Ebony II
From CarlWiki
Ebony II, also called simply Ebony, is a student-run dance performance held every term.
Contents |
History
Ebony II was founded by Debra McCray in 1977. Initially it was devoted to black expression; however, it is now open to the entire Carleton community.
How it Works
Students of all ability levels sign up for the pieces they want to perform in. A few short weeks later, after intense rehersals, the finished product is performed.
Any student can choreograph any style dance for the show. Pieces can run from jazz, hip-hop, salsa, breakdancing, and anything else students can think of.
Man Dance
As the name suggests, all of the participants are male. It isn't clear when the first Man Dance made an appearance in the Ebony II line-up, though 2004-2006 Captain of the Man Dance Phil Chan '06 notes that in flipping through an old yearbook from the 1980s, there is a picture of a group of silly-looking gentlemen with a accompaning caption, "the men of Ebony performing their own dance."
The Man Dance caused quite the scandal in the winter of 2003, when a group of (white) males performed a Man Dance to Snoop Dogg, which infuriated the students of color on campus. They felt that the piece openly mocked African-American Hip Hop culture. The piece became a springboard for racial discussion; there was even a Chili Night held to discuss the event.
In 2004, several changes were made to make the Man Dance what we know it today. When Phil Chan '06 began to choreograph the Man Dance, he decided to make it an outlet for male expression. He also made the Man Dance every Winter and Spring, as opposed to the annual winter-only showing. Past Man Dances have featured a variety of songs including "Macho Man" by "The Village People," "It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls," "She Bangs" by "Ricky Martin," "Spice Up Your Life" by "The Spice Girls," "Shout" by "Otis Redding," and finally "Red Alert" by "Basement Jaxx." For the Winter 2004 Ebony show, Phil Chan even convinced then Dean of Students Mark Govoni to participate (in a tutu with a ribbon dancer.)
Other changes implimented were the Man Dance Social Safaris, the first of which began in the winter of 2005, Man Dance apparel (so far, there are Man Dance headbands, tanktops, and shorts floating around), spanklines for members of the Man Dance who show up late for rehearsal, short-shorts contest, and the annual Manquet, the first being in the spring of 2006, in which each member received an award for participating and senior speeches were made.
Following Phil Chan's graduation, Joel Winer '09 and Brian Klaas '08 took over the reins as the leaders of the ManDance.
