A&E

To celebrate Typhoon Dance Troupe’s 10-year anniversary, members of the East and Southeast Asian-inspired dance group are creating a spring show unlike any of their past performances by performing dance styles beyond their usual expertise. Culminating in the show’s “Hourglass” theme about discovering the myth of time through various dance styles, Typhoon’s annual spring show will take place this Sunday in Ryan Family Auditorium at 7 p.m.

Nicole Fu, president of Typhoon, said she oversees all the logistics for the show to ensure it all comes together smoothly. She said the group has put many hours into perfecting the performance.

The group, composed of about 50 performers, started preparations early in Fall Quarter. Since then, they’ve performed in Celebrasia and other events on campus.

“I’m really excited for everyone to see our progress,” the Weinberg junior said. “Our love for dance, our emotions, come out when we perform. Especially for the seniors graduating this year, this show will be a combination of dance and memories.”

Because 2015 marks the 10th year since Typhoon’s founding, the group decided to color this year’s performance with a dash of variety from other groups and performers. Typhoon is collaborating on a hip-hop dance with a few members of ReFresH dance crew. Northwestern’s Graffiti Dancers and dancer Winson Zeng from New York University will be this year’s guest performers.

Mia Luo, a Communication freshman, performs with Typhoon to continue the dance career that began when she was a child. Luo sees the dance group as an opportunity to connect with her culture.

“The show provides an interesting insight into Asian culture and helps bring me closer to it,” she said. “It’s important for Northwestern students to see something like this.”

Medill freshman Wei Wei serves as Typhoon’s publicity chair. She said she’s been publicizing the spring show for several months, and the group has been preparing for the show for even longer.

“The Hourglass theme demands a lot from us, but I’m really glad we decided to have dances that go from modern to traditional to hip hop,” she said.

Along with the guest performances and new dance styles, Typhoon also hopes to attract a large audience with a raffle for a $20 or $50 gift card to Lao Sze Chuan.

Ultimately, Fu said Typhoon hopes to make its name better known on campus.

“We want to get more people interested in the Chinese culture and all that it has to offer,” she said. “Dance is a media of culture, and it’s wonderful for people to experience it.”
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