Ballroom Dance Club meets in cafeteria 2

If you were to stray into cafeteria 2 one Wednesday afternoon at 2:30, your discovery at first glance would surprise you. Fast paced music blares through the speakers, as students attempt to waltz around the floor, avoiding the tables pushed back against the walls. Don’t be too alarmed though; you’ve just stumbled upon a meeting of the Ballroom Dance Club.

Started by club president, Natasha Andriyanycheva (’10) her sophomore year, Andriyanycheva began the ballroom dance club as a way to continue her love of dancing in school.

“I’ve been doing Ballroom Dance for eight years,” says Andriyanycheva. “It’s pretty popular, and you see it in the movies and stuff. I talked to some friends & they showed a lot of interest.”

And thus, the Ballroom Dance Club was born. With a meeting each week, the club gathers together, and memorizes a wide variety of different dances. Ballroom Dance itself can be categorized into the American style, and the International Style, which too contains the standard genre and the latin genre. The Club tends to focus on the more popular styles, such as the Salsa (Latin), the Quick Step (International Standard), the Samba (Latin), and the Foxtrot (International Standard). Other popular styles include the Jive, the Samba, the Cha-Cha, the Waltz, and the Tango. 

The meetings consist of learning the steps, practicing them, and then adding the music. Dancers are paired together, and then separated, as male dancers learn their part and female dancers study theirs. Andriyanycheva teaches the dancers their roles, while the Club’s officers, Sarah Chung (’10), Yoonsie Kim (’10), Katie Savarin (’10), and Susie Choi (’10), help organize the meetings. The Ballroom Dance Club has since expanded to include about 50 members. The Club even engages in mock competitions, with one upcoming in February. 

“I really enjoy Ballroom Dance. [Dancing] is actually a lot of fun,” says Savarin (’10). “There are a lot of great people in this club.”

Transformers 2 review

Transformers 2, a striking blend of action and attractive people, has been declared the blockbuster hit of the summer. Starring Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes and Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky, the plot revolves around Decipticons and the Autobots, in an intergalactic fight spanning several millennia.

Sam Witwicky is off to college, and finds himself at odds in his relationship with Mikaela. Faced with the natural temptations of college life, he finds their relationship slightly strained. But when he gets in contact with a shard of the All-Spark, the cube that contains the secrets to recreating the Autobot and Decepticon race, he learns the secret to rebuilding the alien life form. He soon finds himself being chased by the Decepticons, led by a suspiciously old and evil Decepticon named the Fallen, as Earth begins crumbling around him. Assisted by his good Autobot friends, Sam begins the quest to save the leader of the Autobots and somehow salvage the alien race.

The movie, in itself, was a bit like cinematic candy. The special effects were striking, especially with the robotic fights, and the scenes of Egypt. The robots themselves added enough flash to the film, even though they were really nothing more than vessels of witty dialogue. Several of the robots had peculiar accents – some were British, some were aggressively urban, to put it lightly, but it did add some interest to the film. The plot itself had very little substance. In fact, at some points, the story was so convoluted and dull that the actors’ good looks were the only thing that kept the viewer watching. There were references to ancient Egypt and alien wars that occurred thousands of years ago on Earth. Ancient

rivalries and aliens in disguise were all addressed. Yet while it sounded interesting enough, one really had to pay attention to follow the tricky storyline. The Witwickys’ overly sentimental responses to their son leaving home added some much needed humor, as over the top and crass as it was. Now, as this is an action movie, and a Michael Bay movie, on top of that, one would agree that acting has very little to do with the success of the film. Megan Fox’s main role was to sit there and look pretty; her emotional outbursts seemed so obviously wooden that they were almost difficult to watch. Unsurprisingly, she attracts the attention of a small Decepticon, who switches sides for her; his growing crush is fairly amusing. On the other hand, Shia LaBeouf was likeable enough, as the dorky, stumbling lead. However, the side characters, Sam’s dorky roommate, Leo Spitz (Ramon Rodriguez) and the crazed former FBI Agent, Simmons (John Turturro), stole the show. Their obsessive, awkward exchanges added the most humor to the mix.

All in all, don’t watch Revenge of the Fallen if you’re seeking something stimulating and unique. But if you want something fun that will occupy 150 minutes of your life, Transfomers 2 is the ideal choice.