Last week, in what has become an annual tradition, the Button Factory opened its doors to DU Dance for the RAG Week event – “Trinity’s Best Dance Crew”. Voted “the best event of the year” in 2017, the occasion drew participants from College’s sports clubs, societies and Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU).
The evening began with a witty introduction of the judges by our host, Will Dunleavy. The first of these was Úna Harty – better known as “the email lady” for her role as TCDSU Communications and Marketing Officer. The second judge was Darren Byrne, the former chairperson of DU Dance and acclaimed hip-hop guru. Beside him sat Dr Eva Orsmond of the TV hit “Operation Transformation” – she was very invested in the suppleness of the dancers and her comments centred around the hips. Bringing some glamour to the event was the final judge and drag icon, Coco Ri. Her attention was focused on the costumes and the thematic aesthetic of the performance.
Cumann Gaelach got the evening off to a roaring start. In Peaky Blinders caps, they blended burlesque, jazz and charleston with a stunning final stance involving an umbrella. For their performance they were marked out of 10, with the judges mutually agreed on awarding them a seven.
Up next was Trinity Engineering Society in their inaugural appearance with DU Dance. Introduced as “bridging the gap between sexy and smart”, the crew appeared in high-vis jackets, blue hard-hats and proceeded to shake their prominent behinds to “Work” by Rihanna. For their performance, they received a 7 from Harty and a 9 from Byrne, with Dr Osmond claiming, “I would love to see them dance again”.
Following Engineering Soc’s glowing debut was the Trinity Ladies Hockey team. Several chairs were arranged on the stage for this act and the anticipation was palpable as the group entered in tight black clothing and fishnets. What followed was a steamy burlesque number to “Cell-block Tango” from Chicago, eliciting whoops and cheers from the audience. Harty commended their facial expressions and Osmond stated, “I am delighted to see that women’s liberation has gone this far!”
They were succeeded by DUBES. With the boys in ruffled velvet shirts and the girls in their society t-shirts, the routine blended traditional Irish dancing with hip-hop and jazz, morphing from a lively reel into Jax Jones’ “You Don’t Know Me” in the second half of the dance. Harty praised their “use of props”, with Osmond claiming, “You guys have taken Irish dancing to another level”.
The acts had so far been wide-ranging in style, music and costume choice and this was continued by Suas Trinity. They performed an elegant contemporary routine in black tops and sparkly trousers, before breaking into a Charleston towards the end. While Byrne felt that their “timing was slightly off” and thus awarded them a seven, Harty commended the girls for “smiling the whole way through”, and gave them an eight.
Following an interval, Trinity Ents opened the second act. With a fusion of “Thomas the Tank Engine” and “Sponge Bob”, Ents performed a lively number wearing bow-ties and white shirts, concluding with a recorder solo. Harty cheekily stated that the performance was “the most fun [she’d] ever had at an Ents event”, awarding them a nine. Dr Osmond appreciated their hip action, giving them an eight in agreement with Byrne, while Coco said that she enjoyed the dancers’ synchronicity.
Next, DU Fencing appeared in black and red outfits and proceeded to perform a thrilling routine to “Pirates of the Caribbean”. Their act included a section of combat choreography with impressive shapes being thrown across the stage. Harty stated that she would have preferred a mixture of music, while Byrne commended the performers’ agility saying, “your box-split was unbelievable”, and subsequently awarded them a nine. Harty was wowed by the Fencing coordination through the middle combat section and gave the troupe an eight.
In quick succession was the Afro-Caribbean Society, who introduced the audience to “salsa-hall” – a mixture of salsa and dancehall choreography. Their fluid hips, lively music and colourful outfits got the crowd going. The judges also loved the routine.
Following on a more mournful tangent was LitSoc. Initially dancing to “Wuthering Heights” by Kate Bush, their music morphed into “Love Story” by Taylor Swift. The dancers acted out an entire plot through dance. However, while Harty complimented one member’s “beautiful facial expressions”, Byrne confessed himself “a bit lost” by the storyline. Despite this, Osmond and Coco both loved the group’s red aesthetic, with the latter awarding them a high nine.
The evening’s penultimate routine came from “Snurf Soc” – an amalgamation of the Snowsports and Surfing societies. This year was their second combined attempt and they followed the example of the Trinity Ladies Hockey team with their steamy use of chairs. The routine involved a lot of bum shaking (showing-off those impressive glutes), in conjunction with a stunning backflip. Towards the end of their routine, the three boys removed their t-shirts, causing mass hysteria across the increasingly tipsy crowd. Struggling for words, Harty eventually awarded the group an eight, with Byrne saying that he “wasn’t expecting a flip” and thus gave them a 10/10. His example was followed by Osmond who also awarded the group full marks.
Rounding up the evening was Trinity Vincent de Paul Society. Performing to Dua Lipa’s pop hit “New Rules”, the philanthropic crew presented a sultry “independent woman” routine in pyjamas and socks. Concluding in a shower of pink confetti, the act featured a lot of pouting and defiant choreography. While Dr Osmond was horrified by the diversity of sock length and colour, Coco “loved the teamwork”.
The audience submitted their votes for first, second and third place, and our host treated us to a humorous rap titled “Ski Trip”. The DU Dance Contemporary team (who are intervarsity champions) performed an amazing routine to “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”. By this stage, all the votes had been counted-up and it transpired that Snurf Soc had won this year’s competition with DUBES and Ents in second and third place respectively. This concluded a highly successful event and all in the name of a good cause.
