Celebrating Diversity and Unity

Jessica Ivon Ramirez
Professor Anna B. Scott
CHASS F1RST Fine Arts Course

The swine flu, waste of water, water pollution, budget cuts and lack of school spirit are issues that are often discussed at the University of California Riverside (UCR) however on Thursday June 4th our CHASS F1RST Fine Arts Course gave life to those issues in an unorthodox form. Each group from the class created a performance that with its symbolism addressed one of the issues surrounding us today through movements instead of words.

UCR prides itself on being the most diverse university in the UC system and this is the reason some students chose to attend this university however students soon realize that even though there is diversity there is no unity. This is why JuicyR chose to address the issue of lack of school spirit and unity. We all soon realized that one of the reasons that school unity is not present at UCR is because each diverse group tends to just remain with people of their same ethnicity or diversity. Our group chose to address the issue of both diversity and school spirit because we deduced that a way to fix the lack of school spirit is to unite the different diversity through a common element, UCR.

In class we learned that Candomblé was a result of the syncretism between the Africans slaves' old religion and Catholicism. It was difficult for me to understand the concept of two distinct religions uniting to create a unique new religion in Brazil. When we began to discuss ways of addressing the issue of lack of school spirit we figured that a nice way to unite the different ethnic groups would be to find similarities between them like Candomblé does with both the African religion and Catholicism. Being part of the UCR student body was the common element that all of the different ethnic groups. Using syncretism to unite the different ethnic groups at school allowed me to better understand how Brazil was able to unite to seemingly different religions to form a new one that held qualities that both of them shared.

We all figured that it would be nice if we could come up with a dance that demonstrated that having school spirit could unite all the ethnic groups present at UCR. We had three choreographers in our group who decided that it would be easier if we came up with three different dances in order to distinguish what part each choreographer came up with. Since there were fourteen members in the group we chose to split the group into three different groups that could symbolize the diverse groups that are present at UCR. After splitting up into the three different groups the choreographers decided to come up with different dances that would show the separate ethnic groups at the school. The choreographers chose to create an individual dance for each group that would reflect diversity.

At the beginning of the parade our group is split into three distinct groups the "U," the "C," and the "R." Each group had its own dance walk in order to keep with the theme of diversity. Even though each had its own walk all walks had to include some sort of gesture that coincided with the letter they are associated with in order for the dances to have a common thread that kept them together just like UCR is the common thread that unites all the different ethnic groups on campus. The "U" crew's, this is the group I belonged to, dance walk consisted of raising both our arms in order to form the "U" as we walked. It was our intention to keep the "U" that our arms form up the entire parade route however after the first run threw of the parade route we realized that our arms would be exhausted and therefore we made the necessary adjustment of raising and lowering our arms as we walked along the route.

When we all reached the performance stop the "U" crew was the first to perform to Bonde Do Role's "Solta o Frango." "C" crew followed with a performance to Quincy Jones "Soul Bossa Nova." "R" crew ends the individual groups' performance with Tchiko Tchikaya's "Nostalgie Africa Dance Machine." Finally we all end the performance with a mix of all three songs that allows every group to unite and perform around 10 seconds of the other groups dance in order to highlight the acceptance of the differences that exist among each group. We chose different songs in order to demonstrate the variety that exists between ethnic groups. After the mix we all take out our streamers and perform to the Kool & the Gang's "Celebration" in order to show the happiness that we all feel to be part of UCR. When we perform "Celebration" we chant "U-C-River-side come on!" in order to exhibit that UCR united the different ethnic groups through school spirit. After we join and "celebrate" that we are part of UCR we walk out with our streamers raised high and flowing. We do not return to the individual "U" "C" "R" groups in order to show that once we are connected we cannot be separated.

Our costumes consisted of us wearing blue t-shirts with our individual letters in gold. We chose those colors because they are the schools colors. We did not change colors based on group affiliation in order to highlight, yet again, that there are threads that unite the ethnic groups. Allowing everyone to wear a t-shirt with the individual letter of their group allowed us to better demonstrate the unity of the group and show that without the different ethnic groups we could not have "U.C.R." during our performance of the mix of all the songs and "Celebration." The t-shirts allowed us to line up next to each other and spell out "U.C.R." at the end of the performance in order.

I would not change anything from our performance because I believe that we accurately presented our theme through our movements and songs. However I would try and get our group to work on the synchronisation of the dances that ended our performance in order for it to look more coordinated.

The performance allowed me to realize that I am really good at scheduling and getting information out to the people from the group. Most importantly though I realized that I can actually get over my shyness and perform when I am having fun and I feel comfortable with the people around me. I loved this assignment because it allowed me to get over my fears of performing and meeting new people.

Juicy R Makes UCR a Sweeter Place to Be

The F1st Year CHASS Connect: Latin America parade at the University of California Riverside on June 4, 2009 was a successful portrayal of problems we face both at UCR and in the world around us. The student-produced demonstrations, addressed problems that hurt the environment, futures and innocent people in today’s surroundings. Juicy-R, the group in which I was involved recognized the issue of a lack of school spirit and unity on UCR’s campus. Juicy-R, a name appropriate for the dance topic that focused on, spontaneously came about due to pressure from Teacher’s Assistant Ryan Mongelluzo. Fortunately, for our group, our topic was chosen after the decision on a group-- Juicy-R will address the lack of unity and as a result, lack of school spirit at UCR. Our theme was successfully portrayed by each element that went into our performance. Choreography, music, gestures, chants, costumes and props all played a part in getting Juicy-R’s statement clearly across to spectators.
The evident choreography of Juicy-R’s main performance consisted of three different groups that perform different separate dances and eventually come together for one common choreography and song. Choreographers Stephanie Contreras, Melissa Rivera and Axel Santana each lead a group of 4 or 5 Juicy-R members and conducted separate dances to completely distinct musical flavors. Melissa’s group, also known as the “U” group, danced to a Brazilian funk song by group Bonde Do Role. Her choreography consisted of turning hip movements and accompanied arm movements that accentuate attention to the hips. Stephanie’s group, the “C’s”, danced to Soul Bossa Nova by Quincy Jones. Stephanie’s choreography focused on a 60’s feel, with step-hip movements and an up-and-down wave like motion with the arms in unison with the swaying body. Lastly, Axel’s crew, the “R” group danced to a rendition of Africa Dance Machine’s Tchiko Tchicaya, a Congolese cultural dance that evidently portrays the foreign roots of merengue. Following many of the moves in the choreography performed in the music video, the “R’s” dance consisted of hip rolling, arm scoops and a light sway of the arms to follow up with the hips. The finale was choreographed for all groups to dance in unison. To show utmost respect for each segment, the entire group performed moves taken from each group’s dance. Finally, the group freestyles a dance to Kool and the Gang’s Celebration song, a symbol for individuality and diversity.

Many symbolic gestures were performed outside of the actual dances. In the walk on the way to the performance site, U’s, C’s and R’s each conducted a walk of a few choreographed steps at a time—all distinguishing the group letter with the arms over the head. During the actual performance, while on group would perform their piece, the remaining two groups would snicker and make silent gestures of dislike. These specific gestures were implemented to further distinguish the separation and animosity each group has for each other. The gestures at the finale were small, brief renditions of each dance performed by each group and a final freestyle of gestures varying from individual to individual, to show and promote individuality and unity combining to form spirit in the UCR community. The gestures of “U” “C” “R” with the arms over the head to further depict a combination of all three groups to form one massive, diverse group.
Closely tied to the gestures performed, chants mostly went along with the introduction of each group or the actual motions of the performance. For example, as the “C” group dance off stage and the “ R” group steps in, the “R’s” chant, “Can’t U C that we R the best?!”. As a result, Juicy-R’s chants served as a form of introduction of a new group and choreography. A rally call was also used at the finale. The members of Juicy-R shouted, “UC Riverside come on!” over Kool and the Gang’s Celebration. Kool and the Gang’s smash hit was the perfect fit for the “UC Riverside” call because the group wanted to shout a sign of happiness and depict a celebration as a group together.
The costumes were closely tied into the theme of lack of school spirit. We decided to use the letters of UCR to best distinguish differences between groups. Originally the group had been discussing using cultural costumes to depict differences, but along with Ryan, it was decided that non-stereotypical distinctions among groups would be best. Blue paw prints were colored on everyone’s cheek, so as to illustrate a visual unison between U’s, C’s and R’s. Yellow and blue streamers were used at the finale, once the Celebration song came on. It was unanimously decided that the implementation of streamers would allow for the performance to be more impacting on the audience as well as would be a great aid in getting the final point across.

Overall, I feel that Juicy-R’s performance successfully translated the issue of lack of school spirit at UCR. If I had the opportunity to change anything, I would not take any aspect of the performance away. However, I would add a minor maneuver at the end rendition. As all of the letters are united, I would prefer to add a chain-link maneuver between group members, having interlocking between Juicy-R members and a walking in-and-out of the line. Also, in addition, I would add a minor costume detail; I’d like to better distinguish individuality and diversity between members. Instead of having a blue paw print on everyone, I think it would have looked more creative to add other symbols of UCR, such as Scotty the bear or a plaid print of the Highlanders.
Throughout this entire process of creating a parade, I discovered a few qualities about myself that were not evident prior to the project. The dance final was completely different to what I have been used to. This was my very first dance class, and the class genuinely intimidated me, as I did not know what to expect. However, what I took away from the class exceeded even the slightest expectations that I did have. I stumbled upon some qualities about myself that perhaps I would not have known having not taken this class. Many of the people in my group come from an extremely different background than I do. I found that I can mesh well with new ideas and perspectives and can constructively share my own ideas to help points already made. Also, building upon others ideas allows for a creative flow to take place between minds and causes a product of creativity and art. All in all, the project has given me the comfort and confidence to publicly state my ideas and opinions—something that has always been a challenge for me to do.

-Alexandra Pernudi