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April 23, 2007
FUSION dance competition promises diverse repertoire

by beverly clark

Through the universal languages of music and dance, Emory students are fostering an unprecedented exchange of ideas and culture through FUSION — an innovative dance competition this Wednesday, April 25, at 8 p.m. in Glenn Memorial Church. Admission is free, but tickets are required and can be found at the Dobbs Center information desk or the Schwartz Center ticket office.

The show includes dance, vocal and instrumental segments written, choreographed and performed by competing teams comprised of two groups with distinctly different cultural styles and tradition. Numerous Emory student cultural performance groups — from step and breakdancing to traditional Asian, Persian and Indian dance genres — have spent months rehearsing to integrate their styles and create original, integrated works.

As an added bonus, short documentaries on each team will be shown before their performance to illustrate the work and collaboration that has taken place over the past several months.

FUSION is organized and produced by Emory’s President’s Commission on Race and Ethnicity and Soku DeNova Records, a record company founded and operated by Emory alumni Mike Li, currently a student at the Rollins School of Public Health, and Nagib Haque, a staff member in Emory’s biology department. The soundtrack of FUSION is being produced and arranged by Soku DeNova Records to create and integrate music tailored to each specific performance.

The organizers hope the documentary and recordings will inspire other universities to use the Emory FUSION model.

“We see FUSION! as a way to redefine what it means to live in a diverse community that is specifically designed to celebrate cultural diversity and foster positive, proactive cross-cultural dialogue,” Li said.

For additional information and video clips, visit www.fusionatlanta.org.

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