Chetachi Egwu, Ph.D., assistant professor of communication studies in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences, describes herself as a “die-hard” communication theorist and a “die-harder” production person.
Only a die-hard production person would love the feeling of exhaustion after a day of shooting, which to her means, “We’ve accomplished something today.”
“I love getting my hands on the camera and doing different things with it,” she said. “I’m the person who will get down on the street to film something. I love the beauty of camera angles. I love working with sound.”
Egwu came to NSU in 2005 when the communication studies program started. She said although the program’s focus is on theory, she tries to incorporate her expertise in production into her classes. To do this, Egwu and a colleague created the undergraduate student film festival, which is in now in its fifth year.
“Even in theory classes, I always try to put some practice in there, so that the students understand the theory behind the practice and the practice that comes from the theory,” she said.
This love of production stemmed from her high school studies in communication with the Science and Technology Enrichment Program where she learned about satellite, television and radio.
At the University of Buffalo, she majored in communication studies and minored in media studies with a concentration in independent film and video making.
“I loved it,” she said. “Every time I had a chance, I was in the editing room. I was in there all the time. That’s how I knew that I had the production bug. I always had a video camera.”
Egwu is also the operations manager for Live In Color, a Miami-based dance group, which competed on the first season of MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew.” They won ABC Family’s “Dance Fever” in 2003 and made it through the first two rounds of “America’s Got Talent” two years ago.
Egwu’s talents extend beyond film and communication. She danced when she was a child and then with the UB African Dance Troupe in college. In 2000, she became more serious about it and started taking modern dance classes. She said others have noticed how she’s improved.
“I’ve never had to audition,” she said. “I was always asked to perform. I danced with great people like Debra Riley, Reggie Glass and Sherrill Berryman Johnson.”
Egwu was asked to teach hip hop at the Washington Ballet and modern dance at Dance Place. She has also choreographed dances for NSU. She organized NSU’s first dance show, choreographing four pieces and bringing two guest artists to the show. Since then, she has choreographed a piece in the fall and a piece in the spring.
Egwu’s parents are Nigerian, and she brings her culture into her work. “My mother’s favorite thing to say was, ‘That’s not the African way,’” she said. “There are several cultures within Nigeria. My culture, Igbo, is so very rich that it’s had a huge influence on many of the things I’ve done.”
Egwu uses Igbo symbolism in her hand-painted T-shirt line Akwa, an Igbo word that means “cloth.” Her designs are carried at two stores in New York, and she has her own shop in Hollywood.
“My logo is two symbols from Uli, a system of body painting and symbols, which men and women used to paint on themselves using a crushed black seed,” she said.
As if she weren’t busy enough, Egwu also loves to read and cook and is working on a documentary about the lack of fresh food in inner-city neighborhoods.
“What I’ve been able to do is turn my passions and hobbies into something that I always do,” she said.
