History

In the summer of 1995, three girls, Jennifer Pollina, Shelly Castro and Michelle Villalobos formed a dance troupe and called it "SHEBA", after the brand name of a popular cat food. The three girls teamed up with five other pioneering students: Tanielle McBain, Jamelle Berry, Michael B. Wilson, Pamela Sanders and Nataly Gutchstein, to form the first SHEBA crew. Little did they know that SHEBA was to gain immense popularity on campus in the years to come.

Under the direction of Tanielle, Michelle, and Mikey, the group kicked off the Fall term with auditions at Collis Commonground. The few who were selected: Isabel Choi, Hai Gi Li, Priscilla Cham, Josephine Choy, Erin Fuse, and Catherine Baumann, joined the crew. Later that year Selassie Atadika, Karen Hung, Barbara Vallarino, and April were added to the roster. Finally in the Spring of 1996, the founders returned from their foreign study abroad programs to make SHEBA 16 dancers strong.

Throughout the year, SHEBA had risen to the height of performance intensity and gradually replaced some of the more prominent groups as the most crowd-drawing campus sensation. Dubbed as the "new hip-hop movement" on campus, the apparent success inspired SHEBA members to come up with more original numbers. SHEBA shows quickly shifted from fraternity basements and onto bigger and better equipped locations. The average number of shows per term increased after Fall term. SHEBA ended the spring of 1996 in style with a joint performance with Femme Fatale, a popular new R and B singing group.

The start of the 96 Fall semester gave new vision for the team; SHEBA members were anxious to kick off the new school year with more shows, more dances, and more members. Auditions were intense, with over 50 participants jammed into the Alumni Gym. The talent there was very competitive and a majority of those present showed a great deal of potential as SHEBA dancers. But as deliberations came to a close, only the few who the team considered the very best were admitted. Ryoji, Caroline, Greg, Erin, and Yukha shortly came aboard as SHEBA 97 kicked into high gear.

SHEBA's first big production in the Fall came under the Friday Night Dance Party at Collis Center. Word has it that the number of attendants that evening exceeded the fire code capacity for Commonground. As crowds cheered on the new and improved SHEBA, they caught a rare glimpse at the new works-in-progress, such as "Gi-Break," "Nas" and "Janet." On top of the festivities, SHEBA members coordinated a dance contest that drew in dozens of participants.

The winter term was originally devoted to choreography and brainstorming, since our plan for the "Big Spring Show" was underway. Result: "Oye Como Va," (Santana) "Janet Compilation," "This is it," (Camp Lo) and "Stressed Out," (Tribe called Quest) were born. Later in the spring, sheba members beefed up their repetoire with the new "Booty" number, Jamelle's "Cane Dance" (Foxy Brown) and "Gyrlz Dance," Josephine's "Weary" (The Commitments) piece, and the guys' "Mo' Money Mo' Problems" project.

With over a dozen new high-velocity dances to show off, SHEBA launched the first-ever tour to perform at Mt. Holyoke College, and later went as far off as Montreal to touch base with its international audience. These, however, were only testing grounds for the much-awaited Spring Show in Commonground. With the help of SHEBA's new sound specialist, Scott Lawrence, SHEBA produced its own remix CD. If that wasn't enough to wow the audience, Scott skillfully put together for the show a video collage of SHEBA's past performances and pieced it along with phat music and surrealistic effects. Dubbed as "Absolut SHEBA 97," the spring show captivated audiences once again, despite rumors of a waning future due to rival dance groups. "SHEBA Does it Again" headlined an article in the Dartmouth.

SHEBA capped off the year with yet another crowd-drawing performance on Frat Row where the Hanover Police and the Fire Department were on hand to join in on the fun. Crowds chanting "Let them dance!" typified the intensity of that evening. The year ended with a semestral jamboree titled "OrGi 97," since member Hai Gi Li arranged the affair towards the end of each term. SHEBA folks cheerfully shared the memories of the past year, one filled with phenomenal SHEBA success. Needless to say, cocktails somewhat enhanced the festive atmosphere.

1997 was an awesome year for SHEBA, but that was only the beginning. SHEBA has since become, without a doubt, one of the premiere entertainment groups on campus. Fast forwarding the SHEBA dynasty to spring 2002, SHEBA hosted its biggest show ever in a packed Leede arena. With 1300 Dartmouth fans screaming at the top of their voices, SHEBA elevated its status and launched itself into a new sphere of intensity with over 25 hot dances and hi-tech video interludes. SHEBA did it again in spring 2003 at Leede arena, making the annual SHEBA spring show one of the greatest entertainment highlights on campus. The SHEBA crew and its supporters hope for bigger things to come. It's indeed only the beginning. SHEBA's about to do it again...and again.