Lee Hall Auditorium was filled with students and supporters Friday night as 20 members from the Florida chapter of House Arrest 2 and other dance groups from campuses in Florida and Alabama took the stage to entertain with hip hop and Chicago-style dance.
Colby Dalliey, 18, a general studies student from Fort Lauderdale, was one of many students who were captivated by the show. “Outstanding performance,” Dalliey said. “It makes all other dance teams look overrated.”
The show opened up with a hip hop and footwork performance by the Chapter 4 members of HA2 from FAMU.
Other dance teams, including Torque, Divas Dance Troupe, 500 Degrees and special guest the Alabama State University chapter of HA2, also performed in the show.
Crowd participation was at its height as Cherlise Forshee, 22, a business student from Miami, enraptured the audience with her vocals while singing her self-written song “Butterflies.”
In between acts, hosts Jeff Dillard and DJ Hush Daddy Dollar kept crowd participation going by creating dance contests where participants had the opportunity to enjoy their five minutes of fame rather than win an award.
The event not only displayed the talents of the students involved but also allowed its performers the opportunity to express their political views and opinions in a comedic approach through dance on recent events that have taken place throughout the world.
The last act in the show was a skit performed by the Florida chapter of HA2 that involved the performers wearing face masks that represented President Bush, former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush and other politicians.
When President Bush was asked how long he plans on keeping soldiers in Iraq to fight in the war, Marvin Gaye’s “Always and Forever” played over the sound system, causing the audience to laugh hysterically.
Juan Frazier, a psychology student from Chicago, is the man responsible for putting together the entire event. Frazier said he wanted to strike back with dance.
“That entire political performance was inspired from Hurricane Katrina and everything that has taken place over the past few months in this country,” Frazier said.
Frazier, the national president of HA2, is responsible for overseeing all of the nine HA2 national chapters.
The show ended with the ASU chapter of HA2, who had pieced together a dance routine that delighted spectators. The Florida A&M University and ASU HA2 chapters then came together and freestyled to wrap up the show.
Although there was the occasional pectoral and crotch fondling, many students found it good to know students can attend a campus event that will not be shut down because of fighting or any other negative aspect.
Precious Wilcox, 22, was pleased with the outcome of the event.
“I liked it,” Wilcox said. “It was a different style of dance but good.”
HA2 will be having an interest meeting today in Benjamin L. Perry building room 300 at 8 p.m., for all interested students that want to become apart of the dance group.