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All the Right Moves
A cappella groups turn on the charm for potential new members.
November/December 2012
Photograph ©Bob Handelman

Click here to view more photos of the 2012 Woolsey Jam.

Every fall, at the Woolsey Hall Kick-Off Jam, Yale’s 15 leading undergraduate a cappella groups strut their best stuff, trying to recruit top singers. Creative choreography was on display at this year’s August 26 jam, including a lot of Glee-inspired clapping and foot stomping. The Duke’s Men (shown here) performed their version of Rihanna’s “Umbrella”—an audience favorite for its “full-blown choreography,” according to Michael Blume ’13 (left foreground).

After the jam come three to four weeks of auditions, concerts, and social events. It all culminates in Tap Night, when the groups run all over campus, knocking on dorm-room doors and anointing their chosen. Choreography worked for the Duke’s Men: about 70 freshmen auditioned, reports Blume, and now the group has “five new awesome ‘babies.’” 

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