Nikki Friedman came up with a new theme two weeks after performing in Spring Sing last year with her sorority Delta Gamma and the fraternity Lambda Chi Alpha.
Friedman, a third-year world arts and cultures/dance and psychology student and director of the piece, wanted to take on more of a challenge for the group’s return to the Spring Sing stage this Saturday.
“Getting a story across to 9,000 people in the audience can be difficult,” Friedman said. “But after performing a number about celebrities last year and seeing how clearly everyone in the number projected their voices, I knew we could take the risk.”
Sixteen girls from Delta Gamma will be performing with 17 Lambda Chi Alpha members in what will be Delta Gamma’s ninth consecutive year in the competition, she said.
Friedman said she placed herself in the shoes of an audience member and asked what she would want to hear in order to write the number featuring Top 40 songs with modified lyrics.
She said despite the stress of coordinating 32 people, the dedication of the performers has motivated her.
“Teaching (17) fraternity guys how to dance might not seem appealing,” Friedman said. “But they are more hardworking than I would ever imagine.”
Wes Hartmann, a first-year mathematics student and member of the production, said the Spring Sing number marks his first time learning to dance.
“The styles of dance change throughout the number, matching the different songs,” Hartmann said. “It ranges from funky hip-hop to salsa, so I had to learn the complicated footwork and how to partner dance with a girl.”
He said that the group’s dancers and vocalists were strict in rehearsing four times a week for two hours, culminating in their Spring Sing audition.
“My shoe caught on the floor and I stumbled into the area marked as offstage. I basically fell off the stage in front of the judges,” Hartmann said. “But obviously we impressed someone.”
Michelle Dold, a fourth-year international development studies student who will be participating in the Delta Gamma and Lambda Chi Alpha number for the second time, said she appreciates the production category because it allows people not trained in a cappella or involved in artistic extracurriculars to participate.
“We are the everyday UCLA students,” Dold said. “We’re just getting up there, doing our best and not taking ourselves too seriously.”