Multi-talented Burzon excited about African American Dance Company’s trip to China

Kelvin Burzon almost missed out on a major opportunity.

The Fort Wayne, Ind., native, who is of Filipino descent, earned a bachelor’s degree at Wabash College and is a member of the African American Dance Company, one of three performance ensembles that are courses in Indiana University’s Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies (AAADS). The ensembles, which also include the African American Choral Ensemble and IU Soul Revue, comprise the African American Arts Institute (AAAI), a program within IU’s Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs (OVPDEMA).

Upon arriving at IU, Burzon, who is now in the final year of a Master’s of Fine Arts program in photography, was urged to try out for the dance company by his undergraduate classmate—who was mistaken about one minor detail.

“He invited me to audition and actually told me the wrong room—I walked into an opera audition,” recalled the affable Burzon, who was in show choir and theater productions as a high school student.

Still, he remained undaunted, reaching out to Professor Iris Rosa, director of the dance company since its inception. Rosa, never one to rebuff an eager student, allowed Burzon to come to the first day of class to see if he could catch on to the choreography the dancers were learning.

Three years later, Burzon, who is in his final year of graduate school, clearly proved he belonged despite never having any formal dance training. He loves the fact that while the dance company is serious business, it provides him with a release from the other demands of college life.

“College and the academic setting is so stressful and difficult for students, especially with time management. But the company provides a space for us to do something fun and express ourselves in a completely different way that other academic situations don’t offer,” said Burzon. “It provides that community setting where we support each other, and really unwind. I think I can speak for everyone when I say we really look forward to class every day, because we’re tired of writing papers and when you get to that space, you know it’s your studio and family.

“It can be a struggle when we go somewhere, even in town, to shed all the biases of being called the African American Dance Company and what people expect from us right off the bat because of our name,” he continued. “We always try to debunk that idea of what we are, and even with the name and our expression, we’re using this language, this history, and a very specific type of expression to express a broader concept and a broader message that people can relate to. It’s more about the human experience than it is about anything specific.”

Burzon has also found a knack for helping out with other needs of the dance company, from photography and videos to creating costumes for his fellow dancers.