Mock Rock

Mock Rock brings five different teams with a plethora of programs to the stage in Chase Gymnasium this Thursday running from 8 to 10 p.m. “Mock Rock” is the highest attended social event held on campus, according to AS Social Board Chair member Emilee Sutherland. However, this year’s Mock Rock differs from that of previous years in various ways.

“The number of teams involved is on the smaller end this year, but we invested more money in the event to make it bigger and better,” Sutherland said. “We began a tradition of using professional lighting last year, and this year we are emphasizing a circus theme.”

Five different groups will be performing in this year’s Mock Rock competition: Xopoc Dance Troupe, “Men of Honor,” SOS, Andrew Webb’s “Evolution of Dance” and “The Biola Ratio.” Let’s go behind the scenes with each of the leaders from the various Mock Rock teams as they reflect on their experiences and give a brief preview of their programs.

Xopoc Dance Troupe: Harder, better, faster, stronger

When reflecting on the differences between Xopoc’s Mock Rock performance last year and this year, director senior Marshall Bang knew exactly how to describe it.

“There’s going to be more acting, some hardcore dancing and lip-synching and a stronger theme,” he said. “But at the same time, we’re not going to lose sight of the strong dance background.”

The Xopoc Dance Troupe was originally created by Bang in spring 2007 for the “Mock Rock” competition. Currently involving 33 students, Xopoc was approved as an organization in fall 2007 with official auditions for membership.

The dance troupe’s rehearsals for the Mock Rock competition started in mid-March every Monday and Wednesday, from 9 to 11 p.m., according to Bang. During the past two weeks before Mock Rock, the Xopoc Dance Troupe practiced nightly from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m.

“It was definitely intense and took a lot of dedication, hard work and diligence,” Bang said.

In addition to the anticipation of the crowd’s reaction and the dancers’ energy, Bang hopes that Mock Rock serves to strengthen the bonds within Xopoc.

“I hope that this event will bring our community closer together and that Xopoc comes together as an even tighter family,” he said.

NoHoFo: “Men of Honor” take a stand

The “Men of Honor” group participating in the Mock Rock competition is composed of 15 guys from the Fourth North Horton floor, as well as four girls from Hope and Alpha. The group’s performance is centered on an epic love story, focused on one of the girls, according to leader junior Kevin Scholl.

“Some of the guys on my floor — the ‘Men of Honor’ — came up with the idea and orchestrated the effort,” said Scholl.

Scholl participated in last spring’s Mock Rock as part of the Xopoc Dance Troupe, but the majority of his group this year has never been involved in a Mock Rock competition. Regardless, members of the “Men of Honor” are looking forward to this new experience.

“We’re excited about getting to perform what we’ve practiced,” said Scholl. “We have lots of moments that are crowd-pleasers.”

Members of the “Men of Honor” have practiced about five times per week after spring break for about two or three hours each. During the week prior to Mock Rock members have practiced every day.

While Mock Rock can be regarded as a competitive event, Scholl hopes that it promotes community and involvement among the other dorm floors on Biola’s campus.

“We just wanted to do something fun as a floor and encourage the other floors to participate as well,” he said.

SOS: Smaller groups, defined storylines

The SOS group is a veteran to the “Mock Rock” competition, having participated in the annual event as tradition. Co-leading the team of 52 students are sophomore Emily Berger and Rob Andrews.

For this year’s “Mock Rock” event, the upcoming SOS performance includes an array of themes, including a combination of movies and different genres. The program will feature different types of dancing and singing, as well as a variety of costumes.

Two of the main differences from last year’s SOS performance are the subdivision of the SOS group and the emphasis on the storyline. Because the SOS group was larger, Berger said they had to divide their team into smaller groups, thus accentuating the storyline’s prominence.

“It’s easy to put bigger groups on stage: it’s easier for them to perform, choreograph and sing,” she said. “With smaller groups, we had to define the storyline more.”

The SOS team started their preparation for “Mock Rock” from April 1: rehearsals took place Mondays thru Thursdays, from 10 p.m. until 1 a.m.

Berger hopes that the rehearsals will pay off and the levels of excitement and energy continue to rise as the competition draws nearer. The SOS group leaders are also excited to see their team members look sharp in their costumes and give a synchronized performance. However, members of the SOS team are not focused on the aspect of winning: rather, they use the “Mock Rock” event to get to know one another.

“Aside from performing, we use ‘Mock Rock’ as an opportunity to grow together as a team,” Berger said.

“Evolution of Dance”: Flying solo

For senior Andrew Webb, his upcoming “Evolution of Dance” performance is a way to perform and have a good time.

“I decided to do the ‘Evolution of Dance’ due to the lower number of participating groups this year,” Webb said.

“The Evolution of Dance” is the most watched video on YouTube. According to Webb, it is a showcase of some of the world’s very best dancers and a combination of movies. While Webb’s dance was previously choreographed (his performance includes elements similar in the video), he seized the opportunity to incorporate his own style.

“I had to change some parts of the dance to fit Biola’s standards,” Webb said. “I’ve been working on it since the beginning of April.”

Because the “Evolution of Dance” is exceedingly popular, Webb hopes that “Mock Rock” audiences will react positively to his performance.

“Since the video’s been watched so much, I anticipate people will dance and sing along to it,” he said.

The Biola Ratio: Happy endings possible, against all odds

After seeing last year’s “Mock Rock” competition, transfer student Elise Berg knew she wanted to participate in the event during her senior year. This spring, Berg created a team for “Mock Rock” composed of various students who simply wanted to participate in the competition. The resulting participants gave the group its name.

“We decided to call ourselves ‘The Biola Ratio’ because our group is made up of 15 girls and three guys,” Berg said.

According to Berg, the “Biola Ratio’s” performance focuses on an issue pertinent to the group’s title: relationships. The group’s program includes an almost typical “boy meets girl” story with a twist.

“Love is lost, love is found and all ends happily,” Berg said.

All except for one of the members in “The Biola Ratio” are new to the “Mock Rock” stage. However, the group members are all eager for a chance to perform onstage and enjoy each other’s company. “The Biola Ratio” team started to prepare for this event from the beginning of the semester, practicing once a week during the end of February for one to two hours. During the last few weeks before “Mock Rock,” the team started to practice more.

Despite the “friendly competitive” ambience of “Mock Rock,” the biggest goal for “The Biola Ratio” is just to have fun performing.

“We just want to give people something to enjoy; hopefully everyone will like it just as much as we do,” Berg said.