Students applying makeup and practicing choreography filled the seating area outside the Great Hall of the Student Union on Sunday afternoon. As audience members arrived, the dancers hugged family and friends who had come to watch them perform in Kamikazi’s23rd annual Spring Showcase. The lineup also featured performances from Rhythm Corps and Moonlight Hip Hop Dance Crew.
Grace Bryant, who dances with Kamikazi and serves on their executive board, said they practice three times weekly for two or three hours at a time.
“It seems like a lot, but it’s a lot of fun, so it doesn’t make it feel like that much,” Bryant said.
Kamikazi, named after a Japanese word meaning “divine wind,” is UNC’s first coed hip-hop group. They also incorporate other styles, such as urban dance and contemporary, into their routines.
When choreographing their two themed sets, Kamikazi’s executive board chose the theme for their first and polled the team for their second. Since the group is student-led, members submit choreography ideas. The first set was titled "Missy," the second was "Issa Party."
For Bryant, nothing compares to the feeling of performing.
“I can’t put it into words how I feel after I finish a performance, and especially after I do it with the people that I really like dancing with,” Bryant said. “That just makes it all worth it, the constant practicing and all that.”
When Kamikazi took the stage for their first of three sets, the audience was already cheering at the top of their lungs. The group sported black jackets, matching spandex and white sneakers as they began with a Missy Elliot song.
The setlist also included three senior solos, KMKZ awards and a senior sendoff. Two MCs kept the crowd engaged with puns, outfit changes and comedic bits like “Kazi” trivia.
