Music, dance, and more planned at Ovation on Friday

RIT students will have a chance to show their talents and compete for cash prizes during Ovation: RIT Performing Arts Showcase, from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 2 in Ingle Auditorium in the Student Alumni Union.

It is one of several events for this year’s 13-day FreezeFest.

Ovation will feature 14 acts of dance, vocal, and instrumental music. The first-place act will win $1,000, with a $500 prize awarded to the second-place act.

RIT President David Munson and his wife, Nancy, will emcee the competition, which will feature judges from RIT and the community. The judges and their biographies can be found on the event website.

“Nancy and I know our students are bright, but the number of students who also have talents in the arts is phenomenal,” Munson said. “We enjoy watching and hearing them perform at every opportunity we have and are delighted RIT allows them to continue their passions in performing arts.”

The performers come from diverse backgrounds, representing majors from nearly every college at RIT. They include:

• “2+1 Percussion,” duet on marimba, by Kelsey and Mia
• “Zheng Playing,” Chinese plucked zither played by Jiangnan Xu
• “MJ You Rock My World,” danced by Freshh Desy
• “Mirrors,” sung by Eight Beat Measure
• “Kewl Kidz,” original choreography
• “Smooth Criminal,” a rock cello duet by Brandon Faunce and Gavin Palmer
• “Officially Missing You,” sung by Angelis Cordero and Sedrick Thomas
• Velocity, urban dance crew
• Katie Updegrove, performing circus arts, acrobatics, and dance with hoops
• “All Again,” danced by Carly Wicka and Teresa Uhl
• “Love of My Life,” sung and arranged by Alexandria Pross
• WADAIKO, Japanese drumming and dancing
• “Mexican Folkloric Dance,” by Alma de Mexico
• “Kitri’s Entrance Variation,” from “Don Quixote,” a classical pointe variation dance by Katie Miller

A special performance by last year’s winner, classic rock band Retrograde, will perform during the judges’ deliberation.

Ovation is free and open to the RIT community