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Trice Be “Phantom Magnetiq” sings Molodi’s rendition of “Feeling Good” at Keller Hall on Sept. 11. Molodi incorporates collegiate stepping with body percussion and various forms of music and dance in their performance.

Trice Be “Phantom Magnetiq” sings Molodi’s rendition of “Feeling Good” at Keller Hall on Sept. 11. Molodi incorporates collegiate stepping with body percussion and various forms of music and dance in their performance.

Molodi hosts body percussion workshop

The group, Molodi, incorporates Greek collegiate stepping with body percussion and other unorthodox styles.

Students were given the opportunity to take a free workshop and learn the basics of body percussion, after which Molodi performed its full-length show.

Antwan Davis, a founding member of Molodi, said it’s important for the audience to feel the energy of involvement as they perform.

“It’s an inclusive experience,” he said. “When you sit down it’s not a ‘hey, I’m performing and you are going to watch me clap.’ I sweat and I may spit a little bit, you might catch some — ‘my bad’ ... We take the fourth wall down and come out to the audience and let them in on this party.”

Molodi, formally known as Rhythm Cartel, had its start at UNM in 2001, Davis said. The ensemble changed its name and incorporated a variety of dance and music styles, including step dancing, poetry and opera, to look more professional.

“It’s a great way to bring people together because music and dance are two things, as a society, we all can bond on,” he said. “The music and dance itself is subjective, but we all love it.”

Jason Nious, an alumnus in theater and a Molodi founder, said many of the original members left the group, Rhythm Cartel, for other performance opportunities. However, the group started its revitalization in 2007.

“I wanted to expand what we were actually doing and experiment with a lot of different art forms because we had a lot of flamenco around, theater, beat boxes — all kinds of stuff that you don’t see in a regular step show,” Nious said. “I wanted to start including that and use those other talents that these other people had. That’s really where the motivation for expanding started.”

Molodi has three divisions, he said: a full-length show, a Molodi-Unplugged, and an arts education program, which includes the workshops and an entertainment side that involves commercials and corporate functions.

“When they see that unity, that conformity, they are naturally strengthened in pride and power,” Nious said. “You are creating your own team; you are creating your own culture ... There’s really no way to do it without teaching it. It just goes hand-in-hand.”

Nious said he used to be shy but was able to overcome his stage fright because of gymnastics and body percussion.

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“When I first saw it I was like, ‘whoa, this is huge, I’ve never seen something like this before,’” Nious said. “It’s powerful, it’s strong, it’s athletic ... what I connected to was the strength, power and vibe that was coming off when I first saw step.”

Shani Harvie, a freshman with an undeclared major, said she participated in the body workshop because she wanted to get involved with this exciting program.

“I was sick and tired of sitting in my dorm room all the time and watching Netflix and needed to do something,” Harvie said.

Lauren Marvin is the assistant culture editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @LaurenMarvin.

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