Spring break ’10 lives on with Miami ViCE party

Whether your Spring Break was spent catching rays on a tropical beach or catching up on cable's latest gem, Kardashians in Miami, don't think it's over yet. This Friday, Vassar College Entertainment (ViCE) promises us all another night of spring break bliss with its yacht-inspired Miami ViCE party, cabanas included.

More than just a continuation of Spring Break, Friday night also marks the Class of 2010's final 50 nights at Vassar and to celebrate, ViCE and the Senior Class Council have some tricks up their sleeves. Not to mention two all-star guest performers, the outrageous Gil Mantera's Party Dream and rap sensation Amanda Blank.

For seniors, the night will begin at 9 p.m. in the All Campus Dining Center (ACDC) with free pizza and beer exclusively for the Class of 2010. For the rest of us, the night begins at 10:30 p.m. on the second floor of the Students' Building with two student DJs: DJ DJ (Axel Yung '13) and DJ Sharkattackz (Alejandro Calcaño '11 and Sarah Morrison '11).

As DJ-ing becomes more popular as an extracurricular trade on campus, ViCE seeks to reward these talented students with opportunities to perform side-by-side with professional party acts such as Ninjasonik earlier this year, as well as Gil Mantera's Party Dream and Amanda Blank this Friday.

"One of the opportunities that working on ViCE affords is planning professional-level events," explained Director of ViCE Peter Denny '10. "We like having student DJs along with professional DJs for the same reason."

ViCE chose the best of the best for this opportunity through its first ever DJ auditions.

"We actually did an audition process for this party, which we've never done before," explained ViCE Special Events Committee Chair Allie St. Jules '11. "We had DJs submit their tracks and two committees voted on them anonymously and it came out to [DJ DJ and DJ Sharkattackz]."

After these two spin their top-40 mash-ups, the electro synth-pop duo Gil Mantera's Party Dream will take the platform. Don't know the group? YouTube them. Let's just say there's concert footage of Gil himself digging a sandwich out of his spandex pants. And you thought there was nothing worse than ACDC's three-cheese panini. Regardless of Gil's sandwich-storage choices, expect a wildly fun performance teeming with audience participation.

Following Gil's antics will be the Philadelphia-born rapper and singer Amanda Blank. Known for her catchy, sexualized tracks (Lyric: "I might like you better if we slept together"), Blank has exploded onto the party scene while managing to catch the eye of MTV and The New York Times.

"There's definitely going to be a lot of craziness, high energy and audience interaction. And a lot of spandex and neon from both the students and the performers," explained St. Jules. "You don't really know what to expect. Which is kind of exciting. But also a little scary."

The night is designed to climax with Blank's performance, but ViCE was sure to saturate every moment of the evening to its fullest, hoping to attract students of all interests.

"It's great to have these DJs who also function as live performers," explained Denny. "There might be students who wouldn't want to go to a party, but would go to a concert. It's a good mix, not too overpowering either way."

The extravagance of these performers will not outshine the second floor of the Students' Building's potential as a party locale. ViCE has grand plans for its nautical conversion; the balcony will be a senior-exclusive lido deck, complete with first-class food and beverage service.

While dancing your way around a giant marlin fish, imagining yourself yachting in Miami, ViCE also hopes that you'll think of those less fortunate. Keeping with the charitable precedent set during the searchlight party and Grizzly Bear concert earlier this year, ViCE will be accepting donated school supplies for the Family Partnership Center in downtown Poughkeepsie.

"At the beginning of the year when ViCE Exec met, we thought of the idea of entertainment, what it means to us, what it means to the community," explained Denny of ViCE's charitable intentions. "Entertainment can be more than crazy mindless fun, it can also be a tool to build community and give back."