Events happen every day on campus ranging from a Cappella concerts to Dance Marathon to football games on Saturdays. My favorite annual event is ReFusionShaka. It is a combination of three of our dance groups on campus: Refresh Dance Crew, Fusion Dance Co., and Boomshaka. Each group brings its own flair and flavor to the event and makes it an incredible experience. Every year sells out the venue almost immediately so you generally have to buy tickets early and arrive at the event as soon as doors open if you want a good seat.

ReFusionShaka is awesome because it’s all student produced and student choreographed. Each group puts together its own set of songs and dance moves to get the crowd pumped up. Quite literally the walls and ceiling shake because there are “more beats than you can handle” as the slogan for the event says. The sold-out show has to occasionally change to bigger venues because of all the tickets it sells and how many are anticipated to sell throughout the weekend that ReFusionShaka is put on.

I’ve been to the event three of my four years at Northwestern and somehow they blow my mind each year with their dance moves and beats. I’ve always gone with a large group of friends to support people who are in all three different groups. This makes it even more fun for multiple reasons: you actually know somebody on the stage, and you get to yell and scream the entire time with other people who are yelling and screaming just as much as you.

Refresh and Fusion bring the break dancing aspect to the show while Boomshaka brings the beats. Both breakdance crews have incredible dancers that can put anybody in the audience to shame with their dancing abilities. They always include flips, head spins, some old school hip hop moves and new school moves. Boomshaka brings a more ballet type of dancing along with drum beats played on large garbage cans and various other bucket sizes. Occasionally they even introduce things that would not otherwise make music like six or seven foot walking sticks and metal lids.

Any description of the event cannot do ReFusionShaka justice. It may just sound like random cacophony of dancing and sounds, but when you witness the event, it’s a beautifully rehearsed performance that flows incredibly well. It still shocks me every year that ReFusionShaka is completely put on by students. It’s easily one of the best events all year and definitely has “more beats than you can handle.”

–Mike Marut 

Photo Source: Refresh Dance Crew.