How it all began....

At the time, the campus of Howard University (Washington, DC) had over 150 student organizations. And after searching for an organization that encouraged hip-hop dance and performed at different venues on the campus, Mariontino Odighizuwa (also known as Mario) felt led to begin a great work; attempting to form what he was in search of. Being a native of the great Northwest (Portland, Oregon), Mario continued to seek after his long-term goal of developing a state-of-the-art talent and teen enhancement facility in Portland, Oregon. Grasping the concept of this goal was very difficult for Odighizuwa. Therefore, his motivation for reaching the goal was to become a part of it, by forming a team. This goal is what ultimately drove him to founding the Vizion Performance Team.

In the year 2001, the idea of a hip-hop dance team was born. Mario had been a part of a hip-hop dance team during his high school tenure and had yearned to continue to use his dance talent. Doubts of a successful team at Howard had entered his thoughts and delayed his action for some time. However, three good friends of Odighizuwa’s encouraged him to move further. During the fall of 2001, they gave him insight on how to start forming the team. With flyers, posters, and handouts the word got around campus quickly. Odighizuwa wrote down all the names and numbers of students who left phone messages for him.

After having a list of about 25-30 interested people, he began to set-up private auditions for each person. Although it proved to be a time consuming task, Mario decided to teach and assess a single prepared routine to each person. Students on campus would meet with him at various residence halls during their private auditions to prove their skill to him one on one. After completing the auditions for the team, Mario decided to have a team review for all the auditioned. This was a time where all interested persons gathered to review and perform the auditioned routine. With the assistance of Leslie Meyers, MSW., he was able to host this review in December of 2001 at the George Washington Carver Hall.

Present at the auditions were Jamilah Armstrachan, Alvedo Alexander, JeRon Tucker, and Natasha Ross. These were well-trusted friends of Odighizuwa who were asked to judge each person, providing an audience appeal in the formation of the team. The final decisions resulted in approximately ten students making the cut. Over the span of the spring semester of 2002, only six dedicated members remained. They were: Jasmine Gorham, Jasmine Thompson, Eugena Smith, Aura Harewood, Desiree Maddox, Ebony Washington.

These six members along with their founder encouraged one another to continue to perform regardless of their lack in numbers. Having angst for performing arts through her experience, Eugena Smith decided to take initiative and assist Mario in his efforts. As a co-founder, Eugena Smith contributed successful ideas towards advancing the team. She played a key role in promoting the team on Howard’s campus.

After the Christmas break in 2001, the six (seven including the founder) prepared for their first performance, the North Carolina A&T Basketball Halftime Show in the Burr Gymnasium. Over a number of practices, formations decided upon and uniforms were purchased. Mario Odighizuwa had mentioned to the members that his previous team was called “Envision”.

He solicited from the team ideas of what they should be called. Mario also wanted to have a name that, to some measure, reminded the team of his ultimate goal. With the suggestions of Desiree Maddox, the team decided to be declared as the “Vizion Performance Team”.

The time for their first performance had arrived. However, it persisted with a few conflictions. The team had confirmed with the Athletic Department prior to practicing that they would perform at the NC A&T game. At the time, a few officials had not heard the team’s music, which was a requirement before going on the court. After meeting this requirement, the team was faced with doubt from within. One team member felt that they should hold off until the next game due to their uniforms not being quite ready. Without, hesitation, Mario Odighizuwa voiced the following:

“You guys have practiced and worked hard for this day. And I am not going to let anything stop you all from performing. All of your friends are out there, our music is ready, and we simply need to do this! We need to pray before we go out on the court.”

After hearing these words, the team gathered in a circle and prepared for their first performance. Desiree Maddox suggested that as they prayed they placed their right foot in the center of the circle. She explained that it was a tradition back home and gave her a sense of unity amongst other performers. This tradition was adopted and encouraged by the co-founder, Eugena Smith, as the team progressed.

The performance was a success! It was followed by requests from other student organizations for performing at their venues as well. Eventually, the team performed across campus and in the community. The performances in the spring semester of 2002 included the following: NC A&T Basketball Halftime Show, Chief Element Entertainment Talent Showcase, National Step Fest Competition 2002.

As the summer of 2002 approached, Mario Odighizuwa decided to have each team member exchange phone numbers and addresses to stay in contact. They felt accomplished and looked forward to next year’s events. In light of their accomplishments, they had no idea of how much of an influence they were to the Howard community. The Vizion Performance Team had been born.

(Courtesy of Mario Odighizuwa.)