The Hip-Hop and Street Jazz dance club of KSU held recruitment auditions Feb. 16, looking to add more performers to the newly coined performance team Avian Empire.
The search for new performers was conducted in preparation for the KSU Dance Riot on March 23 from 5-7 p.m. in the Social Sciences building. Avian Empire will compete against the KSU Breakdance Club, the Swing Dance Association and Melanin in Motion. The club is looking for candidates for the team that are committed dancers who are ready to step up for a “one-of-a-kind performance.”
“It isn’t just about the dancing,” Kyrie Crudup, public relations manager of the dance club, said. “I mean, it is because we love dancing, but we also got to share what we worked hard on for a year to the general public.”
Jacob Gilbert, president and founder of the dance club, created the KSU Dance Riot upon watching a performance on Youtube. Two teams representing two different dance styles came together to do a fun “battle,” representing both styles with one piece of music.
“Everyone does things and dances so differently and it would be cool to pull this off as a whole group before I graduate,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert, along with Olivia Pieri, an executive board member, arranged for the three other dance organizations to come alongside and perform in their “ultimate dance battle.”
The Hip-Hop and Street Jazz dance club of KSU, established in 2016, has grown tremendously since first appearing at KSU. Its intentions to bring hip-hop culture to campus are deep-rooted.
Gilbert started this organization because he felt the Kennesaw dance community was “lacking.” Two years into his undergraduate career, Gilbert noticed a shortage of hip-hop dance opportunities at the university.
Interning with a hip-hop dance studio in Atlanta at the time, he was shocked to see the absence of that community at KSU.
“For an avid hip-hop lover, to see that Zumba was the closest thing to hip-hop consistently available became disappointing,” Gilbert said.
For a brief amount of time, Gilbert was a part of Straight out of KSU, another hip-hop dance organization. While participating in this organization, Gilbert found temporary fulfillment but decided to create his own platform when the organization was disbanded.
Pieri, who came from a dance background similar to Gilbert’s, was also disappointed in the lack of hip-hop available.
“Personally, I feel that KSU Dance does not currently represent the hip-hop community,” Pieri said.
The dance team hopes that this all-new event can act as a catalyst to bring the groove to KSU.
“We use dance as a venue to unite the KSU community,” Gilbert said. “We want a community of diversity where there are no limitations [on] race and ability.”
You can find out more about participating in the dance team and its efforts on Owl Life.
