Lights.
[light sound effect]
Camera.
[camera sound effect]
Action!
[action sound effect]
ReFusionShaka, Northwestern’s largest student-run dance show, is here!
[nat sound: ReFusionShaka]
MADELYN GALLAGHER: It’s the biggest dance show on campus. It’s Refresh, Fusion, and Boomshaka, and it’s kind of just a merging of all three groups. We all have our own little sets that are 10 to 15 minutes, and then we have middle pieces that are opportunities for people from all groups to kind of dance together. So it’s really a merging of all of the dance styles that the three groups do, and It’s a big community and everyone has a lot of fun, so we love it.
That was senior Madelyn Gallagher, a dancer for both Refresh and Fusion Dance Company.
ReFusionShaka combines hip-hop, freestyle, rhythm, and drums to form two epic nights of non-stop dance. This year’s shows were held in Cahn Auditorium, which seats around 1,000 people.
For the first time, each dance group had its own theme. Fusion decided to take on a Subway Surfers-esque graffiti artist theme, Boomshaka did outer space, and Refresh embodied a school uniform-inspired look.
Gallagher also serves as the artistic director for Fusion. She shared more about her experience crafting this year’s show.
GALLAGHER: We always want to, like, not limit our the creative process of our choreographers so our pieces aren’t, like, related to the theme, but we’ve done, like, kind of an old school hip-hop vibe and, like, the transitions of the set and the set intro to kind of tie everything together, is like a late to their late 90s, early 2000s sort of set energy.
Medill senior Maria Heim, a dancer for Refresh, gave more insight about the collaborative process between groups.
MARIA HEIM: I would say that overall, the show just really combines different styles of dance into one performance and we all get to collaborate with each other. We have collaborative pieces that people across groups are in which is really nice and you get to meet so many dancers through this show in the fall and I think it’s just really important for the Northwestern dance community.
But it’s not just the dance community at Northwestern that makes ReFusionShaka what it is. Medill senior and Boomshaka dancer Angel Jordan echoed the importance of outside support from the Northwestern community.
ANGEL JORDAN: It’s really hard for student groups to be able to find space, rehearse, get what we need, get the help we need when we need it. And so it ends up being on the students a lot. So like, know that when you’re seeing any sort of student work on this campus, like these students are putting their whole soul into this. Like, we need that kind of support coming from somewhere, and because we’re not getting it from the University we’re relying on students and their friends, and their families to be able to help us continue to do stuff like this.
Brianna Gallardo, dancer and external relations chair for Refresh, spoke about her personal journey as a dancer at Northwestern.
BRIANNA GALLARDO: Coming into college I feel like the dancing here is pretty cool. I feel like there’s so many things going on, it’s pushing me to grow a lot, and I just love dancing, and I believe it’s just, like, a really fun community building experience too. And I feel like I’ve made a lot of close friends through dance.
While Refresh, Fusion, and Boomshaka are some of the largest dance groups on campus, the dance community at Northwestern does not stop there.
This year’s shows also featured some of the other dance groups on campus such as Dale Duro, Afrothunda, and Deeva. This collaboration of so many dance groups on campus made for some very excited crowds, specifically at Saturday night’s 10pm show.
[nat sound: ReFusionShaka 11/16 10pm show]
But for some dancers, ReFusionShaka is more than just a fun dance show.
JORDAN: Our dance program is pretty, pretty small, and it doesn’t get enough support from the University itself. So a lot of it ends up being on the students to try to create that community, and so I feel like ReFusionShaka is one of those examples of students creating community in the dance world outside of the University’s say, or having to do with it, just because we were like, why not? Let’s, let’s join together. Let’s do this. So being able to see other dancers supporting each other is always something that I’ve loved about ReFusionShaka.
GALLARDO: There’s so much talent here, and it’s just been crazy to see and be around. I think just overall, it’s pushed me to be more confident in myself. I would say I was pretty shy in high school and I guess still now, but I think that dancing has definitely made me feel more confident in my body too. It’s been a really fun experience for me.
HEIM: I would say our dance community is very welcoming at Northwestern and we’re really lucky to have that, and as a senior, I just, I’ve been reflecting a lot on what it means to be able to do this and for how long. And just performing- It’s just this type of energy that absolutely radiates within a space. And I think ReFusionShaka is that example of how empowering and fun performing is at Northwestern just because there are so many students who are in the arts but also appreciate the arts. So many students at the school have such a profound appreciation for creating and supporting arts and theater and dance and all of those lovely things and I think that’s what makes it such a special space and such a special show to all of us.
Although ReFusionShaka may be over, there are plenty of opportunities to see these and more groups dance for the rest of the year. After all, dance never stops.
For WNUR News, I’m Jessica Watts.
