The multicultural dance organization eXposure brought their previously-annual performance back to the University of Rhode Island on Friday for the first time since its cancellation due to Covid-19, this year entitled “Hit the Floor: Resurrection.”
eXposure is a group of 15 members that work to teach the community about different cultures through dancing, according to fourth-year student Imani Price, the president and choreographer of eXposure. Performances and showcases such as this one had been one of the ways that the organization had promoted their message in the past.
“Hit the Floor is originally a dance competition created by eXposure members, about 10 years ago,” Price said.
She explained that, in the past, it had been more of a dance competition, where other schools as well as URI organizations were invited to compete.
“Since Covid, it kind of died because a lot of [organizations] weren’t meeting,” Price said. “We brought it back more as a showcase this year.”
While URI was the only school involved in Hit the Floor this year, the event did feature a few different organizations from around campus. The 2024 showcase included performances by the South Asian Students’ Association, Asian Students Association and PGA, a group within the ASA which specializes in Korean pop dancing, commonly known as K-pop.
eXposure opened the night with their performance, followed by PGA’s K-pop dances. After a brief intermission, SASA performed three types of dances, which ranged from a hip-hop number to Bhangra, a traditional dance. ASA then performed a fan dance to songs in Chinese and Korean, before eXposure finished off the night with the rest of their routines.
“For Hit the Floor, [the most impactful part] I feel is my dedication I had to put in,” second-year Crystal Rivera De León, a dancer from eXposure, said. “This was special, because it’s for our team.”
When it came to dance practice, Rivera De León encouraged outside members to come.
“I would say to not be afraid to join,” Rivera De León said. “I feel like a lot of people I’ve talked to about the dance team were scared to join because they didn’t know how to dance initially. And I was like, ‘don’t even worry about that’ because we take the time to show the steps over and over again and we record them.”
Price expressed similar feelings about the team, explaining that there is no required dance background to join the team and that members have varying levels of prior experience.
“We’ve had members who have never ever had dance experience and they’re performing tonight and they blow my mind how much they’ve grown,” Price said.
Hit the Floor: Resurrection is not eXposure’s last performance of the semester; in fact, this month the group is performing three more times on April 3, 29 and 30 at different events.
“Don’t be afraid to come to a meeting,” Price said. “eXposure is really a place where you can have fun and be yourself.”
More information about upcoming performances and meetings can be found on their Instagram, @exposure_uri.