Students swarmed into Devlin Hall adorned in rhinestone-heavy, bedazzled outfits as the Boston College Dynamics prepared for their spring café. The line streamed out of the lecture hall door, and the audience was buzzing in the minutes before the a cappella group’s Euphoria-themed show.
The soundtrack of the popular TV show Euphoria played through the speakers as students searched for empty seats that were few to be found. Some audience members settled for standing in the back row as the lights dimmed.
The crowd cheered as a screen descended from the ceiling and the Dynamics’ introduction video began to play. The video showed each member of the crew getting ready for the show. At one point during the humorous video that dramatized the performers’ show preparations. In one funny scene, Nikolai Darenkov, MCAS ’22, was beatboxing while brushing his teeth.
As the screen ascended and the Dynamics entered the lecture hall, the group’s members filled the entire stage. The first song of the night, “Dancing with the Devil,” by Demi Lovato, showcased the singers’ powerful voices. The lights turned red, mirroring the dark and soulful themes of the song. During the bridge, all of the Dynamics simultaneously turned downstage and stared at the audience. As soloist Juliana Perrino, CSON ’22, held her final note, the crowd erupted into applause.
The Dynamics also performed a mashup of songs from the Euphoria soundtrack that enchanted the audience members, who swayed along to the beat of the performance. Soloist Julia McCahill, CSOM ’24, sang “I’m Tired” by Labrinth and Zendaya, and exchange student Tomos Owen joined in for a rendition of “Still Don’t Know My Name” by Labrinth, creating a mashup of the two songs.
The full house cheered as the performers took to their seats for the intermission.
The screen descended again as a video showing the Dynamics in a rehearsal space began to play. In a comical skit, the group attempted to sing in quartets, each including a soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. The scene descended into chaos when a bass was chosen to sing an alto vocal line. As two group members fought over who would sing the alto part, the singers reenacted tumultuous scenes from Euphoria, capturing the cutthroat high school environment of the HBO show.
The Dynamics also performed “I Don’t Miss You at All” by FINNEAS. One of the basses, Chris Cowles, CSOM ’22, sang the lead. The song featured low notes and parts where the singers’ voices hit every note on the scale, garnering enthusiastic shouts from the crowd.
During a brief intermission, the screen descended and the crowd went wild as the Kahoot! theme song began to play through the speakers. Each person in the audience whipped out their phones to join the game displayed on the screen. The trivia consisted of questions about each member of the Dynamics, allowing the audience to learn fun facts about the performers.
After the intermission, the group also performed “Golden” by Harry Styles. During the performance, the lights surrounding the stage turned blue as a solo from Gabriel Santos, MCAS ’22, had the audience members dancing in their seats. Santos impressed the crowd with his vocal runs, and applause reverberated throughout the room at the final note.
To close out the night, the Dynamics sang “All for Us” by Labrinth, which is also featured on the Euphoria soundtrack. The group commanded the attention of the audience with mesmerizing choreography. At the start of the song, group members stood stiff and stared straight at the audience as their chords rang out. But when the song began to pick up, the singers turned toward each other and started to dance. The soloists, Laryssa Gazda, MCAS ’24, and Lina Coles, MCAS ’24, separated from the group and began to sing.
At the end of the performance, every member of the audience rose to their feet in applause, and the audience continued to cheer as the Dynamics took a final bow.
Featured Image by Steve Mooney / Heights Editor
Update 3/31/2022 11:15 p.m.: This article was corrected to say that Juliana Perrino performed the solo for “Dancing with the Devil.” The article previously listed that Emma Roney was the soloist.
You must be logged in to post a comment.