Belly dancers, a cappella groups and singing President E. Gordon Gee imitators were only a few of the students demonstrating the talents of Ohio State at the 3rd Annual Buckeye Showcase Thursday night.
Auditions were held in January for the showcase. A panel of six student members of the Major Campus Events Committee judged 20 different acts and found 13 finalists for the show.
Buckeye Showcase celebrates the “amazing artistic talents” of OSU students, said Dasha Zhitenev, a second-year in human resources and economics and student chair for the event.
Mark Titus, a former OSU basketball player who is renowned for his blog “Club Trillion,” emceed the showcase.
Thirteen acts took the stage in the Ohio Union Performance Hall, entertaining an audience of about 460 people. Eight of the acts were group performances while the other five were solo.
“It is an opportunity for students to showcase their talents, and for all students to see the talented Buckeye community. It’s also a way to introduce culturally different art,” Zhitenev said.
Buck That!, an a cappella group composed of 16 male vocalists, kicked off the event. They sang “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King that converged into “Beautiful Girl” by Sean Kingston, accompanied by finger snapping and dance moves. They ended their performance with a harmonious version of “Kryptonite” by 3 Doors Down.
Ashley Bulinski, a first-year in biology, said Buck That! was her favorite performance.
“Linx Dance Team” took the stage next. The group of nine girls, dressed in sweats, showed off their hip-hop moves to a rap and R&B mix.
“They had a lot of energy and were good performers,” said Diana Dancak, a first-year in architecture.
Jamie-Lee Morris, a third-year in psychology, brought a mellow element to the show when she recited a poem addressing what she wanted and deserved in a man.
OSU Freestyle busted out a few beats along with some background beatboxing. The group is composed of more than 65 members, but only five performed at the event.
Key of Gee, a group of 16 Gee imitators, female and male, sang an a cappella version of “Fix You” by Coldplay. The lady Gees of the group wore their imitation bow ties in their hair.
The a cappella talent wasn’t limited to the Columbus campus however.
Inchant is a student-led a cappella group from OSU’s Marion campus. The coed group of nine sang “Seasons of Love” from “Rent,” “Hit the Road Jack” by Ray Charles and “Love Shack” by The B-52s. A few members stripped off their shirts and ties during “Love Shack.”
8th Floor Improv’s cracked a few jokes with their “dating game.” Members did impressions of Sean Connery, a compulsive hair flipping Justin Bieber and the Cookie Monster while another member had to guess the identities of his eligible dates.
The Backup Plan, a band of four OSU students, was welcomed onto stage with a slow clap from the audience and closed the show with their song, “In This Together” and a rock version of Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite.” Members of the crowd stood and sang along.
Buckeye Showcase was a free event sponsored by Ohio Union’s Major Campus Events Committee, the Office of Student Life and a contribution of about $2,400 from the Student Activity Fee.
