Benefit Concert & Auction

College Dreams Into College Degrees

College Dreams into College Degrees

BUY TICKETS NOW

This year, our talent show will be held May 21st at the HUB Auditorium. Our theme this year is College Dreams Into College Degrees as we are donating our proceeds all to Seattle Education Access, a local organization that helps impovershed and homeless youth get a college education.

We are really excited this year and hope that everyone will come and support our cause. We will also have a silent auction, offering lots of gift packages ranging spa treatments and gift certificates to local restaurants to a Kaplan prep course! There will be something for everyone.

Concert Guests

This year, there has been more talent than ever. Here are the guests who are scheduled to come perform.

Geologic
Geologic is the vocalist for the Blue Scholars and has also performed as a spoken word poet. Blue Scholars are a hip hop duo based in Seattle, Washington.

The duo has performed across the United States and made appearances at the Sasquatch! Music Festival in 2005 and 2006, and Bumbershoot opening for Kanye West in 2006. They have opened for and shared stages with such artists as De La Soul, Slick Rick, Wordsworth, Kanye West, Immortal Technique, The Coup, Masta Ace, Mos Def and Little Brother. In 2006, the Blue Scholars received top honors in the hip hop category of the Seattle Weekly's Music Awards Poll, and were also the top vote-getters overall; in earlier years, they had been recognized in the categories of Best Hip-hop Artist, Best Local Single, and Best Album.

Want more information?
MySpace Blue Scholars

Ghost Runner on Third
A veteran of the local pop-punk scene, Tacoma’s own Ghost Runner On Third has been at it since 2002.

After releasing its EP Speak Your Dreams in 2005, the quintet toured the West Coast. The bands latest incarnation features Adam Fuller (vocals and keys) and Preston Kristof (bass), in addition to three original members, Colin Willard (guitar and backup vocals), Mike Johnson (guitar) and Ryan Polson (drums).

Influenced heavily by bands such as Hot Water Music, Saves the Day, and Further Seems Forever, the members put an emphasis on soaring vocals and cathartic lyrics. Their high-tempo songs are a tight blend of crystalline guitar work, upbeat percussion and a sincerity that most bands seem to lack these days.

Want more information?
MySpace Ghost Runner on Third
Ghorst Runner on Third

Cristina Orbe
Cristina Orbé was born in NYC and raised in many places up and down the east coast. In 2000, she moved to Seattle, turned off the TV, and picked up a guitar. Soon she found she had a voice and a talent for writing. Released in 2003, her album "Sway" is a self-produced, self written, independent project that consists of her most personal and heart felt songs. In 2006, her band Forgotten Sol expanded to a 5-piece and released an album called "Contradiction".

Cristina is a self taught musician with her own simple rhythmic style. She has played Bumbershoot, The Crocodile, Vancouver International Hip-Hop Film Festival, Under the Volcano, Lo-Fi Performance Gallery, The Tractor Tavern, Town Hall and the NW Folklife Festival.

Want more information?
Cristina Orbe
MySpace Cristina Orbe

Fraggle Rock/B-Girls Bench
Fraggle Rock Crew is a Seattle based breakdancing crew who has opened for such artists as Jurrasic Five, Busta Rhymes, and Talib. The Fraggle Rock Crew in the Northwest break scene - otherwise known as "break dancing" or "b-boying", these guys are deeply rooted in the culture, and have been killin it in tons of competitions.

B-Girl Media is dedicated to grassroots, independent hip hop artists in the Pacific Northwest. Highlighting talent within the 4 elements of hip hop: DJ-ing, Emceeing, Breaking, and Graffiti. B-Girl Bench is a woman-facilitated network to galvanize and strengthen existing energies in the NW grassroots Hip Hop movement. B-Girl Bench is a manifestation of a larger, universal movement that supports transformative leadership in the lives of women from a local to global perspective.

Want more information?
B-Girls
Fraggle Rock Crew

The Collective
The Collective was founded in 1999 as a place for students of the University of Washington to learn and perform improvisational theater. At our regular performance space, the Cabaret in Hutchinson Hall, we've performed over 40 shows including short-form games and scenes, long-form styles including Campfire, Thread, Harold, and Lotus, and original formats such as Choose-Your-Own-Adventure, a masks show, the UWWF, and our original long-form Sunny Nickels.

Outside of the university we've performed at Operation Husky Stadium, at camps for terminally ill children, and retirement homes. We've appeared in the Festival of Fresh Faces in the Freehold Facility, raised money for Relay for Life, and have done cooperative performances with college improv troups from around the state. We were the first performers in the inaugural Seattle Festival of Improv Theater (SFIT) in 2002, and continue to perform at the annual festivals.

Our mission as The Collective is to bring the art of improvisation to the University and community, to create an open environment where students can watch, learn and perform improvisation and to connect with people through storytelling. Most importantly, our mission is to have fun and help people remember what it is like to play. Want more information?
The Collective

Ross Parsons the Comedian
In addition to doing comedy at local venues and organizing his own shows since he came to Seattle in the fall, Parsons was recently named a runner-up at the American Eagle (AE) Campus Comedy Challenge.

Parsons grew up in Hawkinson, a small town near Vancouver, Wash., and said he got into comedy because he wanted the attention. In middle and high school, he was involved in student government and would find himself giving funny speeches during the morning announcements.

Ross comments about himself: I'm a person. I'm also a student, and a comedian. I like doing one liners, having a monotonous voice and being awkward. What else would you like to know?

Want more information?
Ross Parsons
MySpace Ross Parsons

Jordan Nakamura the Magician
Jordan is a sophomore at the University of Washington majoring in Mathematics. He has been practicing magic since he was young and has performed at several local events and shows. He has captivated and mystified many of those who have watched him perform and hopes to continue bringing magic to life for every audience.

UW FASA Sayaw
An additional cultural element to UW FASA is SAYAW a traditional Dance Troop. SAYAW performs around the greater Seattle area at Debuts and Fiestas, as well as Cultural events on the UW campus. This is our living link to keeping our culture alive. With all the diversity of the Philippines, it is unfortunate that we have to focus on only a few; if we had the time we would love to learn everything. If learning about culture and burning calories are the things for you, join SAYAW.

Though the Philippines is very diverse with many cultures, languages, influences, etc. the attempt to try and classify them, at least the dances, is difficult and complex. The system widely used is the “suites”, and though this classification is not entirely accurate or culturally sensitive, we still use it for aesthetic reasons. Several of these suites include: Maria Claire suite, Rural suite, Mountain suite, and Muslim suite.

Want more information?
FASA
Video of Traditional Dance
Video of Tradition Dance

Wushu Martial Arts
The Husky Wushu Team at the UW was formed on 11.16.2007 to bring interest in wushu back to seattle, giving UW students a chance to experience this rich martial art. our team is a small group of students that are passionate about wushu and would like to see the sport grow.

Wushu [woo -shoo] n. Chinese martial arts collectively

Wushu has come to be associated with the chinese martial arts comprising in a multitude of styles that has developed into a internationally competitive sport. forms or routines serve as the basis of wushu teaching and practice. modern competition wushu routines were developed from traditional martial arts styles and are known for their impressive speed, power, and acrobatics. describing wushu with words can only scratch the surface of wushu culture and background, the complete experience of the art of wushu must be seen in action or even better actually learning wushu.

Want more information?
Husky Wushu Team

About

For the past six years, the Minority Association of Pre-Health Students (MAPS) has hosted their annual Talent Show and Auction at the University of Washington in order to raise money for a deserving program or organization that helps to serve and raise awareness in regards to health education and promoting education for underserved and immigrant communities.

Show & Auction Format

The talent show and auction is designed to host silent auctions and live bidding auctions in between each talent group or act. Talent performances have ranged from cultural dances, singing, improvisational groups, spoken word, live bands, break dancing and many others. In past years MAPS has auctioned off items and packages including, (but not excluding many others) such as the following:

History

Here are a few examples of what students have done at the talent show in 2007. From traditional dance, to singing and poetry, the talent show is a great event to show us your talents as well as to see those of others.

Planning Committees

If you would like to get involved with helping plan or volunteer your time towards the MAPS Benefit Talent Show and Auction, please send an email to mapsuw@u.washington.edu Committees and directors will be decided later on in the year but once they are decided, we would love to have as many volunteers as possible. :)