[gallery link="none" ids="7838,7837,7839,7841,7840"] The Western Hip-hop Dance Team held its eighth annual hip-hop showcase with 21 performances to close out their season with a pop and a lock on Sunday, April 10 in the Performing Arts Center. Unlike previous years, the showcase had performances from some groups that were not hip-hop, including one rumba group and two contemporary dance groups. Sami Leyde, one of the captains of the Hip-hop Dance Team, said that by adding different types of dance to the showcase, the performance appeals to broader audience. “We kind of thought a mix of stuff would be fun,” Leyde said. The only Rumba group of the night, Rumba Northwest, preformed a dance called “Salsa, Timba y Amor,” choreographed by Antonio Diaz. Both of the contemporary dances performed in the showcase were by Mariner High School Dance. The first was called “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and the second “Let it Go.” Leyde has been with the club for three years and this is her first year as a captain, she said. She coordinated the event with Corinne Athey, another captain from the hip-hop dance team who had also been with the team for three years but a captain for two. The two captains said they have been working on this event since September. The showcase was called “WWUrth.” Once the audience was seated in the PAC, the Western Hip-Hop Dance Team opened up the night. Their first dance was called “WWUrth it.” The performances ranged from routines choreographed to pop classics like MC Hammer’s popular “U Can’t Touch This” to popular artists today like Kendrick Lamar and Selena Gomez. “‘The Ones Without Names’ was my favorite,” said Libby Lane, a student at Western. “The Ones Without Names” was performed by a new group to the hip-hop showcase called Town. Lane said she enjoyed watching the Western Hip-Hop Team’s performance called “The Evolution of Hip Hop.” Sehome High School students even made an appearance at the showcase with a dance called, “Roll Call.” The dance was choreographed by Jaret Hughes. “This is basically the end our season but we're going to perform at relay for life at Western,” Leyde said. Leyde and Athey ended the showcase with a goodbye to two of their fellow team members who would be graduating this spring.
