Members of the 2008 Dance Concert followed the golden rule of show business last weekend despite the arctic blast.
As always, the show must go on. At Otterbein it went on and on and on and on as the dancers performed four times over the weekend.
Due to the weather, the Friday night performance was cancelled. However, a second Sunday performance was added to make up for the cancellation.
John Stefano, professor and chairman of the theatre and dance department, decided to cancel the show Saturday night. The Westerville Police Department was asking people to stay off of the roads, and side streets and parking lots had yet to be cleared.
Instead, an open dress rehearsal was held for anyone on campus, or within walking distance, free of charge.
Artistic Director Stella Kane was snowed in and unable to attend Saturday's performance. Despite this, the cast and crew all were able to make it to the show.
Several cast members had to be picked up by Stage Manager Corey Verdusco in his four-wheel truck because they couldn't make it through the blizzard.
According to Stefano, the audience Saturday night was larger than anticipated, almost filling the bottom of Cowan Hall.
"Saturday we had the best audience we had all weekend," said cast member Jake Widman. "It was young people, it was our friends and it was people who wanted to see us."
Verdusco agreed with Widman. "We had one of the best crowds we could ask for because it was all family and friends," he said.
The department is still unsure about how much money was lost due to the cancellations.
"We've probably lost a lot of money," said Stefano. "However, that is so much less important than the fact that the students got to perform and show off the work they've been doing all quarter long." t&c;
