FlyPeople to end year with flourish

Last call for a dose of FlyPeople! Vassar's dance troupe will perform their final show at 8 p.m. on Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25 in Kenyon Hall's Frances Daly Fergusson Dance Theater. FlyPeople promises to pull out all of the stops for their last performance of the semester.
"If I had to come up with a theme of the show," said Artistic Director Sophie Laird '10, "it would be awesome."
Co-Administrative Director Arielle Danziger '10 explained that the program of the show will include a dynamic variety of different styles, such as ballet, lyrical, hip hop, tap, jazz, Irish hardshoe and musical theater.
"The dances themselves are coherent pieces, but the show isn't cohesive besides the FlyPeople in them," Danziger said. Each dance will still have a familiar spin. For example, the Irish hardshoe will be performed to a Christina Aguilera song.

"We put the FlyPeople touch on them," Laird commented.

Ultimately, the group aims to please and considers their shows to be entertaining for everyone. "Quite a few [pieces] are really big crowd pleasers," said Laird. Danziger elaborated, "That's something we aim for."

Though there will also be a few smaller dances, it's clear that FlyPeople strive for fun with their group dance piece. Set to a 1980s music medley, the colorful piece incorporates big and bouncy movements. Danziger joked, "It brings us all back to when we were two." Laird and Danziger explained that the dance is feel-good entertainment for both the dancers and the audience.

On a less silly note, this spring's show marks an important landmark in the group's history, as it will be their fifth semester performing in Kenyon Hall. Previously, the group's dances were performed in UpCDC with no lighting, and dancers had to supply their own costumes. This year, they received Vassar Student Association (VSA) funding for costumes.

The opportunity to dance onstage is important to the group. Danziger explained, "We're really working in the space in ways we haven't before...[by] trying to fit the dance to the space." Laird added, "We're taking advantage of our amazing tech crew."

Although it is a fun-loving group, FlyPeople still has a serious presence on campus. With less than two years of performing on a stage and only recently getting VSA funding, this is truly a chance for the group to shine.

Laird and Danziger explained that these changes were integral to the choreography, resulting in more stage entrances and exits with flowing movement. Further changes to the group since performing at Works in Progress last semester include an increase in the group's size. In addition to gaining members, FlyPeople also has 17 dance numbers, as opposed to last term's nine dances.

Although they're very excited about this show, FlyPeople will lose eight of its members who will graduate this spring. "They've been integral for the past four years, and the last four years have been very transformative," Laird said. Danziger explained that the seniors have added cohesiveness and legitimacy to the group.