Anticipation was high for this year’s Sexual Chocolate Big Show. Tickets sold out in a record 100 minutes— it was all Boston College students could talk about as Valentine’s Day approached. So it was fitting that on Thursday night, Robsham Theater was packed with spectators excitedly awaiting an amazing show. They were not disappointed.
Before Sexual Chocolate (SC) took the stage, Fuego Del Corazon—BC’s Latin Dance Team—performed a fiery set to get the evening started; it included a spectacular all-girls dance with a feminist theme. A SC intro video was then played to introduce the crowd to the members of the step team and to give everyone a behind-the-scenes look at SC’s preparations for the show.
It was clear from the video that SC had put months of hard work and extensive practice into the show. Eventually, the long-awaited moment arrived. The stage backdrop turned to a brilliant blue, and the members of SC ran onto the stage and began prancing in a circle, holding hands. This seemingly strange act was soon clarified for the audience when one SC member announced the group as citizens of Buttercup County, a county focused on making sure that all of its members experienced true love and happiness.
In fact, the steppers were not just any ordinary citizens, but rather, town leaders and workers at the local Love Factory who were responsible for producing love potions for the people. Unfortunately, the machine that made the love potions was malfunctioning, resulting in the production of faulty potions that imbued the people who took them with a false sense of love and romance. In keeping with their Valentine’s Day theme, the SC steppers spent the show attempting to fix the malfunction so that real love could be produced once again.
The members of SC seamlessly melded step into their show without straying from the show’s plot. The whole group performed step at several points during the show, even incorporating members of the Dance Organization of Boston College into their routine at one point towards the end. SC’s stepping was powerful, meticulous, and perfectly in sync despite the immense complexity of their moves and rhythm. The steppers were natural performers, confident and at-ease on stage, unfazed by the enormity of the crowd. In fact, they actually engaged with the crowd, a rare occurrence for a dance group.
Toward the end of their show, they marched offstage and into the audience with chairs in hand, set them down, and requested a handful of girls from the audience to sit in them. They proceeded to perform an incredibly sexual (in keeping with their name) lap dance on the girls, progressively ripping their own clothes off and flinging them into the crowd in the process. The show ended with all of the members back on stage, flashing their six packs and stepping their final routine to the great satisfaction of all the screaming girls in the audience.
Perhaps even more impressive than their stepping—if that’s possible—was the dancers’ remarkable acting ability. They performed like seasoned veterans, evoking thunderous applause, laughs, and whistles too many times to count. Their dialogue was witty and hilarious, but also surprisingly profound. They were truly able to capture the essence of love in their 90-minute show, a love they described as “compassionate,” “self-sacrificing,” and “unconditional.” They critiqued all other forms of love—like those produced by the faulty potions, as superficial and unsatisfying—encouraging their fellow townspeople to give and receive real love.
Featured Image by Amelie Trieu / Heights Senior Staff
