‘Pushing Against Those Norms’ of Expression Through Dance: Eleganza Is Explosive With Culture and Passion

On the evening of April 25, 45 spirited dancers lit up the Bright-Landry Hockey Center for Eleganza, Harvard’s annual student-run fashion and dance show. Since 1994, Eleganza has electrified audience members with its celebration of Black culture.

This year, Eleganza showcased more than 300 colorful costumes over its three 30-minute scenes, entitled “Lovesick,” directed by Yasmine L. Moussa ’26 and Melody Cao ’26, “World in Motion,”directed by Oleksandra “Sasha” Khalo ’28 and Layla Chaaraoui ’26, and “B*TCH,” directed by Milena J. Manocchia ’28. In between the acts, Eleganza featured guest performances from African dance troupe Omo Naija X Wahala Boys and a step dance from the Black Men’s Forum. The show was spearheaded by a board of 28 finance, publicity, fashion, and production directors.

Audience members had the choice of purchasing barricade VIP tickets right next to the stage or sitting in the stands of the hockey stadium. Kimberly “Kim” S. Cortes-Martinez ’28, a VIP viewer, was convinced to buy barricade seats by her friends performing in order to “be in all the action.”

She attended the show with Bryce C. Freeman ’28, who looked forward to seeing the diversity and talent across the dance floor.

“I feel like every year, Eleganza is spectacular, because it’s just so many different people that I never see on campus who come together and perform, and they do it so well. And I just love the art, so I just love Eleganza,” said Freeman in an interview with The Harvard Crimson.

Throughout the two-hour showcase, the audience clapped, danced, sang, and screamed to the thrilling performances, which hardly missed a beat.

“B*TCH” director and dancer Manocchia, who cited Eleganza as a contributing factor in her decision to attend Harvard, compared the experience to performing in Madison Square Garden.

“I truly feel this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, even just especially at a school like Harvard, which is so academically rigorous, to have the chance to perform in a sold-out arena, almost like at Madison Square Garden,” said Manocchia. “I said to someone today that 80-year-old us will look back at these videos and say, ‘Oh my goodness, in college, I was so so wonderful, and I did all of these incredible things.’”

Eleganza featured dancers and viewers from across the college, and, as it occurred the day before Visitas, even some audience members from the incoming class of 2030. First-time performer Tiffany R. Armour ’29 said watching Eleganza last year at Visitas showed her that Harvard is more than meets the eye.

“It made me think of Harvard as like a more multifaceted place than I thought before, and not just a bunch of nerds like studying all the time, but a lot of baddies, a lot of really cool, creative people that love to express themselves,” said Armour.

Performer Rylea C. Pritchett ’27 said that although the rehearsals were difficult, it was a rewarding experience to be part of such an impressive event in the end.

“As it gets closer to Eleganza, I think, like, the pressure is on,” said Pritchett. “Sometimes it’s just like being hard on yourself and hard on your team, but also just like really like enjoying the grind of it all and knowing that something is bigger than yourself, basically.”

Many of the dancers were involved in more than one of the scenes of the show. Lwam Mahari ’26 danced for Omo Naija X Wahala Boys and “World in Motion,” and she expressed gratitude to Eleganza for introducing her to more cultures of dance.

“Honestly, my favorite thing is learning dance styles from other groups and cultures, because I’m on Omo Naija, which is very heavily Afro beats and African and Caribbean and Black, but it’s really nice to also venture out and learn other dance styles as well. Because, like I said, I didn’t dance before this, so this is kind of my time to do that,” said Mahari.

Besides the intricately choreographed, fast-paced dance, the fashion element of the show was a feat in and of itself. The clothes were sourced from both thrift stores in the area and handmade by local student designers. Karishma Kodali ’29, one of the show’s five fashion directors, said the team “mixed and matched” the pieces to figure out the most appealing outfit combinations. Another fashion director, Stella Rosa Guest ’29, said it was extremely challenging to make all the dancers look cohesive as a group.

“I would also say it’s easy to make each person look good, but to make everybody look good together is something very difficult. Cohesion I think is the hardest thing,” said Guest. “Because you think, ‘Oh, my, that outfit looks incredible,’ but then you put them all together, you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s completely terrible.’”

The performances included clothes ranging from color-coordinated sequined skirts to garter belts to sports jerseys to just pants. The risqué clothes, invigorating music, and dynamic dances all contributed to empowering the performers. Armour said dancing in Eleganza allowed her to live fully in the moment.

“It really takes me out of my mind and into my body, which I feel like a lot of times as a student, it’s super easy to get caught up in my personal thoughts and insecurities and stuff like that. But then when I dance, I’m trying to tell a story, and it doesn’t matter, like anything that I did in the past or what’s going to happen in the future, it’s just like the present,” said Armour.

Each of Eleganza’s vibrant group of artists felt a sense of belonging and camaraderie throughout the production. Guest said the spirit of Eleganza paralleled the community of the team behind the curtain.

“I would say that the energy you feel out here and the heart of it, you truly feel in there as well,” said Guest. “It’s such an amazing community, and it’s so energetic and so positive and so supportive, and I’ve loved being a part of it.”

— Staff writer Avani Shah-Lipman can be reached at [email protected].