E-11... An Efficacious ELLIV :-)

The came,
They stepped it up,
They shined in the center ring...

Just as a single, sunny Saturday afternoon emerged out of 2 weeks of Midwest rain, masses of Cedarville students emerged from their dorms to attend the most anticipated event of the year, Elliv.

Elliv (for those of you who either A. did not read my last blog or B. live under a rock) is Cedarville University's annual mock award show that brings to light the most memorable moments of the year, honors student accomplishments, and brings attention to unique student talent. Started in 2000 as an dorm-room-formed idea, the event has transformed from more of a spoof, to a legitimate platform for talent and campus unity.

Throughout my 4 years at Cedarville, I had the chance to perform at, choreograph for, and coordinate the event, so when I was asked to continue my involvement and choreograph this year, I did not hesitate for a second. Starting back in January, I was able to audition and cast for 5 dance numbers and soon thereafter, begin the hardcore rehearsal schedule. What came out of those 12 weeks of rehearsals were some stellar numbers to hit the ELLIV '11 stage on April 30th.

The show opened with a bang in the form of my girls doin' a fab rendition of Willow Smith's WHIP MY HAIR (<-- see video!). Check it- mah Girls were workin it...







After that, one of my bestest, Erin, hit the stage in all her Pat-Benatar-awesome-yet-borderline-hideous-80's glory and took on Bon Jovi's LIVIN ON A PRAYER. This girl has some skill. Both in singing, and rocking cliche' anthems. Please also notice the sheer hotness of my friends Tyler and Boliger (left and right respectively) in their denim washed, mullet-ed greatness.


As that act ended, the fabulous stage crew adorned the stage with park benches and lampposts in preparation for a number I had been visualizing since the fall. In what I had hoped would become a sweet little lyrical hip hop number, my 3 couples accompanied our own "Bruno Mars" as they danced to JUST THE WAY YOU ARE.




As if any talent or award show could be complete without it, a fabulously coiffed group of 8 stepped into the spotlight in sequins and skinny ties reminding us in such a beloved Glee fashion, DON'T STOP BELIEVIN. Yea, they made 3-step turns look good.




Adding to the spectacle of the evening, MAGIC was the next dance number up. And no, rapping, a sweet video, and awesome lighting is not enough. Check out my flippin awesome swing/jive couples. Yea, they're pretty cool. They even kept in all their death-defying stunts amidst the smaller than anticipated stage spacing with dangers on all sides :-)





Over the years, Cedarville has dealt with and overcome many things. Bed bugs, swine flu, etc. But right now, even Cedarville can't escape the ailment that is sweeping the world by storm... Beiber Fever. It would have been wrong to not give the campus a taste of their SOMEBODY TO LOVE. {Please note the "Beiber heart" formation at the end. I was excited that so many picked up on it. yay.}




After a few more awesome musical numbers ranging from Taylor Swift to the Beatles... it was time for the finale. The summit. The pinnacle of the evening. The anticipated final number. Usually the finale is epic, and we of course kept that up this year, but while the final number is usually a well-known song, we opted for something a little more obscure. Although most likely new to the majority of the crowd, we decided to build a spectacular act recreating the final scene from Fame, the musical number HOLD YOUR DREAM. From a 25 piece orchestra, vocalists, a gospel choir, ballet dancers, lyrical dancers, tribal dancers and more... this number was definitely deserving of the standing ovation to close the evening.








ELLIV is an incredible tradition that I am so very thankful to have had such an opportunity in being involved the last 5 years. Where else can you throw together a hip hop routine with a social work major on the right and a mechanical engineer on your left in the same room where you have chapel every weekday?

Yea, that's what I thought. Be jealous.


(Ooh... and if you were wondering, yes, we've already had a meeting to start brainstorming for next year... BRING IT, ELLIV 2012!)

FAT TUESDAY AND....FRUIT SNACK JESUS?

For some, Fat Tuesday may mean colorful parades, self-indulgence, and a neckful of colorful beads. But for this girl enjoying the simple life in the small village of Cedarville, Ohio, the holiday is a little less than extravagant.

That is, until last Tuesday's glimmer of excitement in the form of intriguing cakes at work.

My co-worker, Renea, decided to make the day a lil more festive and recognize Fat Tuesday by bringing in 2 cakes. Ya see... supposedly it's a tradition (and I had partially heard of this before) that often times people will bake a cake and have a small hidden cross or "baby Jesus."
Renea couldn't bring herself to bake a representation of the Lord in either her yellow cake with chocolate icing, or her chocolate cake with vanilla icing, so she opted to hide a red fruit snack in her baked goods.

As the morning went on, people took pieces of the cake, strategically, to try and locate the treasure and as a result, win the awaiting prize. My good friend, Erin and I scoped out the two options of sustenance and promise and choice our pieces. No luck.

About an hour or so later, Erin and I being the munchers we are AND due to the fact we had heard no excitement over anyone finding "Jesus," we made our way back to the kitchen. We discovered the cakes with pieces missing like the randomness of a bad jigsaw puzzle, but we had a new found desire to not only find the winning piece, but to win the mysterious prize.

I thought it would be in the chocolate cake. So, Erin chose a middle slice, I pulled it out and cut through.... to no avail. Fail. The great part of this game? Having to eat additional cake as a loser helps with the pain of falling short.

Erin walked to the white cake. After analyzing some marks Renea made in frosting and scoping out the pattern to which previous pieces had been removed, I slowly pointed to the top right corner piece with a sense of victory in my bones. As Erin slowly pressed her plastic cutlery through the chocolate, then through the white cake to unveil a glimpse at the red fruit snack.

"Waaaaaaaa!" she wailed loud enough to surely be heard by the clients on the other end of the phone lines to hear.
We immediately ran to the back room with the excitement of a small child enthused to show their mother a new trick. We presented "Jesus" to Renea and received our prize. CANDY! Ok now, maybe you were expecting more from the anticipation I built. I know that's the go-to reward for kids for anything from toilet training to remembering their 2nd grade math homework, but Erin and I were stoked. We sit at a desk all day, it's tiring, and we love any good 'ol pick me ups.
Until next time when we celebrate this unofficial holiday that reminds us of obesity and bad behavior...