Fabulous Fusion arrives in London

Imperial is no stranger to big events; you’d have to have had your head in the sand to not know what East Meets West is. Now an Imperial postgraduate hopes to bring her experiences from her previous university to break the mould with a spectacle that goes above and beyond anything that has come before.

Led by Angela Udemba, Fusion@London hopes to bring together the best creative talent in dance, music and fashion from universities across London. Calling on students from Imperial, Kings and UCL, it plans to combine the different forms of culture to developing a novel, holistic experience, all in aid of Cancer Research UK.

Fusion originally came into being seven years ago at the University of York and has since gone from success to success. It was whilst studying here that Angela first came across the concept and she admits that she was surprised to find nothing comparable on her arrival to London. “When I came to Imperial and I looked to join societies I assumed there must be something like Fusion because it’s London. I looked around and there was nothing. A lot of societies have their own smaller events but nothing really infuses loads of other societies and especially nothing integrates other universities”

And so with a spark in her eye, a little determination and a desire to give something back to the charity that sponsors her own doctoral studies, Angela conceived Fusion@London. Whilst related to its Northern cousin, Angela promises something leaner, meaner and more metropolitan. “London Fusion fuses three different universities, that’s the one major difference, whereas York was just York. London’s a lot bigger. We’re looking to book headline acts, celebrity artists and comperes.”

Coinciding with London Fashion Week 2012, Fusion intends to serve a little slice of the catwalk in its own unique serving style, “In York they showcase mostly High Street fashion stores, like Hugo Boss, Mango, River Island, places like that. We’re still focused on showcasing student talent; most of our designers come from London College of Fashion, Central Saint Martin’s so in that sense we’ve also involved those two universities.”

The unique structure of Fusion gives a more enriching experience than university societies could provide on their own, stretching beyond the boundaries of their own institution Angela Udemba

The grand scale of Fusion gives the performers the opportunity to work with world-class artists and designers, something that filters down to create a world-class show for the rest of us. “The unique structure of Fusion gives a more enriching experience than university societies could provide on their own, stretching beyond the boundaries of their own institution,” Fusion committee member and UCL student Charlotte told Felix. “It’s a great opportunity to expand your horizons.”

With hip hop, belly, ballet, contemporary, lyrical dance, burlesque and much more, Fusion hopes to choreograph a spectacle that leads the audience with it, keeping them in its thrall at every turn. Angela hopes that Fusion can have a unity and continuity that has been lacking in similar events, where individual clubs and societies tended to contribute scenes in a piecemeal, disjointed manner.

Felix paid a visit to the auditions earlier this week, to test the air amongst the potential contributors. The atmosphere was dense with tingling excitement (possibly heightened by the stress of auditioning) and a buoyant optimism hung in the air that this was something only possiblein London.

We spoke to Azel, a student who’d recently joined UCL from Leicester, who told us that she doubted a similar project could take place anywhere else. “It definitely wouldn’t have happened in other cities. In smaller towns universities are more insular and there’s less conflict in London between unis.”

All this however does come with risks. Historically intercollegiate events have tended to miss the bar; one needn’t think too far back to recall the phenomenal success of the ICL-KCL-Goldsmith’s joint Summer Ball last year and the black hole it created in Union finances. But the human investment that has gone into Fusion suggests this could be amongst the first to buck the trend. Never before have students been invited to collectively create the event rather than pay their entry fee and prop up the bar.

Fusion launches later this month with their Halloween Masquerade Ball at the Café de Paris, Piccadilly, on the October 31. £9 tickets (£12 for non-students). Go to fusionatlondon.com for more details.