Fusion takes place tomorrow April 7th at the IU Auditorium for the first time. Fusion is InMotion’s annual student choreographed dance showcase. This student run organization was started over 20 years ago as a graduate student project. It has now grown into a booming club with over 100 members showing off 38 dance pieces at the heavily sought after IU Auditorium.
Getting to perform at the IU auditorium can be a difficult feat. Director of Production, Melissa Banek, has been coordinating with the auditorium staff since June of last year. The negotiations and planning have been going on for over 10 months. In the past Fusion was at the Buskirk Chumley Theater located on Kirkwood, and while they appreciate the opportunity to perform there, they are excited for a bigger venue.
“We just outgrew the space we had people standing in the back of the show last year so we really needed the bigger seats and the bigger stage,” Banek said. “Its a huge accomplishment it’s been a goal for this company for a really long time so to be someone in exec that had a role in getting us to this dream means a lot to me.”
The Buskirk Chumley Theater holds 630 audience members, while the new space is able to hold over 3,000. Being able to put on a production of that scale is something all of the dancers are proud of.
“We were just excited to get the opportunity to perform on any stage,” Pothina said. “But the fact that it’s the stage that we are performing on we are so excited.”
Full dance to Childish Gambino’s “Me and Your Mama” during dress rehearsal.
Students started auditions for Fusion pieces at the beginning of the spring semester. Everyone besides the freshmen are allowed to choreograph a dance for the showcase. After the dances are selected the students running the choreography pick members to be a part of their dance. They then spend the entire spring semester at rehearsals various nights of the week, and even multiple nights of the week because most are a part of multiple dances of all different styles. Fusion this year is comprised of 38 pieces. They typically hold practices at the pickleball courts in the Bill Garrett Fieldhouse basement. The rooms are small and hot, but their dedication and love for dance makes the long hours dedicated to rehearsal worth it.
“It’s so rewarding we spend our whole lives as dancers you know competing and being on stage and performing,” sophomore dancer Saish Pothina said. “Now we only get to perform once a year.”
InMotion puts on the annual showcase in the spring making the ensemble get super close throughout the process. While many dancers including Banek did not expect to join, they are so happy they did.
Banek had been dancing her whole life. In high school she got injured and was unable to dance for a while. Her sister was in InMotion and practically forced Banek to try out when she arrived at IU. She did not want to go, but her sister made her, and she could not be more grateful. She has since choreographed a variety of dances, is performing a solo at this years showcase, and is the Director of Production.
Pothina decided to join InMotion after seeing a random flyer at the activity fair. It was a spontaneous decision to audition, but he says he has met some of his best friends through it. Up until joining he had felt out of place at IU, but InMotion has given him a community he feels fully accepted by.
Freshman dancer Tristin Tobenkin did not want to join because she was afraid it would be a toxic environment like her past had been with dancing. Once told that she was able to miss if she had to miss and that it was meant to be a fun way to fall back in love with dancing she was sold and has loved her first year as a part of the organization.
Part of the dress rehearsal dance to “Telephone” by Lady Gaga.
Freshman year can be hard, and finding an organization at such a large campus can be overwhelming. No matter how the dancers ended up at InMotion, they could not be happier they joined. InMotion has given these students an opportunity to fall back in love with dancing. It also has allowed them to join a community of friends that feel more like family who share a passion for dance.
Fusion will take place tomorrow at the IU Auditorium. Admission is free and the doors open at 5:30 PM.
