Homecoming is a time-honored tradition in many schools, that celebrates school pride and heritage. As a first-semester student who didn’t have homecoming in high school, this was about the extent of my knowledge about homecoming. But one day, an older friend told me about Lip Sync. In this giant competition, many organizations on campus meet in Gampel Pavilion to perform a series of dances and have fun during this Husky-filled week. What better way to celebrate Back to Back basketball championships? So, seeing as I’m a freshman who’s eager to get the full college experience, I signed up to compete with the Puerto Rican Latin American Cultural Center (PRLACC), and I had no idea what was ahead.
Working it out
Our journey began a few weeks before the show. PRLACC is a consistent member of Homecoming activities, so the interest in Lip Sync is pretty abundant. Concepts for the show started in a packed room in the ITE building on a Wednesday night, full of excitement and willingness to work. We first established the types of dances we’d be doing on the big day: Merengue, Bachata, Reggaeton, and Dembow. These dances all hail origins in the late 20th century from countries such as the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Puerto Rico, but their influence spans all over Latin America and the U.S. Coming from a Dominican and Cuban background, I knew these dances in the sense of dancing casually at family parties just to have fun. This experience was so different because there were specific steps to follow and others to consider, along with staying on time. It was difficult initially, but eventually, it became more like fulfilling my lifelong dream of being on Dance Moms.
Practice makes perfect
After we had ideas of what we wanted to do and the event details, it was time to learn the dances and run through them. Since we were a group of about 50, it was hard to find a space to hold everyone. We would fluctuate between lecture halls in academic buildings and, if necessary, the 4th floor of North Garage. While making these trips to the garage was daunting, they eventually became fun and something to look forward to. We would all spend hours working on steps and laughing about jokes we’ve made. Although I already had some friends coming into this process, I grew closer with them and even made some new friends along the way. The dance part was rough at first, as a solid majority of the participants were not necessarily trained in dance, but by the last week, we could perform in sync and with energy. We felt amazing going into the day of the show, and I was so excited to make this a part of my college experience!
Lip sync Frenzy!
Show day finally came! I could barely contain my excitement all day as I was getting ready to head to PRLACC so we could all walk over together. We entered Gampel, and the atmosphere felt like a concert. It was full of stage lights, curtains, a DJ, and a big stage set up. Our group sat in our place and prepared for the big moment. Before we knew it, the dances began. The night opened up with a welcoming performance from the UConn dance team that blew everyone away. After that, the competition began with performances from groups of fraternities and sororities. Then there was the African American Cultural Center and Encore, a dance team at UConn, and of course, PRLACC. Every team caught the school spirit and theme of “Back-to-Back” and gave a show that people loved.
Toward the end of the night, it was our turn to shine. We scurried into place and prepared to show off what we’ve been working towards for weeks. The music began, and we came out strong, moving seamlessly to Elvis Crespo, Daddy Yankee, Prince Royce, and El Alfa. It was our best run yet, and we were full of adrenaline and happiness. In the end, we came in a respectable 3rd place, but that wasn’t as important because the group unanimously had so much fun going through it all. I would easily recommend this experience to anyone considering it because while it sounds like it’s not for everyone, it can be rewarding and enjoyable!