted exactly like an audience member would- confused as to why he kept getting pulled on stage, nervously giggling at everything he was made to do, and trying to run away every chance he got.

Alas, he turned out to be a part of the show, but nevertheless, he was hilarious. He was forced to wear a red clown nose, almost all his possessions (including the shirt off his back) got stolen, and in general, they just would not leave this guy alone. What was the best part of his appearances? His reactions to everything. I was crying into my mother’s shoulder of laughter when he imitated the little clown who bothered him the most.

2. Also in the first act, there were acrobats doing flips and tricks on trampolines. The cool part of their number was that they were also using tall walls as props; they would jump high on the trampoline up onto the walls, flip off of them, and then drop back down a far distance. I’ve only done those tricks in one place: my dreams.

3. My final favorite piece was the duet performed using two thick and long ribbons descending from the ceiling. It’s hard to even begin to describe how beautiful and graceful this act was, so I’ll just say that it was amazing. Neither of the performers was attached to any safety devices, so the only things they held onto were the ribbons and each other. My heart wouldn’t stop beating rapidly throughout the whole performance, both out of fear of them falling and awe of their actual moves. Flawless!!

My other favorite event of the week was Fourth of July. From start to finish, it was one of the best-spent Independence Days I’ve ever had. My best friend was performing a dance in Washington Park that day for the International Festival of Life, so I got to take the Green Line for the first time to get there. Afterwards, my friends and I all went down to Navy Pier to catch the fireworks, followed by a lovely ride on the Ferris Wheel as the night’s closer.

Between the fireworks, flips and flaming hot weather, I’d say last week was one of the best I’ve had this summer so far.

AfroDescent Performs at MGC’s Triple S Show

By Antoinette Isama | March 30, 2012

Click here to see the fun! – Triple S Show Performance

On Thursday, the dance group that I choreograph for, AfroDescent, had the opportunity to perform for the Multicultural Greek Council’s Triple S Show. The “s” in Triple S stands for step, stroll and salute, three elements that are very important in multicultural Greek life.

The dance that we practiced very hard for is called the “Azonto,” a style that has emerged out of the cities of Ghana. With the Azonto, one can tell a story while grooving with the down beat of the music. It is a style that allows the freedom of forming one’s own style, while staying in sync with who you are dancing with. The link above shows our take on the new style.

We had a blast performing at this event. Mundelein Auditorium was virtually full of people from different sororities and fraternities from Chicagoland schools and students of the Loyola community. I hope you enjoy our video!