If you were not in the gym last Saturday evening, you missed the most exciting event Garfield will host all year (until the ’10 sleepover, over course). Rainer Beach, Garfield, Franklin and Roosevelt spent months of preparation for the dance competition of the year, Bubblin’ Brown Sugar. The schools battled it out for the first-place title for which the main prize includes year-long bragging rights. For the second year in a row, Garfield was able to take first place, yet again beating its longstanding rivals at Franklin, who didn’t even manage to place.

Roosevelt, which placed third, didn’t seem to rank in the same caliber as the other high schools, having about half as many members as any other teams and a lackluster color scheme of green and gold. Comprised solely of girls, the team was consistent and maintained good energy, but their routine shied in comparison to the well thought-out costumes and choreography of the other three teams.

Rainer Beach’s performance was full of circus animals and clowns, and their overwhelmingly energetic performance caused one of the members’ shorts to rip. They finished their performance with a stunt reminiscent of Status Quo from America’s Best Dance Crew, which no doubt helped them to place second.

Franklin’s routine was overshadowed by a malfunctioning wardrobe which resulted in their disqualification. The Quakers’ “Work Out Barbie” theme was original and aesthetically pleasing. However, the bright costumes were put to shame when one member of the team failed to keep her top up, (à la Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl) distracting the judges and crowd from their formulated routine. The inappropriate slip-up cost the team the competition. Besides the costume defect, Franklin’s routine concentrated on dissing Garfield at the expense of the actual dance. For example, at the beginning of the performance, the Quakers had one of their dancers dressed in the same cowgirl outfit that Garfield dance team veteran Reilly McGibbon wore at last year’s competition. The girl stood by idly as the rest of her team pointed and laughed at her, obviously mocking the Bulldogs.

Garfield’s win came from its ability to forget the drama and concentrate on its routine. Its Grease theme was successfully incorporated into its entire routine with bits of swing dance, purple-and-white poodle skirts, and songs from the original movie. Midway through Garfield’s performance, the team lifted member Jamie Lewis in the air, who performed a gymnastic-type stunt that proved to be a crowd-pleaser. They finished their performance with a simple shout-out to Franklin. As Shawty Lo’s “Dey Know” reverberated through the gym, the Garfield dancers pointed to Franklin’s side to the lyrics, “Biggup to all my HATERS.” Their attention to detail, originality and cohesiveness led to Garfield’s second consecutive first-place trophy, a tradition that will no doubt continue when we return to the real Garfield.