Celebrating their 20-year anniversary as a dance team at Columbia, Onyx created a space where the audience could watch colorful and fun performances while also learning about and celebrating the Black foundation of hip-hop.

As I walked into the Iconyx event on April 24, I was filled with anticipation. The social media advertising had excited me, with video previews of their dances at a block party posted on Instagram. When I left the event, it was all I had anticipated and more! The mixture of different club performances while highlighting the importance of recognizing the roots of Onyx and hip-hop was something I loved!

The event started with MC Teniola Adedire (CC ’28), who explained that by witnessing this event, the audience is “witnessing a legacy.” They went on to explain the legacy of Onyx, how the club celebrates the history of Black influence in hip-hop, and how it has now become a team of women and gender-nonconforming performers who center and spotlight people of color.

The first set, titled “Certified Femme Unit,” highlighted iconic girl groups. This set included songs by the Pussycat Dolls, FLO, and Destiny’s Child, and was primarily choreographed in the heels style. Watching these performers, all in high heels, dance in front of bright red or magenta lighting was an extremely fun experience due to the performers’ focusing and reacting to the audience’s excitement through their own energy! Each performer was fully invested in the theme of this set and embodied these iconic girl groups and songs completely. The choreography was slower and sultry in the beginning, but quickly upped in tempo, and the crowd was enthralled the whole time.

After the first set, Ijoya was welcomed onto the stage as the first guest performance. Ijoya is a dance team at Columbia that spreads understanding about and builds community around African dances and African-rooted dance styles, while commemorating the long history of African and Afro-Caribbean dances. Their performance was in front of a bright yellow background and was vibrant and high-energy the whole way through. I enjoyed being able to experience this culturally-rooted dance style at an event that was also centered around the roots of hip-hop. 

After Ijoya, there was an Onyx Block Party-themed video, which then led into the second Onyx set of the night. Their second set had songs by Doechii, Lizzo ft. Missy Elliot, GloRilla, and Summer Walker ft. JT. The nature of these songs and this theme was very high energy, accompanied by lights that were changing consistently, and a streetwear style. This was fun, light-hearted, and the stage was filled with performers, mimicking that kind of casual, sweet block party theme. 

After the second Onyx set, the MC welcomed the second guest performers, Sabor, onto the stage. As Columbia’s first Latino dance troupe, Sabor gave such an engaging performance, creating a boisterous audience. My personal favorite part of their set had a moment where the women on stage fake-slapped their dance partners. In just a few songs, Sabor impressively mixed fun storylines with smooth and in-sync group dances, and it was a great experience as an audience member.

Following Sabor, there was a crowd dance battle, with alumni and friends coming on stage and improvising dances against each other, with the audience choosing a winner in the end. This was an entertaining way for Onyx to interact with the audience while we anticipated the next performance.

The dance battle concluded, and Columbia’s Black Theatre Ensemble (BTE) came onto the stage. BTE provides a space on campus to perform theatre for and with the Black community, and highlights creative expression by artists and performers of color. They sang “The Color Purple Reprise” from The Color Purple. This performance, although with a slower tempo and focus on vocals, was a refreshing switch-up from the dances, and it was a beautiful display of performers working together to blend and effortlessly perform a difficult showtune.

Once BTE finished their song, Onyx was back on the stage to begin their third set. This set was themed after the rivalry between artists Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B. Titled “Meg Vs. Cardi,” the set featured songs by Megan and Cardi going back and forth, as Onyx was split into two different groups performing each one. The Megan group wore pink clothes, and the Cardi group wore yellow–it was a fun way to get the audience involved in cheering for the artist they preferred, while watching high-energy, impressive performers. Personally, I am team Megan in terms of the artist, but team both in terms of the dancers! 

After this set, the final guest performers began on stage: RawElementz. This group is the largest hip-hop dance crew at Columbia. This set was extremely high-energy, with songs like No Face No Case by Vinny West and Biggidy Bounce It by HaSizzle. This recentered the focus to hip-hop and led to many happy screams from the audience. This group was in jerseys and cohesive outfits, and while they had sharp and quick movements, they maintained a sense of togetherness the whole time. I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing their choreography.

RawElementz finished, which meant it was time for Onyx’s last set of the night. Their last set, titled “Bo$$,” was performed all in suits. This set was made with the idea of claiming the power in the performers’ identities and careers and was inspired by Black women. The beginning of the set included various clips about political and social issues in America, raising awareness about those harmed and detained by ICE, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. I was happy to see Onyx use a part of the set to highlight various issues marginalized communities face, prior to beginning their performance. After the announcement, this set featured songs like Formation by Beyoncé and Doin’ What I Want, by Natalie Nunn, and was the perfect ending to the evening. 

I wanted to see what the performers were feeling after I watched their event, so I spoke to Christina Wang (SEAS ‘28), a sophomore in Onyx. She stated, “This was my first semester in Onyx, and I absolutely love it! I’m always inspired by how the team advocates for social justice through art, and getting the opportunity to perform with such an amazing group was one of the highlights of my semester.” As an observer, I could feel the passion and care from each member of this group as they performed. I was happy to hear of this joy from a performer, and I felt lucky to feel it, too, as an audience member. 

Onyx was vibrant, impressive, informative, and engaging all in one. Their different choreographies and themed sets kept the audience constantly excited, and their passion for social justice and the history of hip-hop shone through their movements. The various group performers allowed the audience to interact with a wide variety of art and gave the audience the chance to experience various club communities at Columbia. I still find myself in awe of these performers, as this event was truly Iconyx! 

Image via Bwog Staff