On November 17th, Staff Writer Jack Rado saw the 7:30 pm production of RodeOrchesis, the fall 2023 iteration of a Columbia tradition.

Maybe it’s puzzling that Orchesis is Columbia’s largest student group—dance, after all, is fairly niche, the domain of Russians of a former age and the children of high-powered women from Pittsburgh. After seeing their show on November 17th, however, I get the appeal. It’s this sheer scope that makes it worthwhile. There is something so undeniably cool about watching fifty people coordinate precise motions onstage. 

In their (thankfully brief!) statement at the beginning of the show, Orchesis’ executive board (Anya Trumbach, SEAS ’25; Haley Scull, BC ’24; Abby Mankin, BC ’25) told the audience that their organization’s guiding principle is diversity—everyone who auditions for the show is cast. This made me a little nervous; are they trying to use their performers’ inexperience as an excuse for a bad show? Is there going to be a static teeming mass of bored freshmen who were stationed somewhere onstage because there’s nowhere else for them to go?

Luckily, my fears were quickly assuaged by the first number, “When I Grow Up,” choreographed by Scull. This ended up being one of the bigger acts in the show, but it didn’t seem to suffer for its size. The performers were dressed in black lace tops and black shorts, which, paired with the hot-pink projection, gave the number an intentionally sleazy Victoria’s Secret vibe that established the show’s abiding energy: we’re cute, we’re sexy, we’re fun, we’re not taking ourselves too seriously. 

“Cross Eyed,” choreographed by Elsie Devey (SEAS ’24), was a total departure from that aesthetic. Set against a warm orange backdrop, this number was contemporary and highly technical without ever veering into the bug-eyed sincerity people mean when they talk about interpretive dance. At a few moments, the piece felt like it was too self-consciously trying to get your attention, with a lift or a pirouette that felt unearned, but these were minor blips in an altogether interesting experience.

After Alilia Bowden (BC ’26) and Charlotte Ries (BC ’26)’s “Gimme More,” a high-energy hip-hop act much like the first one, came the first interlude. These four interludes (and the finale) were the only places where the “RodeOrchesis” theme came out. Past reviewers of the show have complained about Orchesis’ famously loose theming, but I’m inclined to praise them for their light hand on the country music. A night spent listening to the dulcet tones of Luke Bryan is not, I imagine, most Barnumbia students’ idea of a good time, and there’s only so much hoeing-down one can see before it grows repetitive. A little bit of banjo and fake-lasso-swinging here and there, however, can only be good for the soul. 

“Free” (Trumbach and Petrusek, BC ’25) was another fluid, modern number, performed in white dresses, like Midsommar but less scary. “Me and Your Mama” (Alexis Ishmael, BC ’24) used a bright blue projection to cloak the performers in shadow, which was a cool effect but rather harsh on the eyes. It was also probably the most prominent use of a favorite Orchesis choreographic device—the dramatic fall to the floor—after which a solo performer stepped to the front of the stage and snapped twice toward the ceiling, which was campy and dramatic enough to elicit a large round of applause from the audience. “Hot to Go” (Elaje Lopez, BC ’24) played with the trope of the bubbly cheerleader in a super fun way.

“Barbietopia” (Tal Bloom, BC ’26 and Madeline Rosenthal, BC ’26) blazed new ground in the night’s festivities, attempting something of a narrative structure. The valiant performers attempted to convey through mere motion the horrors—nay, the despondency—that Ken feels about just being Ken; then, after a brief pantomimed interlude, the number transitioned into a rollicking dance party set to Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night.” The number was a refreshing change of pace, although it felt a little too blatantly topical for my taste, but that might just be my own bitterness about the inescapability of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.

For me, the highlight of the whole show was “First Light,” choreographed by Romane Lavandier (BC ’24). The projection returned to the orange of “Cross Eyed”, and the performers came out wearing neutral browns and beiges to give the whole affair a warm, earthy feel. The choreography was structured in movements: first, all of the performers entered, then a piece of them broke off and began a small ensemble section. These moments where people broke away were so fluid and tasteful that you hardly even noticed them, but the visual contrast created between the whole group and these small ensembles gave the piece an interesting structure. Finally, all of the performers involved in this number formed two concentric circles and then began to turn them like a model of a planetary orbit or something.

After the suave but upbeat number “The Chain” (Mankin and Liz Radway, CC ’24), the entire company performed one last dance to “Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy,” which tied together the show’s playful sexuality and the country aesthetic of its title. The bows revealed the scale of Orchesis; there were so many performers onstage by the end of the number that they had to bow from the front to the back, then kneel to the floor. This happened four or five times, and I had totally forgotten the upstagemost group was even there. RodeOrchesis doesn’t have anything to tell you about metaphysics or the nature of humanity, but the joy you feel watching so many people do what they love is its own kind of lesson.

Header image via Author