And the award for top ensemble at International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) Northeast quarterfinals goes to ... the Brandeis Ballroom Dance Team? For the second consecutive year, Brandeis hosted the most prestigious competition in collegiate a cappella. On the whole, the sold-out quarterfinals held in Levin Ballroom last Saturday produced completely forgettable, lackluster performances that were absolutely unacceptable for an event of such prestige. The Ballroom Dance Team, the only non-vocal group of the night to perform, easily stole the show with its creative choreography and energetic ease on stage. Despite the disappointing quality of most of the a cappella competitors, the quarterfinal winners, the John Hopkins Octopodes, and the runners-up, Brandeis' own Spur of the Moment, will still advance to the ICCA Northeast semi-final round to be held at the University of Albany at the end of the month. The crowd favorite, Rutgers Deep Treble, finished a disappointing third and will unfortunately not move on the ICCA competition.

Host groups Starving Artists and Brandeis Ballroom Dance Team performed along with the other six quarterfinalists-the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Brick City Singers, Spur of the Moment, the Octopodes (John Hopkins University), Alabaster Blue (University of New Hampshire), Deep Treble (Rutgers University), and the Allegrettos (Boston University). The prize for top vocal percussionist went to Michael Vu '04 of the Octopodes. Emily Caporello'05, also of the Hopkins group, won best soloist for performance of No Doubt's "Tragic Kingdom" along with Spur's Shanna Zell '04 for her rendition of Alanis Morissette's "Forgiven." Deep Treble took home the prize for best group choreography and Spur won the best arrangement category with their version of Maroon 5's "This Love."

However, the members of Brandeis' award-winning Ballroom Dance Team were the only stand-out stars of the night. The team began the night's performances with a sexy rumba that transitioned into a disco-style cha-cha. Considering that the group had only two weeks to teach numerous new members the routine, the team was thrilling with their tight turns and suggestive moves that had the audience in constant cheers. One audience member even exclaimed of the number, "It's so cool, just like Dirty Dancing!"

The Brandeis and University of Massachusetts Amherst Ballroom Dance Teams joined forces later on in the night for a sensational swing dance that transported the whole audience back to the 1940s. Not only did the teams dance like professionals, they also were clearly having a great time on stage, making this performance even more fun for the audience to watch. The two teams then performed a provocative rumba routine that had to have been one of the steamiest, sexiest numbers ever performed on Levin Ballroom stage. The Brandeis Ballroom Dance Team outshone all performing groups of night and will hopefully gain greater recognition on campus after this performance.

The quality of the ICCA quarterfinal round itself turned out to be a large disappointment as the two advancing ensembles delivered rather underwhelming performances. Winning ensemble, the Octopodes, had the most solid vocal performance, but one completely devoid of any choreography or musical innovation. In order to be picked up completely by the microphones, the 14 singers stood in the same positions for the whole set, resulting in the night's strongest sound but most visually boring performance. Singing hits such as Saliva's "Always" and "Here Without You" by 3 Doors Down, the Octopodes relied on strong arrangements and perfect dynamics and harmony to carry them through their set.

The Deep Trebles delivered the only sensational performance of the night. Their 19 members sang and moved with no inhibition, completely unintimidated by the competitive atmosphere. Each Deep Treble soloist perfectly stepped into the role implied by their respective songs, from the rebel princess on Joydrop's "Beautiful Like You" to a charming flirt in Jason Mraz's "The Remedy." The soloist even sounded like hip-hop duo Outkast during the highly entertaining performance of "The Whole World." Yet, the ICCA judges seemed to value musical capability over creativity, resulting in the Octopodes's first place finish and the victory over of the Deep Trebles.

The 11 singers of Spur of the Moment put in a good enough performance to finish second, much to the pleasure of the home crowd. Spur's set featured cute choreography and successfully highlighted the individual vocal strength of each group member.

However, Spur's performance failed to draw the audience in as most of the members seemed either to be holding back or emitting a fake sense of energy. Soloists Zell and Hannah Goldstein '06 both appeared visibly nervous. Even the normally charismatic and charming James Yeaton '04 performed Maroon 5's "This Love" with a constipated facial expression. The song, thankfully, was saved by the natural stage presence of Jonathan Schwartz '04 and the skilled harmonies of Kira Baillargeon '04, arguably the best a cappella soloist on this campus. Unfortunately, her talent was not fully utilized in the night's competition. Spur survived this ICCA round on its solid song arrangements and with help from dismal performances by three other quarterfinal ensembles. However, Spur will need more than just a respectable performance if the group is to have any shot of advancing further in the ICCA competition.