An otherwise masterful MAN falls into a familiar formula

As the curtains unfurled to reveal Magnet Arts Night (MAN) 2008 on Feb. 1, a strange sense of déjà vu seemed to permeate the Blair auditorium.

Senior Cynthia Xu commanded the audience's attention during the show's introduction with a flowing delivery of Sergei Rachmaninov's "Prelude to Op. 23 No. 5" on the piano. The first routine of the evening featured an ensemble of cross-grade Magnet girls performing a traditional Indian dance, "Dhol Baaje." The ladies were attired in sparkling crimson and their full skirts spun majestically around them as they bounced and turned to the driving drumbeat. Masterful choreography abounded, but only two performances into the night, the progression seemed strangely familiar.

A feeling of been-here, seen-this pervaded the entire showcase. Many of the performances were impressive and even breathtaking, but while representing an academic program that boasts the development of progressive thinking, many of the acts seemed content to take their cues from performances of years past.

The early acts were received better than those saved for the end. In the first half, sophomores Kyujoo Choi and Adam Detzner complemented each other well on the violin and piano with their interpretation of Beethoven's "3rd Movement of Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 4 in A minor." The somber strains of the violin and the melodic piano chords worked together to build up a beautiful crescendo of sound before bringing it back down.

Unfortunately, the drawn out and overlong classical pieces became tiring by Act II. The students performing were talented, but a more enjoyable experience could have been attained by making the acts shorter. Senior Soraya Chanyasubkit's performance of "Samkumneung" on the ranad-ek, a Thai folk instrument, was an unusual auditory treat that preluded Act II.

The rock groups, which separately performed Finger Eleven's "Paralyzer" and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Snow (Hey oh)," both excelled on the same points. The technical skill and musicianship of the members in each band is indisputable, as both the sophomore-fronted "Paralyzer" and senior-laden "Snow (Hey oh)" groups played their cover songs without error and probably could pass for the radio versions. Initially a little awkward, both groups grew more comfortable and personable during the courses of their performances. Sophomore Alex Bae, who wielded a bass guitar bigger than he was, brought squeals from the audience. A pulse-pumping guitar solo as well as airborne guitar-playing from the "Snow (Hey oh)" act's seniors Junqian Zhang and Alex Wang brought a concert-like feel to the auditorium.

The unplugged guitar-twanging act went over even stronger — teachers Karen Collins and Robert Donaldson accompanied the dynamic, smooth voice of junior Julie Ufford on Boudleax Bryant's "All I Have to Do Is Dream." The folksy 60s song was catchy and well-performed, but again simply brought back memories of last year's MAN, where Donaldson also performed an acoustic song with a female student.

The gold stars for "Best Act of the Night" go to freshman Ari Schaler, junior Elaine Chung and seniors Brian Chang, Wenbo Dou, Daniel Quang and Tina Zhang for their mixed martial arts skit, "The Ultimate Showdown of Doom." The boys challenged Chung and Zhang to a rumble, overseen by a mysterious wise man in a straw hat and bathrobe played by Dou. The girls put the boys in their place with a mix of wushu flips and splits. After prodding from the boys, the mysterious martial arts master announced himself the victor as he departed the stage with his arms around Chung and Zhang. The act combined humor and impressive fight choreography to successfully create the most entertaining performance of the evening.

MAN concluded with the traditional senior act, a live-band rendition of "I Want Those Straight A's," an original rewrite of the Backstreet Boys' 1999 hit "I Want it That Way" penned by 2007 magnet graduate Allen Zhang. A band of seniors backed up seniors Song Fu, Eddie Tang and Jarren Zheng as they sang and danced to simple, goofy choreography. The act was amusing, especially as the boys used their bodies to spell out the object of their lust — the letter "A."

MAN 2008 featured 14 performances, any one of which could have stood strongly alone. But the acts grouped together as a whole produced a showcase all too similar to previous years. The annual talent show has unfortunately seemed to let itself settle into a familiar pattern that it must break out of in order to maintain its reputation for excellence. If organizers are interested in maintaining the show's high attendance rates as well as the level of prestige that comes with making the cut to perform in MAN, they must realize that not everything works best in a formulaic fashion, mathematical or otherwise.

Schedule of Performances

"Prelude to Op. 23 No. 5
Cynthia Xu

SSM Dance - Dhol Baaje
Monica Ashok, Anika Manzoor, Jasleen Salwan, Debattama Sen, Poorva Singal, Naina Soni, Tripti Soni and Ruhi Vasavada

"3rd Movement of Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 4 in A minor"
Kyujoo Choi and Adam Detzner

Who's On First
Song Fu and Eddie Tang

"Think of Me"
Yifan Li and Cindy Sui

"Paralyzer"
Alex Bae, Vincent Hu, Matthew Hwang and Matthew Kannan

"Samkumneung"
Soraya Chanyasubkit

"Danse Macabre
Belinda Juang and Pin-Koe Ko

Halloween
Bryan Huang

"Toccata"
Brian Chang

"Snow (Hey oh)"
Sam Du, Song Fu, Kun Li, Alex Wang, Junqian Zhang and Lance Zhao

"All I Have To Do Is Dream"
Karen Collins, Robert Donaldson and Julie Ufford

The Ultimate Showdown of Doom
Brian Chang, Elaine Chung, Wenbo Dou, Daniel Quang, Ari Schaler and Tina Zhang

I Want Those Straight A's
Francesca Blume, Sam Du, Song Fu, Kun Li, Eddie Tang, Alex Wang, Junqian Zhang and Jarren Zheng

Masters of Ceremonies: Jason Arora, Nilan Schnure and Scott Yu