Fusion, a long-standing and celebrated dance competition in the community, is back at it this year for a bigger, better, more meaningful show. The staff has been hard at work for months- but for dancers and audience members who have never been on the "planning" side of these events, it's impossible to grasp just how much time and energy and thought goes into making it happen. The same way that dancers toil through hell weeks and injuries for a 5-minute medley, the staff goes through things that are much less recognized for one night dedicated to us.
I think it's important to be comprehensively mindful of what you're partaking in. If you're a dancer, an audience member, or a planner yourself, this message from Fusion might give you some valuable insight or connection.So here's a peek into the story of Fusion. The origin, the intention, the process, and the mission. Watch, read, and experience dance in a new way!
Why Fusion Dance Competition Is About More Than Just Dancing
The rush of a dance competition
We've been here before.
The sweaty palms. A rush of adrenaline. The sound of your teammates shuffling with you onto stage amidst the cheering. Formations. The collective breathing of the team. YOUR team. A small pause of silence before...
Music.
This is FUSION. Established in 1999 and originally co-hosted with 220, FUSION is now completely student run with the intent of bringing the dance community together with the sheer excitement of watching and performing in front of friends and family.
As UCSD undergraduates, we’ve been juggling classes, friendships, internships, student organizations, and other commitments alongside dancing and expressing ourselves just like many of you. All of us partake in dance in some form whether it be as something we do or something we enjoy watching. Between handing in late assignments and pushing through hell week, our 100 student staff and us have been working our hardest towards our annual competition which we're incredibly excited to bring to you on April 18th, 2015.
But ladies and gents... this year is going to be different.
The Venue
After being restricted to Mandeville the past couple of years, we’re excited to make the big leap back to RIMAC. We know how important the venue is to the dancers, and nothing makes us more happy than seeing the show we produce full of amped-up performers being able to share themselves in front of a bigger audience on a larger stage. We wanted teams to be able to watch and support one another, and only a bigger venue that allowed for dancer seating could make that happen. There are certainly risks in moving back to RIMAC, but we're all excited to see what lies on the other side.
The Mission: Bringing the hip hop community together
We genuinely believe that the hip-hop dance community is a strong positive force that changes, enriches, and uplifts peoples’ lives. The drive to train and to grow, to share a family and goals with the people we love, to be who we are and grow into the people we can be - all of these are reasons why we dance and support the community.
Our staff gets that. That's why we aim to provide a competition where aspiring dancers can watch those on stage and say, 'I want to be just like them'. That’s why we aim to provide a competition that brings together our San Diego community, a competition that gives back just as much as it has been given. We're truly blessed to have gotten where we are with all of your support and care. And nothing makes us more proud than continuing to host FUSION year after year as our way of supporting the dance community.
Have you ever helped plan a dance competition? What were some obstacles or struggles you experienced? What made it all worth it? Comment below and share with us! Are you going to be attending Fusion XV this year? Keep your eyes peeled for some of dancers that'll you'll see leaving the competition.
