JEDI Dance Productions will host the sixth Annual Dance Benefit Friday today at 7 p.m. in the E. Glenn Giltz Auditorium located in Hawkins Hall.The event will showcase performances by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, Dance Corp, Kickline, the Plattsburgh State Korean Association, Minor Adjustments and more, according to the event’s Facebook page.
President of the club, PSUC senior psychology major Garesha Ferguson, said the group has been planning today’s event since last semester and began contacting other organizations about performing at this semester’s event over the summer.
Ferguson said she contacted every organization on the PSUC campus that performs.
“If you perform, we asked you. We didn’t leave anyone out,” she said.
PSUC senior communications major Taeko Kelly is the musical director for Minor Adjustments, an acapella group on the PSUC campus that will be performing at the event.
Minor Adjustments is one the many different groups that will perform on at the event.
Kelly said the group has been practicing the songs they will be performing since September.
At least 15 members will be performing two songs, “Ride” by 21 Pilots and “Freedom” by Beyonce, Kelly said.
Minor Adjustments performed at the JEDI dance benefit last year. Kelly said the audience was enthusiastic and receptive.
“It’s a really fun group of people,” she said. “We’re excited to perform again this year.We were really happy that they asked us back.”
PSUC junior public relations major Alexis Gabriel will perform at the event alongside 22 other members of the Plattsburgh State Cardinalette Kickline team.
Gabriel said the routine they will be performing is approximately two minutes long and the team has been practicing multiple routines since the beginning of September, but will only be performing one routine at the JEDI event.
“This is our first time performing at JEDI since I’ve been on the team,” Gabriel said. “I’ve been on the team for three years.”
Gabriel said the team is looking forward to the new experience of performing at a JEDI event.
“This is the new girls’ first performance so we are excited to see how they react to dancing in front of such a big crowd,” she said. “We are also very happy we were asked to perform this year. It helps get our name out there.”
Gabriel thinks her teammates are most excited to see the other performances.
“We love watching other teams dance,” she said.
JEDI will perform five dances and the step team will perform one number.
With 28 members, Ferguson said this is the biggest JEDI team she’s seen during her time in Plattsburgh.
PSUC undeclared sophomore Allison Badillo has been a member of JEDI for three semesters.
Badillo said because the JEDI dance benefits during the fall semesters do not have themes like the shows during the spring semesters, the choreographers can be a little more creative with the dances.
“They can really make up their own theme” she said. “They get to incorporate whatever they want into the routines.”
Badillo’s favorite part of the annual event are the dance competitions.
“I like to watch other people get on stage and make a fool out of themselves,” she said.
Badillo is hoping for a large turnout and also hopes to see new faces at the event.
“It’s a new year, there’s new people on campus,” she said. “So, yeah we’re looking forward to that.”
JEDI itself is filled with fresh faces this semester, and Ferguson is excited to watch them during the event on Friday.
“A lot of the new girls on the team are freshman,” she said. “It will be interesting to see how they do, for some of them it might be their first time performing on a stage in front of people.”
Badillo said being involved with JEDI has been a great way for her to make new friends.
“You meet really good friends that you stay in contact with, they become people that you hangout with everyday outside of practice.”
Tickets can be purchased at the information desk in the Angell College Center for $3 for student association tickets and $4 for regular admission.
Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m.
Email Madison Winters at madison.winters@cardinalpointsonline.com
