(See what we did there? Like the love child of ‘Got milk’ and ‘You’ve been tangoed’)
Laura Reynolds looks at the hype surrounding the collaboration.
Just a week to go until the man in red arrives...
So, first of all, what is Fusion about?
Fusion is about having a great time, experiencing the energy and excitement of putting together such a large production, meeting people that you would never normally meet and raising money for charity. The show is the biggest RAG event on campus, and the 2011 show will give 100% of ticket proceeds to the RAG charities. It raises more money for charity than any other event on campus. The whole thing is a completely unique concept: it’s not a dance show or a fashion show but an amalgamation of both with societies added into the mix.
What have been the best and the worst things about the process so far?
The worst thing would be working out practical logistics such as Health and Safety. The set design is completely unique and has never been done in Central Hall before, so it was daunting trying to get that past Health and Safety. The launch of our website was probably the most exciting thing because it just signals the beginning of the whole process. It was very cool to see something that has stayed in your head for such a long time start to become something tangible that others can access.
Do you think Fusion has an unfair image?
Yes. This is something that I’ve become aware of since taking on this position, and I would like to dispel it immediately. When I first heard of Fusion, I was told that it was essentially an ‘ego-parade’: pretentious, cliquey and full of arrogant people. But when I saw it I just saw some incredible dancing, some amazing displays of talent and this wonderful opportunity for students to be part of a huge show. Any preconceptions of this year’s show are completely unfounded because it’s an entirely new committee of individuals with a fresh new outlook who are creating their own show.
Is it primarily a dance show, or primarily modelling?
Other than their competitions, Fusion is the pinnacle of the York Dance Society’s year and we’ve got some of the best choreographers on campus coming together to create some fantastic work. Saying that, this year there is an equal number of dance and modelling scenes, but we’ve also added a number of societies into the mix such as Juggling Society, Capoeira Society, Japanese Society, Malaysian Society, and Singaporean Society, to name a few! Art Society is helping with props and set, and Make-Up School are doing the make-up for the show.
From where will you be sourcing the clothes?
We’ve got names like Mulberry, Lacoste and Jaeger involved, as well as various independent designers from the area, including some of York’s favourites, Purple Haze and Deep! We’ve managed to get work from students of the Leeds School of Art and Design and from some amazing independent hat designers: Tracey Rennison, John Westwood-Hill and Suzanne Gill. We also have a highly creative team here at York who will be creating outfits and costumes for the show.
Describe a day in the life of a Creative Director.
A lot of emails to sift through and a lot of phone calls to make! Constantly thinking about different dimensions of the show at once – I have to keep tabs on music, tech, fashion and beauty, choreography, and graphics all at the same time. I’ll have at least two meetings a day with all of the various people involved. This week I’m having a lot of meetings with choreographers to plan their routines and make sure we’re on the same page in terms of our overall vision.
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