By BRENDAN LOSINSKI

Staff Intern

“Very exciting,” “creative” and “amazing” are words the audience used to describe Xpressiv B.T.Z.’s performance on Feb. 15 at Varner Hall.

Varner Recital Hall usually plays host to choirs, symphonies and plays, but Xpressiv brought something unique to the Oakland University theater venue.

Xpressiv B.T.Z. is a new student organization at Oakland University that combines dance, drill, step and musical improvisation to put on a show.

Their performances fuse all these elements together and add some of Xpressiv’s own personal styles.

In the show, ordinary objects like brooms, buckets and plungers became musical instruments to create, what the organization refers to as, “an outrageous and harmonic sound.”

The audience was greeted by a DJ, an MC who amused and interacted with the audience between acts, and trashcans used as drums that lined the edge of the stage.

OU senior Angie Freeman started the group, modeling it after the Broadway show “Stomp.” 

Inspired by her brother Khalid, a current member of “Stomp,” Freeman tried out for the show herself.

Although she was turned down, it did not stop her from creating Xpressive B.T.Z.

“She still got her dream,” said the group’s vice-president Sheila West.

According to members, the group stands out due to the fact that, unlike a choir or band, other schools are not trying what Xpressiv does.

“No one else is doing this, that’s what really makes us original,” West said.

Xpressiv is scheduled to perform again  Feb. 21, paying tribute to what they call “neo-soul.”

West said that the response from the campus has been appreciated and, because of the popularity, they will definitely be starting up again next fall.

“You just have to have a desire to step, dance,” West said. “What I love is that we’re not just a club here; we’re a family.”

Freeman said her goal for Oakland University is a simple one:

“I wanted to bring something different to OU, and you’ve never seen music with trashcans.”