Spring Break
Brandeis, kids strut their stuff
Campus groups and Prospect Hill Alliance of Teens teamed up for a night of spoken word, a capella, singing and dance performances Saturday night.
by Sarah Bayer
Assistant Arts Editor
Arts | 4/1/08
Posted online at 11:42 PM EST on 3/31/08
As the crowd of about 100 assembled for Prospect Hill's Got Talent!, it waited through a late start to the program due to sound system difficulties, but hints of the spectacle to come were already emerging from behind the black curtains on either side of Levin Ballroom's stage. With the room decorated for dance group Adagio's spring show later that night, signs of its predecessor included a couple practicing a complicated dance routine, a woman wearing a tiara with her North Face jacket and someone carrying a jingly belly-dancing belt through the audience.
Masters of Ceremonies Jeff Rosenblatt '08 and Mike Martin '09 emerged 15 minutes behind schedule to considerable applause. Martin wore the velvety crown he won in the 2008 Mr. Brandeis competition, although he later conferred it on some of his younger co-emcees from Prospect Hill.
The show opened and closed with step performances by the Prospect Hill Alliance of Teens. The young performers smiled broadly as they clapped and stomped through both ensemble and solo routines, clearly excited to be on stage. Their enthusiasm was most embodied by Frederick, a boy of about four who defied his group's meticulous finale choreography by running around the stage and posing to the delight of the audience.
The Prospect Hill performers seemed energized by the opportunity to perform some of their favorite songs, singing along to tracks by Miley Cyrus, Ashley Tisdale and Taylor Swift. Jessica Gutierrez and Stephie Occil, who sang "If We Were A Movie," from Hannah Montana, seemed nervous at first, one of them clutched a tinfoil garland like it was a security blanket. By the end, though, she had cast the strand into the crowd and was waving to her parents in the audience as she and her partner sang proudly into the microphone.
Brandeis students also contributed crowd-pleasing renditions of popular favorites. A capella group Voices of Soul performed songs by Destiny's Child and Alicia Keys. Ashley Hebert '09, performing under her pageant title, Miss Quequechan 2008, sang "I Am Changing" from the Dreamgirls soundtrack. Three-piece band DF and the Jammers played the jazz standard "Chameleon," inspiring Prof. Ellen Schattschneider (ANTH) and some of the audience's youngest members to get up and dance.
The event included performances of creative original material as well. Brandeis spoken-word poets Taisha Sturdivant '10 and Zamira Castro '11 received resounding applause after reading deeply personal pieces. Both mused on their backgrounds and the current racial and class climate in America today. Sturdivant read a college recommendation she had written for herself and had submitted to the Brandeis admissions department. Steven Hill '08 contributed two original songs, including one written on the occasion of his niece's birth.
In addition to raising money to support Prospect Hill Terrace, Prospect Hill's Got Talent! allowed those who haven't been involved in activities at the public housing development to get to know some of the kids who live there. The show had a friendly, personal atmosphere that bore witness to the ongoing collaboration between Brandeis students and PHAT.
Masters of Ceremonies Jeff Rosenblatt '08 and Mike Martin '09 emerged 15 minutes behind schedule to considerable applause. Martin wore the velvety crown he won in the 2008 Mr. Brandeis competition, although he later conferred it on some of his younger co-emcees from Prospect Hill.
The show opened and closed with step performances by the Prospect Hill Alliance of Teens. The young performers smiled broadly as they clapped and stomped through both ensemble and solo routines, clearly excited to be on stage. Their enthusiasm was most embodied by Frederick, a boy of about four who defied his group's meticulous finale choreography by running around the stage and posing to the delight of the audience.
The Prospect Hill performers seemed energized by the opportunity to perform some of their favorite songs, singing along to tracks by Miley Cyrus, Ashley Tisdale and Taylor Swift. Jessica Gutierrez and Stephie Occil, who sang "If We Were A Movie," from Hannah Montana, seemed nervous at first, one of them clutched a tinfoil garland like it was a security blanket. By the end, though, she had cast the strand into the crowd and was waving to her parents in the audience as she and her partner sang proudly into the microphone.
Brandeis students also contributed crowd-pleasing renditions of popular favorites. A capella group Voices of Soul performed songs by Destiny's Child and Alicia Keys. Ashley Hebert '09, performing under her pageant title, Miss Quequechan 2008, sang "I Am Changing" from the Dreamgirls soundtrack. Three-piece band DF and the Jammers played the jazz standard "Chameleon," inspiring Prof. Ellen Schattschneider (ANTH) and some of the audience's youngest members to get up and dance.
The event included performances of creative original material as well. Brandeis spoken-word poets Taisha Sturdivant '10 and Zamira Castro '11 received resounding applause after reading deeply personal pieces. Both mused on their backgrounds and the current racial and class climate in America today. Sturdivant read a college recommendation she had written for herself and had submitted to the Brandeis admissions department. Steven Hill '08 contributed two original songs, including one written on the occasion of his niece's birth.
In addition to raising money to support Prospect Hill Terrace, Prospect Hill's Got Talent! allowed those who haven't been involved in activities at the public housing development to get to know some of the kids who live there. The show had a friendly, personal atmosphere that bore witness to the ongoing collaboration between Brandeis students and PHAT.
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