As the group entered the stage, they wore flirty dresses and bold heels, dominated by the colors red and black. Their first song, Notorious B.I.G.’s “Mo Money, Mo Problems,” brought a high energy beat to start off the concert. Members were constantly urging the audience to clap, sing along and yell or whistle when they enjoyed what they heard. The Ladies in Red worked to provide an energetic, engaging show.

The Ladies sang 11 songs at the concert, held Saturday at Stewart Theater, including numbers such as “Pumped-Up Kicks” by Foster the People, ”Dog Days Are Over” by Florence and the Machine and “Waving Flag” by British Sea Power.

All the group members have been involved in singing since a young age. Krystal Rodas , a sophomore in human biology, said she’s been singing since she was two years old, and wanted to continue into college.

“I really enjoy singing and I had heard about the Ladies in Red through some friends,” Rodas said. “I wanted to audition after I saw them perform because I thought they were really good.”

Krystal had solos in four of the songs but said the pressure doesn’t usually make her nervous while on stage.

“After the first song, you lose all your nerves because you worked really hard for that moment,” Rodas said. “Instead of being nervous, it turns into a lot of hype and excitement.”

Olivia Springer, a sophomore in communications and member of Ladies for three semesters, also gets excited about performing.

“It’s more adrenaline than butterflies, similar to what I think an athlete would feel before a big game,” Springer said.

Both women agree audience response has a big effect on their performance, which is why they encourage audience participation.

“Saturday night was a good example of how the audience really influences us,” Springer said. “When they give us feedback and applaud and do shout-outs, it encourages us to amp it up even more and be more dramatic.”

The Ladies in Red practice two to three times a week. During these sessions they arrange songs, decide on solos and practice. They usually delegate two or three women to arrange each song.

“We pick songs we think would sound the best with our group and our image, and then a few members volunteer to start arranging it,” Rodas said.

Rodas and Springer said last semester their image was an empowered female group, but this semester things were slightly different. The group’s vocals have become tighter but they have developed a goofier attitude.

“This semester had a totally opposite dynamic from last semester,” Springer said. “[Our group] being so small gives us leeway to change frequently.”

Both members said they felt this concert was much stronger than their last because of the improvement in vocal performance.

“I think this concert was a lot better because of the level of commitment this group of girls had, and because they are all super talented,” Rodas said. “This year everybody clicked very well and we did a lot of events off campus and we all hang out sometimes. We also had Andy Beck, our vocal coach.”

For the next concert, the group is focusing on adding more elements to their performance, since they’ve nailed the vocal part.

“For our next concert, we still want to focus on the sound and make people see us as classy ladies, but we want be more powerful and add more choreography and [visually] appealing stuff in general,” Rodas said.

The next concert will be held in the fall. Students can look for the event on Facebook, or keep an eye out for flyers and posters around campus.