ONYX: Columbia’s Resident Booty-Poppers

In honor of their booty-poppin’ performance on Thursday night at GlassHouse Rocks, Her Campus decided to sit down with the group to discuss choreography, crowd-pleasing, and swag (obviously!)

1. What is special about being in Onyx? 

ONYX is comprised of a really tight-knit group of dancers, which allows us to create our own personalized style when we perform, and create super-strong friendships.  We keep the group relatively small, to allow each member a chance to be in the spotlight and create a name for themselves within the dance community at Columbia.  

2. What do you enjoy most about being part of Onyx and dancing with the other members?

We all came into ONYX with our own styles and strengths, but we pick up little things from each other, simply from being together so often and practicing together all the time.  It allows each of us to have our own personal swagg, yet we compliment each other when performing a set.  Every member is a fabulous diva in his or her own way, and there is literally never a dull moment in ONYX… We really should have our own reality TV show. 

3. What has been your most memorable performance with Onyx? 

ONYX loves performing at Basketball Mania and GlassHouse Rocks.  Those two performances are real crowd-pleasers, which is what we do best.  We all love to put on a good show, and the more people to see it, the better!  The best performances are the ones where the crowd gets ridiculously hype, and we feed off of their energy.   We put on our own show every April, which is always a feat.  Last year, we put on a show with the theme of “Se7en Deadly Sins” which was a huge undertaking, and a huge success as well.  We will be having another show this coming April.  

4. What’s it like performing with the other dance groups on campus?

All of the dance groups on campus bring a unique trait to every performance.  We love watching other groups to cheer them on, and to gain inspiration for our own choreography.  

5. If you could describe onyx in three words what would they be? 

Diva. Swaggtastic. Bootylicious.  

6. Guilt pleasure song to pop your booty to?

Anyone who was at our 2013 Basketball Mania performance or GlassHouse Rocks knows we love to “work work work work” to “Pop That” by French Montana.  Really though, ONYX will booty-pop to anything with a beat….or without one.