The Boston University Rotaract Club, student groups and audience members were all in-sync last night at Lip Service, an event to raise money for a child in need of heart surgery.
More than 100 people filled room 101 in the College of Communication for an event that featured a lip-syncing competition and performances by the BU Dance Team, Indian a cappella group SUNO and all-female a cappella group Chordially Yours.
“It was a lot of fun,” COM junior Kristen Panciocco, who came to support friends performing in the show, said. “The fact that it was a charity event was icing on the cake. Everyone seemed to have a good time.”
Rotaract Club Vice President Priya Patel said she estimated the lip-sync event, combined with lollipop sales from the George Sherman Union, brought in about $3,000 of the $10,000 they hope to raise to pay for a child’s heart surgery.
“We are still far from our goal, but this makes us just one step closer,” the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences junior said.
The Rotaract Club, a community service organization based in Sargent, held the event as part of a larger fundraising campaign for Gift of Life International, a charity providing life-saving surgery for needy children for the past 30 years. Rotaract hopes to raise the $10,000 necessary to host one child who needs surgery by December.
At the event, six teams competed in the first round, performing music ranging from television themes to Spice Girls songs and featuring costume changes ranging from Elvis to a giant panda. The audience erupted in applause as Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore was dragged on stage during team Panda Bear Dolls rendition of “Lady Marmalade.”
Elmore, who thanked students at the beginning of the event for attending, had not expected to be in the show.
“I won a lip-sync contest about 25 years ago,” he said to the audience. “I did a version of Morris Day and the Time -‘Cool.’ I won’t try it now. Next year, I promise I will enter.”
The BU Showgirls team won the $125 prize after being chosen as one of three groups to move on to the second round. Other competing groups included Warren Towers Resident Assistants, the Filipino Students Association, BU Chankaar, Brookline Rotary Club and the India Club. The winner was chosen based on audience applause, and although the crowd cheered for all teams, BU Showgirls were the clear winner with a standing ovation.
“The show was great,” College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Ryan Timpe said. “Everyone seemed to have such a great time. I was talking to the staff advisor of the group and Dean Elmore, and he hopes to work with the group to reproduce it at a much larger scale for Spring Weekend next April.”
COM senior Lisa Quintana was a member of the winning team and said she enjoyed the opportunity to compete.
“We worked really hard on our routine, and we’ve been practicing the past two-and-a-half weeks,” she said. “It was a good show. It was fun for us and those in the audience.”
Panda Bear Dolls member Andrew Wang, who tangoed in a panda costume, said he was pleased with his group’s performance.
“It was so much fun, and I can’t believe I just danced in a panda suit in front of a crowd of people,” the School of Management junior said.
Lip Service drew students from other Boston-area colleges as well. Northeastern University senior Chintan Patel came to support the cause and his friends in the Rotaract Club.
“It was worth coming down, and if they have it next year, I will come again,” he said. “The crowd was into it.”
COM junior Biana Bakman said a member of the Brookline Rotary Club offered to match the funds raised to bring the group closer to their $10,000 goal.
The Rotaract Club plans to hold a bake sale in Sargent from Nov. 13 to 17 and offer gift-wrapping at Barnes ‘ Nobles at Boston University to raise more funds.