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Dani Abella
El Grupo de Baile Fusión tuvo una clase de comunidad la noche del miércoles en el Playzone del centro recreativo de Carmichael. Kayla Coleman, una estudiante de posgrado estudiando matemática aplicadas y la directora del grupo, dirige la clase mientras aprenden "Cheerleader" by OMI.
Students laced up their dancing shoes Wednesday night for Fusion Dance Crew’s community class in the Playzone of Carmichael Recreation Center. The class was focused on promoting a sense of community and encouraging people to come out and join the crew for a fun time learning a new dance style.
The Fusion Dance Crew is a multicultural hip-hop team that performs an range of dance styles including bhangra, contemporary and traditional Chinese fan dance.
“What we’re having tonight is a community class, which is basically to dance and have fun,” said Kayla Coleman, a graduate student studying applied mathematics and the director of Fusion Dance Crew. “It’s not super technical, you know. It’s just to have fun and share the passion for dance. We’re trying to get people to come out and have fun with a sense of community.”
Students came out to dance with the crew for the first time to explore a new way of taking a break from academics.
“We saw the event on Facebook and thought that it would be a good way to release stress and have fun,” said Madeleine Guyant, a sophomore studying French and bioengineering.
Fusion Dance Crew fosters a sense of teamwork. The members are strongly committed to improving their dancing skills, but their goals go beyond becoming better dancers. The team focuses on diversity by welcoming members from different backgrounds and exploring different cultural dance styles.
“What I love about Fusion is that we are a team first and a dance team second,” said Matthew Wright, a sophomore studying graphic design and a member of the dance crew. “We have a really close bond interpersonally. The structure of Fusion, the way it’s run, the way it’s set up, is that we love to have fun, but we are also very goal oriented.”
In Fusion’s community class, about 35 students learned African dance moves to the rhythm of “Cheerleader” by OMI. After the warm up, the dance studio was an energized environment filled with laughter.
“We are hip-hop based, but we do a variety of dance styles,” Coleman said. “We really like to expand our horizons and learn new dance styles. Most of the time when we learn new cultural dances it comes from a member in our team. It’s really about immersing ourselves in diversity and welcoming people from different backgrounds.”
Fusion Dance Crew performs in different events at NC State as a way to spread a sense of community and passion for dancing. The performances attracted some of the new members.
“I didn’t know about any dance crews when I came to NC State last year,” Wright said. “I saw Fusion at Respect the Pack, then I saw them at Packapalooza, and I said ‘I definitely want join this team!’”
Fusion Dance Crew prides itself on its passion for cultural and diverse dancing as well as its sense of community.
“It’s all about developing our passion,” Coleman said.