MOST OUTSTANDING DANCE PERFORMANCE NOMINEE
Vietnamese student association at Louisiana state university
VSA-LSU Date Auction Performance
List of everyone involved in this performance. Please include: first and last names, whether or not they attended your school during the time of the dance, and their roles for the performance.
Choreographers:
Alexis Hoang
Cathy Do
Viet Nguyen
Dancers:
Andrew Cao, Mia Hau, Aeryn Sindiong, Alex Huynh, Andrew Tran, Ann Nguyen, Austin Cao, Betsy Cao, Calvin Trinh, Chelsea Le, Cindy Phan, Danny Ha, Elvyn Cachapero, Evan Nguyen, Faris Khattak, Fredjuley Madronado, Frida Sierra, Gabrielle Nguyen, Hailee Pham, Hannah Cao, Henry Vo, Isabel Hau, Jessie Gathe, Joash Cabigting, Kellie Ding, Khanh Le, Lam-Nghi Nguyen, Laura Nguyen, Madonna Trinh (choreographer), Meme Rajavong, Michelle Vo, Milan Nguyen, Nicholas Vu, Paul Nguyen, Richard Jiang, Sabrina Zhou, Savannah Godwin, Sofia Padilla, Victoria Le, and Vivian Luong
Please describe the purpose of this dance, including your intention, goals, and creative process.
Many video games usually have a clear objective: to win against enemies, to use one’s creative mind, or to complete tasks. Minecraft gives players the freedom to do all three and even more. While this creative space was helpful in giving us options, it also left us with no structure in specific areas. For example, VSA-LSU is known for their large numbers while Minecraft only has “Steve” as the default character but is changed based on your own personal username and clothing preference. Gaps like these pushed us to go out of our usual comfort zone (as we did not have a solid plot or characters) but also staying true to what VSA-LSU is known for (making sure everyone has a role and creating a coordinated performance). With that, we chose to create a storyline. Our goal of having a storyline allows the audience to see the progression throughout the performance while also depicting that within the dance. Our protagonist, Steve, starts off mining and doing his business while he runs into mobs: the zombies, the creepers, and the endermen. Steve goes through his journey, defeating each mob, only to be met with the next one waiting for him. After defeating the mobs, he faces the final antagonist, the Enderdragon. The battle ends with all the remaining enemies on stage dying while Steve is the one left standing and victorious. The ending of the performance includes all the dancers back on stage and doing a last performance together. The dance ends with a large creeper explosion and our proud chant and flag wave. Our purpose of doing mobs rather than being an army of protagonists allows everyone to be seen differently but equally. The difference in style between dances and groups was clear and allowed each group to be acknowledged one at a time. The transitions and sound choices showed a clear journey throughout the performance. By creating a storyline and creating these groups, it allowed us to create a cohesive performance while also letting every dancer shine.