One of the biggest events of the fall semester is Delta Upsilon Fraternity’s Dance 4 Charity, held in U of R’s Strong Auditorium. It’s the campus’s only competition between the various dance groups on campus, with all the proceeds going to a local Rochester charity. This year the proceeds went to benefit Mary’s Place, a local Rochester charity helping young refugees with schoolwork. Not only did I help plan the event, but I also danced in it on behalf of the UR Bhangra team! It was an amazing experience to participate in the event from both the planning end and the participating end.
Starting in October, a committee was formed to help advertise, plan, and execute the event—and overall, it was immensely successful. We even invited some of the kids from Mary’s Place to our event, and they loved seeing all the different dance groups performing. With such enthusiasm from the student body cheering on their favorite dance groups, it’s no surprise the U of R is one of the best universities in New York. Delta Upsilon Fraternity painted the famous U of R tunnel that different groups paint to help advertise for their upcoming events. It was a great bonding activity for the organization itself as well.
The event was special for me because I danced on stage with my teammates, who’d all been working hard for months leading up to this performance. The hard work payed off as we were awarded first place! Other dance groups participating were Celtic, Sihir, a bellydancing group, Salseros, Ballet Performance Group, Louvre, Raas, and more! Although the event is a competition, all the groups are always supportive of one another, and when you’re not dancing, you’re usually in the stands cheering on your friends in the other groups. With exciting music and crazy flips and moves, each dance group really amazed the audience!