Peter Julian摄影
Few aspects of campus life remain unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic—classes are taught virtually, football games are played to empty stadiums, students wear masks to the gym—but despite necessary restrictions, the 电子游戏软件 Marching Band is finding creative ways to keep traditions alive, and inspiring new ones in the process.
The band has released a two-minute music video showcasing a high-energy collaboration with the Korean Student Association’s AEROdynamiK 跳舞 Crew. 在视频中, 大学传媒摄制, student musicians perform a rendition of “ON” by the world-famous Korean pop group BTS, while AeroK成员 and the Golden Eagles 跳舞 Team show off hip-hop infused choreography.
在正常情况下, the performance would take place in 校友 Stadium, 在成千上万的粉丝面前. 过去两年了, the Marching Band has been raising the bar on its halftime routine, partnering with other BC dance teams like Sexual Chocolate and BC Irish 跳舞 to bring a unique performance to Eagles fans and their families. It’s a tradition that members of the band look forward to every year.
“Coming from a more traditional dance background, it’s always exciting to be able to incorporate different movements and styles into our routines,21岁的达莉亚·希利说, a member of the Golden Eagles 跳舞 Team. “这太值得了.”
Preparation for the annual collaboration begins in the spring, and this year was no exception. Shortly after the pandemic sent students home in March, Band Director David Healey began working with musicians remotely, 当秋季学期开始的时候, the band rehearsed and recorded an arrangement of the BTS tune, 所有在线. It took two months to produce the finished track, which is composed of digital submissions from student and staff band members, 编辑在一起.
“It's still kind of mind-boggling to me how much you can achieve digitally,希利说. “It isn't the same as you get in the stadium—the sound is different—but it's a really good sound.”
8月, AeroK成员, including captain Eric Meza-Ubeda ’22, began choreographing a dance routine over Zoom, exchanging videos with the Golden Eagles 跳舞 Team along the way. They incorporated solos into the routine, 尽量减少大型排练, 必要时在户外见面.
“Everyone was working on all cylinders at all times,” recalled Healey. “Basically we had two assembly lines working in parallel between the instrumentalists on one end and the dancers on the other.”
AeroK and the Golden Eagles 跳舞 Team show off hip-hop infused choreography at the Waterworks Museum.
In early October, it was time to put the pieces together. Shooting took place at the Waterworks Museum in Chestnut Hill, an industrial space with vaulted ceilings and raised catwalks where masked musicians could safely stand while dancers performed below. The gleaming brass dials and enormous antique steam engines lent an air of drama and excitement to the grueling six-hour shoot, 是什么考验了舞者的耐力.
“It was exhausting but all the adrenaline kind of kept me going,” said Meza-Ubeda. “Something we talked about with the video was showing how we can come together and look at the bright side of the situation. That’s what I love about the BC community—with everything that’s going on, 我们正在尽力而为.”
Although no audience was present during filming (only 25 people were allowed in the space at a time due to COVID protocols), Healey and the students were aware that the video they were creating could potentially be viewed by thousands.
“We were performing for the camera and there's an authentic excitement that comes from that,希利说. “I think the entire day, we were just uplifted by the experience.”
最后, performing off the football field was so successful that Daria Healey thinks it may become a tradition of its own. Similar to collaborating with groups like AeroK, performing in new spaces provides a fresh source of inspiration, 她说.
“A lot of the dancers are very excited about the prospect of finding other spaces in Boston to work in,”她说。. “I'm looking forward to seeing those in the future.”
回顾, David Healey sees the project as both a test of students’ resiliency and an example of the silver linings that often accompany challenges.
“When you're confronted with something new, is your instinct to see what you can't do or what you can do?他说. “We couldn't be in the same space but we could still create music. We could still create dance and we could capture it in an entirely new way that we wouldn't have thought of otherwise. We infused new life into something that was familiar.”
Alix Hackett | University Communications | October 2020