Eleven outgoing student groups, a myriad of talent and several charities will mix Friday night to create one enthusiastic variety performance with one grandiose title.

The Orange Pulse dance group will present ‘My Big Fat Charity Showcase,’ a talent show intended to bring both entertainment and altruism to the Syracuse University community.

Eleven performance groups will participate in the event on Friday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Skybarn on South Campus. Teams will vie for first-, second- and third-place monetary prizes to be donated to a charity of each group’s choice.

‘Orange Pulse has been working especially hard, and since this is our first year we’re all very excited,’ said Dana Anderson, a sophomore art history major and public relations director for Orange Pulse.

Anderson said the non-audition dance group was created in the fall in order to provide an outlet for dancers at many different stages of experience.

Stephanie Isabel, a junior communication and rhetorical studies major and creator of Orange Pulse, first pitched the idea of the showcase to the Orange Pulse board of directors last fall.

‘I realized that while being in an organization you can do a lot with it,’ Isabel said. ‘I wanted to give back to my community, and I had a really good response to it.’

Every charity represented by a campus group or individual will receive 5 percent of the proceeds from the event. The first-place winner will be able to donate an additional 20 percent to its charity, the second-place winner an additional 15 percent and the third-place winner an additional 5 percent to the fixed donation amount.

Many of the performers and student groups will support their charities through informational table displays and donation buckets at the event. Funds will also be raised through a raffle during intermission, when audience members can win gift certificates and other prizes donated by local businesses. Organizations receiving proceeds from the event include The American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, The Boys and Girls Club and The Literacy Corps.

‘The community support of the event opens everyone’s eyes to what things are going on,’ said Lauren Lamensdorf, a sophomore management major, whose performance group is supporting The Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Lamensdorf plans to sing a pop ballad titled ‘Way to My Heart,’ a song she wrote and included in her newly released album, Perfect Memory.

Many of the performers have become progressively energetic throughout the course of the semester in anticipation of the opportunity to captivate audiences and support a good cause.

‘The event will help people understand that we are very lucky to be at this university, and that sometimes we need to humble ourselves in order to realize what we have,’ Isabel said.

‘Everyone has gotten really excited,’ said Julia Rocchi, a senior television, radio and film and marketing major and member of the Echo Choir group. ‘I am excited to see the choir’s reactions when they get on stage, and I’m excited to be with my group.’

Published on April 15, 2004 at 12:00 pm