Dance champions delight audience

House Arrest 2 Championship Dance Team held its annual spring dance showcase, “New Juke City” Feb. 8 in Lee Hall Auditorium. The live and hype performance gave some students a reason to cheer.

The dance team, which is made up of nine national chapters, gave an exciting showcase that included chapters from Chicago to North Carolina and the Hypnotiq dance team from Clark Atlanta University. There was also a performance by Florida A&M University’s Images Modeling Troupe.

The showcase gave students a taste of choreography from the West to East Coast, ranging from crump dancing, a very high energy and combative dance, to juking, a dance using fast-paced footwork.

Lashana Weaver, 19, a sophomore political science student at Florida State University from Immokalee, said she really enjoyed the showcase. She applauded the dance team for its energy and the excitement it brought to the audience.

“It was exciting, a lot of energy,” she said. “I enjoyed the show, they’re the best dance group here.” Rozie Alliance, 19, a sophomore radiology student at Tallahassee Community College from West Palm Beach, said she enjoyed the performance.

“They’re really creative with all the props and stuff,” she said.

House Arrest 2 members said scenes from the showcase required dedication and hard work.

Claunise Jeanlouis, 20, a sophomore criminal justice student from Immokalee and House Arrest member, said the dance team worked on the show for more than a month. She said their rehearsal the night before began at 7 p.m. and ended at 8 a.m.

“We’ve practiced some weekends and had many late night practices, but it was well worth it,” she said.

LaCherria Jackson, 19, a sophomore biology student from Orlando and House Arrest member, said she felt very confident about the performance Friday.

“I feel like we did really well as a whole,” Jackson said. “This show was a lot better than last year’s because more people contributed.”

Acknowledging the progress of the dance team, Juan C. Frazier, founder of the FAMU chapter, informed the audience that juking was not well-accepted by students. The chapter is commended by students for their outstanding choreography.