This past Sunday, UNC Kamikazi, a co-ed hip-hop dance team, hosted a three-hour workshop in the Underground of the Carolina Union.
The team invited two local dance instructors, Eunique Browder and Anushri Adhia, to teach at the workshop. Both instructors danced in college: Adhia is a former member of Kamikazi, while Browder performed with UNC-Wilmington’s Physical Graffeeti for four years.
“It’s to help our team members grow by bringing in teachers from the area or other teams,” said co-director Laura Killian. “It’s also to introduce dance to the community because anyone can come to it. It’s just a good way to spread dance.”
Killian said that while members of Kamikazi are required to attend, the biannual event has attracted at least 50 people in past semesters.
“It provides a safe space for people to express themselves and to grow at their own pace and gives people the opportunity to meet other dance community members and get connected,” said design chair Sophie Swift.
When deciding which instructors to invite, members of Kamikazi try to mix it up with each workshop.
“We pitch ideas of people who we know have a lot of experience with teaching,” Killian said. “We also sometimes try to think of people who haven’t taught recently in the area, because there are other workshops that are held pretty much every weekend. So we’ll think, ‘OK, who hasn’t taught in a while or who is someone who brings something different.’ Just that way to keep up the interest of people wanting to come to the workshop.”
After registration and warm ups, each instructor held a 75-minute lesson. Participants were required to pay $7 per class or $12 for both classes.
Each session involves a lot of repetition, said Makaela Johnson, a member of Kamikazi.
