‘RAWCUS: Nothing But Noise’: A celebration of dance, identity, and community

The annual Raw Elementz showcase brought together bold movement, campus solidarity, and moments of joy.

Photo By Sydnie Loeb/The Barnard Bulletin

By Sydnie Loeb

May 31, 2025

On April 23, Raw Elementz, a hip-hop dance group at Columbia, performed their yearly showcase in the Roone Arledge Auditorium. “RAWCUS: Nothing But Noise,” consisted largely of original pieces choreographed by group members and featured numerous guest performances by other on-campus clubs. It celebrated the hip-hop dance style, their teamwide community, and the larger dance community on campus. “RAWCUS: Nothing But Noise” was a vibrant, upbeat, politically conscious, and powerful celebration of student creativity and collaboration. 

After scanning tickets, guests were handed a program outlining the run of the show, which exceeded two hours with an intermission and was packed with action. The seven Raw Elementz pieces included “Big Bank,” “Love in This Club,” “Roughhouse,” “Step Up!,” “Video Games,” “Seniors,” and “Love$ick.” These pieces were choreographed by multiple team members, primarily seniors, and showcased much stylistic diversity. Each piece of choreography had loud, bursting energy. Each member put 110% into every move, as they moved as a group. It felt as though each piece grew stronger than the last. There were also four guest performances from other campus dance groups, including Columbia’s Latin-fusion club Sabor, K-pop inspired hip-hop group CU Generation, female-empowered ONYX, and African dance crew Ijoya. 

Although the dances were the stars of the show, the recital also included humor and lots of personality. Between each piece, the two emcees came out with a non-scripted comedic skit, sharing silly dances or hyping up the crowd. They added laughter and energy to the transitions while introducing audience members to the upcoming pieces. Raw Elementz also did something unique by filming an introduction video for each piece; as the club’s name suggests, these videos were raw in production and hilarious. The skits set up and introduced the upcoming dances, providing insight into the dancers’ personalities and making the show feel cohesive and storytelling-driven. For example, the introduction video for “Video Games” featured dancers as characters in a real-life video game, playing and competing against each other. I left feeling like I knew a little more about each member of the team and wanting to join the community myself! 

The show also had a large emotional impact. Mid-show, dance team leaders from ONYX, Sabor, and Raw Elementz came out on stage and used the opportunity to call attention to recent events and activism on campus. Using the message “hands off our students,” each team leader discussed a different topic, all tying back to themes of student-led expression and autonomy. The speech was followed by ONYX’s piece, which spent a moment expressing their support for Palestine as dancers came out in keffiyehs and protested with their strong movements. On a different emotional note, the Raw Elementz team members had an onstage senior tribute at the end of the show. This was a moment for audience members to connect with the dancers as each graduate was honored with a rose and a heartwarming speech from a team member. 

Overall, the show felt less like a performance and more like I was a part of something while sitting in the audience. It reflected the teamwide and schoolwide cultural and political awareness while showcasing a bond that came from hours of late-night rehearsals and countless team excursions. “RAWCUS: Nothing But Noise” proved that Raw Elementz isn’t just a dance group — it’s a space for student voice, laughter, and bold expression.