Carolina Union Activities Board highlights diversity in dance showcases

The Carolina Union Activities Board hosted the first ever Global Diversity Awareness Dance Showcase on Oct. 9 in the Great Hall of the Student Union.

From 6:30 p.m. to around 8:00 p.m., seven different UNC student dance groups performed a showcase of diverse styles and cultures. Throughout the performances, attendees sipped on mocktails. 

Oni Terrado, a UNC sophomore, is the diversity chair for CUAB and organized the event. She said this showcase was an idea she presented in her interview for the role, so to see it come to life was very special.

The seven groups performing included UNC Flying Silk, UNC Ballroom Dance Team, Carolina Indian Circle, Buckley Public Service Scholars, Star Heels Dance Team, Carolina Irish Dance and UNC Zankiliwa.

“[The showcase was] supposed to be in celebration of Global Dance Diversity Awareness Month,” Terrado said. “And we want[ed] to see different affinity groups come out and cheer them on and hear more about their culture.”

Each dance was performed by several representatives of each organization.

Carolina Indian Circle, which was founded to support and create a community for American Indian and Indigenous students on campus, performed two different social and interactive dances with the audience.

The first was the Two-Step Partner Dance where everyone grabbed hands with a partner and stomped in a circle around The Great Hall. CIC representatives then led the crowd in the Snake Dance, where everyone joined hands and moved together in a snake pattern through the space.

“The main part of the Snake Dance is to remain as one unit because we as Native people are one people," the leader of the dance for CIC said while the audience slithered and stomped to the music.

The UNC Ballroom team had two representatives who put diversity and breaking norms at the forefront in their performance.

Amry Rivera and Adalyn Miles choreographed and performed a Rumba, which Miles said is as a beautiful, suave and sensual dance from Latin America.

They wanted to pick a dance from Latin America, but also one that could highlight more LGBTQ+ connections because, while progress is being made, it's less typical to see same-sex partners in ballroom dance, Miles said.

The UNC Ballroom Team has done collaborations with other student dance groups in the past, but Rivera said it was wonderful seeing other dancers in the same environment flourishing.

“Especially with [events] like this, where it's all about diversity and showing different teams doing types of dance from all over the world, that's super exciting, and we're really happy to be a part of it,” Miles said.

UNC first-year Jessica Le attended the showcase initially because her suitemate was representing UNC Flying Silk. 

Le said she came into the event knowing very little about the dance community at UNC, but being around different cultures and seeing how they find happiness within dance made her feel very happy and a sense of warmth.

While this is the first time CUAB has hosted the Global Diversity Awareness Dance Showcase, Terrado said she is hoping to have more opportunities to collaborate with other organizations at UNC.

“There's so much that goes on campus, and because we have a large platform, it's just to bring awareness to the organizations here,” Terrado said. “I think having one collective event brings together the Carolina community and [shows] that we all support each other and we're all here for each other.”