What do ERGies get up to when they’re not changing the world?
Believe it or not, they make the time amid research, classes and internships to perform contemporary dance, play the bassoon in the UC Berkeley campus orchestra and choreograph full-tilt Bollywood performances.
That’s at least what I gleaned from the Energy & Resources Group’s annual talent show, which filled Anthony Hall on April 18 with music and ERG alumni. The show also raised $1,740 for ERG’s Spherical Cow Funds in a silent auction that took bids for wine tastings, “insane” workout routines and Icelandic wool sweaters, among other prizes.
Highlights of the night included: Christopher Hyun’s hilarious karaoke-backed recap of his cohort’s research (Think “Chill those nuts” i.e. Kripa Jagannathan’s agriculture-themed quals subject to the tune of Katy Perry’s “California Girls”); Emeritus Professor Gene Rochlin’s moving poetry; John Dees’ set of, as he put it, variations of Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”; Will Gorman’s bassoon chops; contemporary dance by Samira Siddique, Alex Dolginow and Niklas Lollo; and the running SurvivERG skit featuring nearly the entire 2017 entering class.
With so many folks pitching in on food, auction items and performance planning, Yours Truly’s only line in the show, repeated about half a dozen time – “We’re all in it together” – captured the spirit both of the night and of the work everyone at ERG is committed to.
The night ended to the galloping strains of the Bollywood tune “Cutiepie,” matched by a 14-person ERG dance line led by Chris Hyun and Kripa Jagannathan. On an otherwise chilly spring night, this annual ERG tradition kept the interdisciplinary flame burning another year.
Thank you ERGies for yet another incredible year of the ERG Talent Show!