Theater Review: DubH ‘The Movement’

Melissa Garrett

With more than 20 different routines, DubH, also known as the ISU Hip Hop Club, showed there are no limits to what defines hip-hop dance.

Each routine brought dancers of all ethnicities, genders and skill levels, which featured empowering, entertaining and thoughtful dance numbers along with booming music and flashing lights.

The light blue DubH logo printed on a black curtain was visible throughout the set list. With this setup, every original routine had “DubH” as a backdrop, showcasing the varied number of dancers and type of hip-hop dance the club offers. The show’s title, “The Movement,” succeeded in showing how all kinds of dancers and hip-hop dance variations comprise the essence of DubH.

The audience was filled with college students and parents, who loudly cheered for their favorite dancers and choreographers. Some parents even yelled during the performance and took photos at the expense of people sitting immediately behind them. It was hard not to smile and cheer during routines, since every group had outfits resembling their specific dance group name with colorful, meaningful outfit choices.

While each routine had its own level of difficulty, most of the dancers were in sync with one another and followed their routines precisely and expressively to convey the emotions of the music, which was projected onto the audience. Many of the pieces seemed to express a specific emotion, such as love, heartbreak or empowerment of women. Other dances were playfully enticing, like the all-male group called “The Throwback” or the all-female group called “Flawless Fancies.”

One of the most impressive and visually stimulating pieces was Revenge of the Nerds, featuring male and female dancers dressed in colorful plaid shirts, suspenders, nerd glasses and brightly colored shoes. This dance involved references to TV shows and many shows from Comic Con, as well as some prop dance with large books that was well coordinated and entertaining. Many female dancers had curled or straightened hair, which they flipped around as they danced, while pulsating hips, brightly colored lips, and with a passion for dance were seen throughout the show.

Some of the dances with the most impressive body isolations and jumps include Time for Love, a co-ed group with men in leather jackets and women in black leggings and jean button-up shirts, and Innovation, which featured co-ed dancers with grey jerseys and tight pants. Though Innovation is the only audition-based group, it is obvious that every group is deserving of praise and awe from audience members.

By the end of the show, the crowd rose to cheer on the dancers and the newly elected DubH cabinet. Old members made a heartfelt senior video for graduating seniors who brought “the feels” for everyone watching it.

DubH is what hip hop dance and all dance clubs should be: open to all creative minds and to people of all ethnicities, genders, body sizes and experience levels.

5/5