photo of peer advisor Andrew Butt

An Overview of the Performing Arts Orgs at GW

Check out Peer Advisor Andrew Butt’s overview of the performing arts at GW, and how you can get involved with them!

Hello UHPers!

I hope everyone’s first week of online classes went well! While last week’s peer advisor blog post touched on some tips for succeeding with online academics, there is so much more to the college experience than just schoolwork. There is a whole world of student orgs at GW that are just waiting to meet you! Though the variety of orgs range from club sports to pre-professional groups, one community that has faced unique challenges in the virtual world are the performing arts. So, I’d like to give an overview of the performing arts scene at GW and how you can get involved!

Instrumental Music

GW’s instrumental music scene has something for almost everyone! For the jazzophiles, GW’s Jazz Orchestra is a group passionate about creating and promoting jazz within the GW community. The University Orchestra offers another great community for students with a more classical taste! In a traditional year the Orchestra performs in 2 to 3 concerts, and membership is not limited to music minors and majors! A campus favorite,  GW Colonial Brass, or C-Brass, is the university’s pep band! They perform at basketball games and never fail to instill team spirit! Check out Engage to see how you can get involved.

Vocal Music

GW has a thriving vocal music community as well! With six different a cappella groups and several choirs. The a cappella groups include the Troubadours, the Sirens, the Pitches, the Sons of Pitch, the Motherfunkers, and the Vibes. These groups are consistently invited to ICCA competitions, and GW even hosted the Mid-Atlantic Quarterfinals this year! Each a cappella group on campus has its own vibe and repertoire, so be sure to check out their social media to learn more. GW also has two choral groups: the University Singers and The Voice Gospel Choir!

Theatre

In addition to the Department of Theatre and Dance, GW also has a vibrant student theatre community! GW has four main student theatre orgs: GW Shakespeare Company, Generic Theatre Company, Forbidden Planet Productions, and 14th Grade Players! GW’s Shakespeare Company primarily produces Shakespeare’s work, but does other classical pieces like The Importance of Being Earnest and Antigone as well. Generic Theatre Company puts on both plays and musicals and traditionally does a Freshman Showcase every fall! Forbidden Planet Productions focuses on  musical theatre while also doing the occasional straight play. FPP also hosts an annual shadow cast production of the Rocky Horror Picture Show every fall and puts on a Cabaret of musical numbers in the spring! Finally, 14th Grade Players produces straight plays and is well known for their Welcome Back One Acts which usually happens in the fall! In a normal semester, each company puts on three shows, so there is plenty of opportunity to get involved both on stage and behind the scenes! These four organizations are overseen by the Student Theatre Council which is a community-elected governing body that helps maintain performance spaces, schedules shows, and hosts community bonding events.

Dance

GW is home to several dance organizations. Perhaps the biggest dance group at GW, Balance offers students a wide variety of dancing opportunities. Normally, Balance offers dance classes to its members while also putting on shows for dancers of all levels. Balance also produces its annual Nutcracker performance in the fall! In addition to Balance, there are a wide range of cultural dance organizations at GW: GW Bhangra, Fuego, District K and so many more! Check Engage for a full listing of all the different cultural dance organizations at GW. GW is also known for its First Ladies who perform at GW’s Basketball games! Finally, GW also has a Ballroom team that offers lessons and competes.

If any of these groups have piqued your interest, make sure to give them a follow on social media! If you have questions about how you can get involved in this semester, don’t hesitate to direct message an org or send them an email with your questions! These groups are only a small sample of the performing arts community at GW. For a more comprehensive list and to find contact information for these orgs, be sure to check out Engage!

 

1 thought on “An Overview of the Performing Arts Orgs at GW

  1. Meaghan Gallagher

    Don’t forget our comedy performing groups! Representing the Honors Program in receSs, GW’s only sketch comedy AND improv group on campus! There’s also [insert here] and GW Laughs!

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