USU dance club kicks it old school and gets gonged
It’s all fun and games until someone gets gonged.
One performer played the “Lord of the Rings” theme song on a little tin flute. A Magician twisted minds with his card tricks. “Ballet West” wannabes touched on the epiphany of dance.
Yet all three were cut short by the gong.
The Utah State University Dance Club’s Gong Show, based on the Chuck Barris Gong Show from the ’70s, showcased both dance and random talents Monday night. The judges had the option to bang a gong forcing the performer off the stage if they did not like the act.
Jason Belle, a flute player, was the first person gonged by the judges. He played the theme songs from “Super Mario Brothers” and “Lord of the Rings.”
Mike the Magician was also gonged despite his ability to match the suite and value of a card drawn by his assistant without ever seeing the card. At the conclusion of the show, Mike was still named the winner.
During a mock ballet number, a member of the audience hurled their shoe at the gong, sending away Brooke Noorda and Chelsea Bingham before they concluded their poetic dance. Noorba and Bingham were dressed in traditional ballet attire and at one point Noorba lifted and spun Bingham in her arms.
Members of the Dance Club also performed several lyrical and hip-hop numbers. Stacey Hettinger, a junior in family and consumer science and the club president, organized the event. It was the Dance Club’s first performance, she said.
“This is kind-of kicking off Dance Club for the year,” said Ashley Storer, a senior in liberal arts and a member of the Dance Club.
Hettinger said she organized several Gong Shows as fund-raisers when she lived in New York.
“Everyone loves to perform,” she said, “I wanted to do this for all of us.”
Dancer Eliza Jewkes said she was excited for the performance. Hettinger has worked hard to get Dance Club going, she said.
The USU Break dancing Club also performed two numbers, one alone and one combined with the Dance Club. “That’s pretty sweet,” Brian Boston, a junior in pre-dental, said after one dancer did a flip.
“We should fight crime with break dancing,” said Ricky Hacking, a junior in marketing education and one of the judges.
The other judges were Dave Ackerman, a junior in broadcast journalism, and Rocky Stutz, a sophomore in interior design.
“I thought tonight went as expected, beautifully,” Hacking said.
Several dancers and audience members said their favorite dance was Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” performed by the dance club.
“When the lights went down, I got kind of scared, but I was thoroughly thrilled by it,” Boston said.
Costumes for “Thriller” resembled those from Michael Jackson’s music video with the dancers posing as zombies.
Hettinger said the dance was based the music video, but she also choreographed some new parts.
Dance Club might have another performance in February, Hettinger said, and it is a lot bigger this year than in the past. Usually about 60 people attend the meets each week, rather than 10 to 15 last year, she said.
Membership in the Dance Club is free. They meet every Tuesday night at the HPER in Room 215.
-ashschiller@cc.usu.edu
USU´s Break Dancing Club performed at the “Gong Show” Monday night in the TSC Ballroom. (Photo by Jamie Crane)