On April 6, RIMAC Arena hosted the fourth annual Fusion, a hip-hop dance competition. If you simply walked up to RIMAC, the lines to get in rivaled that of FallFest and WinterFest, and the entertainment was just as good. Two UCSD organizations, MASA and 220 (pronounced Second To None), once again put on the show in order to “”present the universal appeal of hip-hop dance,”” plus demonstrate the influence of the music on the Asian-American community. Clubs represented this year’s Fusion from both Northern and Southern California, all to the delight of the hundreds in attendance. In total, there were 13 performances, each with about 10 minutes of intricate choreography, with 15 to 25 dancers all on stage at one point or another.
Guardian
The California colleges were well represented as UCSD, Stanford, CSU Long Beach, UC Riverside, CSU Fresno, UC Irvine and UCLA were all in attendance to showcase their best dance productions for the past year. Some were strictly dance, while other’s seemed to tell a story, which included dancers acting along to the words played over the speakers. It seemed like every set had a Justin Timberlake song played, but the varied dance approaches eased the feelings of being witness to a broken record.
The highlight of the entire night involved an exhibition performance with minimal dancing, at best. Clean-up Crew, which is best described as the Blue Man Group without the blue paint, got early and frequent praise from the crowd as they beat away on metal and plastic trash bins, construction signs and empty soup cans. Their unmatched crowd interaction was also a plus, as each took a trash can lid and played in unison with one another as they traversed the floor.
Another organization that stood out from the rest was the San Diego-based Formality. A young dancer, who looked like he was barely in middle school, fronted the all-male team. Whenever he got up to perform part of the set, he got the loudest cheers of the night, yet he remained incredibly focused, staying with the rest of the much older dancers step for step.
Of the 13 acts, eight competed for first-, second- and third-place trophies. A panel of five judges, all of who had extensive background in the performing arts, scored them. KABA Irvine took the top prize of the night, while Team Millenia Fullerton and Formality San Diego took home second and third places, respectively. It was nice to see, however, that teams who didn’t place as high, were very respectful of those who won, and the same could be said for the winners. They all recognized the hard work each person put in, and the great results that the whole show produced.
