“Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.”
This iconic line from “Avatar: The Last Airbender” introduced a performance of the same name at Airband on April 11.
Due to a consistently large number of attendees, there are two Airband shows every year.
This year, for the first show, “Avatar” by second English and Broho placed first, “Frozen” by second east Olson and third west Wengatz placed second and “The Lego Movie” by Swallow Robin and Penthouse placed third.
For the second show, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas” by fourth west Olson and Wengatz placed first, “Avatar” placed second and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” by first east Olson and second west Wengatz placed third.
Airband gives students the opportunity to perform choreographed dances to mashups of songs revolving around distinct TV shows and movies.
“The choices of shows this year were more unique,” Elise Adams, a junior accounting major and audience member, said. “They weren’t the stereotypical movies that you would think of when picking an Airband theme.”
This year’s lineup also included performances of “Night at the Museum,” “Cars,” “The Hunger Games,” “Rio,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “The Chronicles of Narnia” and “Teen Beach Movie.”
It is difficult to explain to people outside of the TU community what Airband is and the extent to which it is special, Gaby Valdez, a junior vocal performance major and captain of the “Avatar” group, said.
“Literally nobody else does it,” she said. “When I try to explain to my friends that don’t go to Taylor what Airband is, they’re like, ‘What?’”
Airband is also unique because it is accessible and non-exclusive, Jonathan Doud and Amelia York, members of the “Rio” group, said.
Several groups welcomed performers from different floors and dorms, and others recruited elementary-age children. Overall, participants do not need to have dance experience to join a group.
“You don’t have to have a resume to do it,” Alyssa Grant, a sophomore creative writing major and member of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” group, said.
From intense fight choreography in “Avatar,” “The Hunger Games” and “The Chronicles of Narnia” to spot-on costume design in “Rio,” “Teen Beach Movie” and “Pirates of the Caribbean,” each group brought something unique to their performance, Adams said.
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” the opening performance, made full use of Rediger Auditorium as their set transformed the stage into a life-sized Whooville and group members danced onstage, in the aisles and in the balconies.
From the large to the small, props played a significant role in bringing the chosen stories to life. “The Lego Movie” utilized large-scale props like a tube of “Kragle” to make the performers look like scaled-up Lego figures, and performers of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” tossed around a can of “ooze” during a fight scene. The eye-catching radioactive green prop helped direct the audience’s attention to the most crucial points of action.
Groups like “Avatar,” “Night at the Museum” and “The Hunger Games” each used costumes to create distinct visual dichotomies signifying opposition.
Regardless of the specifics of what set each performance apart, and regardless of who placed during each show, all performers put in a great deal of hard work, time and effort to make their routines the best they could be, and that should be recognized, Grant said.
Group captains are especially important because they are responsible for making the performances possible and for taking care of otherwise overlooked components, Valdez said.
“It’s a lot of team spirit and everyone coming together,” Grant said. “And it is a competition, but I also feel like there is just a genuine excitement to see everyone else’s themes and celebrate what other people are doing.”
