Photos: Connor McCourtney
There weren’t many empty seats Tuesday night in the lower level of Sheslow Auditorium. The Annual Drake Athlete Talent Show drew quite a crowd. All in all, there were seven performances, and the evening was emceed by Dan Clinton and Amanda Aragon.
By the end of the night, two things were clear: First, Drake athletes know how to dance; second, if you need someone to teach you how to ‘dougie,’ these are the people you need to see.
“I thought we had a pretty good turnout. It was great to see athletes perform in something outside of their events,” said sophomore Sarah Yeager, Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) president. The SAAC organized Tuesday’s talent show.
The men’s tennis team started the night off with a dance routine to some of today’s hottest songs. A few of the men even donned skirts. Their routine was capped off by a solo dancer in a Jabbawockeez mask.
Next, the women’s basketball team took the stage decked out in shirts that gave props to their strength and conditioning coach, Mike Burch. The team’s performances showcased the latest dance moves and even included a little steppin’.
Men’s soccer was third in the lineup, and their routine featured many classic dance moves from the 80s and 90s. The men also wore clothes characteristic of the time periods represented.
The rowing team opened up with some solo guitar strumming to set the mood. They then switched gears and showed the audience their dance skills as a group.
Following the rowing team, the women’s soccer team displayed their creativity with a dance routine complete with glow-in-the-dark full body suits. Because the lights were dimmed and the women ran down the steps from the upper tier in Sheslow Auditorium, the women’s soccer team performance had a dramatic effect.
Next, in one of the longer performances of the night, the football team began by airing a video they made. Host Dan Clinton was also in the video and it received quite a few laughs from the crowd. Then, a football player who goes by the name nickname “Bonesaw” took the crowd by storm with his dancing techniques.
At the end of his act, three of his teammates joined him on stage and demonstrated impressive acrobatics.
“The video was well done, and I thought Bonesaw was fantastic,” junior hurdler Jon DeGrave said.
The women’s volleyball team rounded out the acts with a humorous skit chalk full of cheers, team spirit and bulldog pride. They wore shirts they are selling to support the charity Belize Dance Marathon. To find out more about Belize Dance Maration, visit www.helpingbelizekids.org.
At the end of the show, judges Randall Blum, Mike Cigelman, Ryan Martin and James Albert chose women’s basketball and men’s football as the runner-ups. This year’s champion was the men’s soccer team.
Over the past few years, the Athlete Talent Show has become increasingly popular. The inaugural talent show was held in Bulldog Theater but the venue changed to Sheslow to accommodate a larger audience.
Senior pitcher Brynne Dordel said she came to the talent show because “every year it’s really funny.” She missed the show her freshman year, and she said it was all anyone could talk about for a few days.
Throughout the night, Belize Dance Marathon T-shirts were given away through raffle tickets purchased with the two dollar entry fee. Half of the proceeds went toward the Belize Dance Marathon and half will go toward funding future SAAC events.
