By Aaron Wolf, Temple University

On March 20^th the Temple Performing Arts Center presented several of Temple’s student dance organizations in their show, All of the Lights: Defining Dance.  Acts included: Outta Kontrol, The Temple Bboys, The Diamond Spinners, By Any Means Necessary (B.A.M.N.), Esencia Latina, and the OAS Dance Team. Each dance group showcased their individual styles of dance in an overall effort to give the audience a broader definition of dance.

The show began with a collaboration piece, which included dancers from Outta Kontrol, B.A.M.N., Esencia Latina, and OAS Dance Team. Individual performances followed as The Temple Bboys tore up the stage.  The Bboys defined dance their own particular way in their freestyle breakdance formation. Next up, the only Latin dance team on Temple’s campus, Esencia Latina, displayed their salsa skills. One of Esencia Latina’s main goals is to attempt to portray all that is Latina through their choreography. After their performance, it became apparent that they had reached this goal. OAS Dance Team took the stage next and told their story through “a universal language of soulful movements and heart-warming emotions.” Outta Kontrol made a reappearance to end the first half of the show as well as to remind us how they became the reining champions of Philly’s Best Dance Crew for the past two years.

After the intermission, dance groups displayed their skills once again. Temple’s indoor color guard, The Diamond Spinners, changed the flow of the show using flags, rifles, sabres, and dance and composed their own particular story for the audience. Finally, all dance groups took the stage to define dance one last time. Dance was truly defined that night as each member in the audience left with new insight on their favorite styles of dance. We at Temple Performing Arts Center are happy to be a part of showing the world that dance includes many