This past weekend, arts groups across campus were busy sharing their talent and work from all over the world with our Harvard community. This week, we’ll be highlighting four student-run performances that wowed their audiences on Friday and Saturday.
The Harvard Undergraduate Candela Latin Dance Troupe Annual Showcase: “Un Viaje Por El Mundo”
This past weekend, Harvard’s premier Latin dance troupe took the stage at the Harvard Dance Center for their annual showcase. This year’s show, titled “Un Viaje Por El Mundo,” took its audience on a tour of the numerous Latin dance styles that Candela members have mastered, including bachata, salsa, cumbia, ballet folklórico, and more. The group performed at two shows, the first on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. and the second on Saturday at 4 p.m. Each show embodied the energy and range that Candela brings to all of its performances.
Candela is one of Harvard’s non-competitive performance dance groups, led by presidents Sam Schumann ’25 and Nicole Calderon ’25. According to their website, their larger aims include “celebrating and disseminating Latin culture through an array of genres.” The dance styles that they perform and honor in each performance are pulled from all over the world, including “three continents and countless cultures.” The group is truly global in scope and scale, befitting the title of their annual showcase, which translates to “A Trip Around the World” in English.
The Harvard Ballroom Dance Team’s Spring Showcase: “Vignettes”
Taking the stage at Lowell Lecture Hall was another piece of Harvard’s dance scene: the Harvard Ballroom Dance team. On Saturday, this group performed their Spring Showcase show at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. titled “Vignettes.” The performance was completely student-organized and choreographed, featuring dozens of ballroom dancers from Harvard’s student body. Their repertoire is varied and vast, including styles such as the Waltz, the Jive, and “pieces inspired by Lindy Hop, Jazz, and other non-ballroom styles,” said the ticket order form. The show also included guest performances from other dance groups, widening the scope of the 75-minute performance past what the audience might have expected at a ballroom dance show.
The show demonstrated the beauty and art of ballroom dance at the competitive level. But audience members and fans looking to get involved need no prior experience to join the organization’s Rookie Program. The group, led by president Ida Fladhammer ’25, offers classes beginning in September in numerous ballroom dance styles, allowing dancers of all skill levels and interests to participate. “Vignettes” may have just inspired us to add some ballroom dance shoes to our Amazon carts.
The Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra’s Performance
On April 19, 2025, the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra performed Claude Debussy’s Jeux and Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 1, both conducted by Federico Cortese. HRO, led by president
Veronica Li ’26, is known for its consistent, high-quality, beautiful performances, and this past Saturday was no exception. Cortese and the orchestra executed a beautiful performance of the dreamlike, playful melodies of Debussy’s Jeux and the dramatic narrative arc of Brahms’ Symphony No. 1.
Orchestra members of HRO were just as satisfied with the performance as audience members.
“I was thrilled with how HRO’s final concert of the season went! I loved the program this cycle—Debussy’s Jeux is a really fascinating piece that was very progressive for its time, and the long process of putting it together in rehearsals made the performance all the more rewarding. And Brahms’ first symphony is classic repertoire with some stunningly beautiful melodies,” wrote trumpet player Harry Epstein ’25 in a statement to the Independent.
“I thought the orchestra played their best, and performing for so many smiling and familiar faces in Sanders is a wonderful privilege. I’ll treasure those moments with the other seniors onstage and the whole orchestra very fondly for a long, long time,” he continued.
The Harvard Contemporary Collective Show: “Cadence”
The Harvard Contemporary Collective had another successful run of shows this past weekend, with one show on Friday and two on Saturday in the Loeb Experimental Theater. This semester’s sold-out showcase was titled “Cadence.”
Cadence presented a joyous celebration of movement, emblematic of HCC’s signature style, which is equal parts experimental and captivating. Founded in fall 2022 by Liliana Price ’25, Payton Thompson ’25, and Gianna Zades ’23, HCC has cemented itself as one of the premier dance companies on campus.
This past weekend at Harvard saw numerous impressive performances from established and newer arts organizations alike, setting a high bar for the rest of the semester.
Sachi Laumas ’26 (slaumas@college.harvard.edu) and Kayla Reifel ’26 (kaylareifel@college.harvard.edu) may have already ordered ballroom dance shoes…oops.