On Saturday, November 12, a few hundred Bi-Co students gathered in Marshall Auditorium for the annual Fall Student Dance Concert (FSDC). With 28 performances featuring 20 different groups and more than 200 performers, this year’s concert showcased a wide variety of dance forms, such as traditional Chinese dance and classical lndian dance, and spanned over two hours.
“l’ve been to [the dance concert] every year and every year it manages to top itself,” said Hikaru Jitsukawa, a senior at Haverford. “The fact that we’re able to fill up a big space like Marshall Auditorium and have everyone cheering for each other is a wonderful [thing].”
The concert started with a performance by Bounce, a Bi-Co hip-hop and fusion dance group. Avani Marmer, a Haverford first-year dancer, said, “l was so nervous before because it was my first FSDC but the audience was so supportive of everyone.”
Kalā, a Bryn Mawr College lndian classical dance group, performed shortly after Bounce. Group member Malini Rajbahandar, said her favorite part was “the lead up to it all, the excitement that was building up. We rehearsed a lot, so l think it went well.”
“Dancing is something that you want people to know about you, so everyone being there and curious about what you do—and the energy—was my favorite part,” says Jean Rojas, a member of the Latin dance group Pulso Latino, who performed later in the concert.
The concert also featured solo and duo performances in addition to groups. Jacquelyn Stifelman, a Haverford senior and member of /shift/ Dance Company, choreographed her own solo performance. Annie Barrett and Chloe Shupe performed as a pair to represent the Bi-Co troupe Noise Complaint.
After the concert, Haverford sophomore Jillian Aguilar shared her thoughts: “l really loved the diversity within the showcase and l think it was good that they [showed us] a part of their culture.”
Ellie Baron, another Haverford sophomore, says she was amazed by the performers. “There are so many people who you’re in class with who you don’t realize they dance. lt was really great to see that aspect of them.”
“[The dance groups] are just clubs that people do for fun,” Fall Student Dance Concert co-director and performer Syalomee Pradhan BMC ’24 said “But we’ve turned it into this big production and it’s just amazing every single year.”