30th Anniversary of Eleganza: Celebrating the Past, Present and Future of “Ganza” | Art

On Saturday, April 20, students and — for the first time ever — the Greater Boston community came together to see Eleganza “Eternal” at Bright-Landry Hockey Arena. Founded in 1994, the annual fashion and dance show celebrated its 30th anniversary by emphasizing sustainability and acknowledging its past and future as a show. The show was split across three separate stages: Utopia, East2West, and Akoma. Guest performances by Omo Naija X The Wahala Boys, Harvard Contemporary Collective, and BMF Step also took place between stages.

This year, Eleganza partnered with 12 design students from Parsons School of Design in New York, as well as designers from Boston, led by fashion director Quyen T. Tran ’24.

“I think taking their projects and presenting them on a Harvard stage has a very different resonance than taking them and presenting them on a New York stage, where there’s such a culture and people are used to hearing that kind of message,” Tran said, explaining why she wanted to present Parsons’ projects at Harvard.

The show began with an opening speech by Bristol Fales-Hill ’25, Executive Producer of Fashion and Advertising.

“Our show this year aims to fulfill our founders’ vision of a new kind of performance space for all,” Fales-Hill emphasized, “while pushing the boundaries of what Eleganza could be.”

The first scene of “Utopia” in the choreography Liliana C. Price ’25 and Chalisa L. Hoskins ’26, to highlight Ganza’s journey. Divided into three acts—Lavish, Lore, and Legend—each section was designed to take the audience through Eleganza’s different modes. Lavish showcased Eleganza’s higher-energy, “campy” side, according to Price, while Lore focused on toning it down and bringing an “unsettling confidence.” Finally, Legend highlighted Eleganza’s rich history.

“We just wanted to create a big, kick-starting piece that had big group numbers, gave everyone a chance to be on stage, try different styles and celebrate these great, legendary artists that people would sing along with,” Price said. “And kind of end the stage the way Ganza started and always has been — legendary — on campus, because it’s an experience unlike any other.”

One of the designers in “Utopia,” Ashlyn C. Simpson — who graduated from Parsons School of Design in May 2023 — is the owner of Ashez, a clothing brand that focuses on sustainability in design. The pieces she showed in the show are from a project she did in her third year at Parsons that were inspired by “the relationship between humans and water.” Simpson takes materials from stash, fabrics that have flaws or are unused and that are usually thrown away, and repurposes them into clothing. This type of work embodied a common theme among many designers this year, demonstrating a dedicated effort to incorporate sustainability and technology into fashion.

The next act, Omo Naija X The Wahala Boys, showcased Afro-Caribbean culture with lively, joyful movement based on African dance styles. The song began with a masked figure appearing from the crowd of dancers, delivering a message played over the backtrack to “Bring Your A Game.” On cue, the dancers began their performance without skipping a beat.

The second stage, “East2West,” directed by May Jung ’25 and Jamie M. Momoh ’25, aimed to combine two seemingly opposing genres, K-pop and Afrobeat. Dressed in vintage streetwear for Afrobeat dances and in “Clueless”-style chic fashion for K-pop songs, the outfits for “East2West” gave prominence to styles that were popular when Eleganza started and have regained popularity in the past few years. The stage aimed to cover a wide audience base and cater to “music lovers everywhere.” The bassier Afrobeat dances were balanced out by softer K-pop numbers, as both styles merged to showcase the ’90s.

Harvard Contemporary Collective, co-founded by Liliana C. Price ’25, Payton B. Thompson ’25, and Gianna O. Zades ’23, then performed their “Siren” scene. With flawless lines and perfectly pointed toes, they moved together in a sea of ​​blue to familiar songs like Labrinth’s “Nate Growing Up” and Kanye West’s “Praise God.” Price, a co-founder and dancer of Harvard Contemporary Collective, danced in this guest performance among many other scenes that evening, reflecting her experience and versatility in dance style.

After the break, BMF Step resumed the show with synchronized stomping in matching outfits of work boots, jeans, white T-shirts, and white headbands. Step is a style of dance in which dancers use their bodies as instruments to create rhythm. The style of dance has deep roots in the African-American community, originally as a form of resistance during the era of slavery and later popularized by HBCU students and the “Divine Nine,” nine historically black sororities and fraternities. During the performance, they proudly chanted, “We are so fucking meek.”

Closing out the show, “Akoma,” choreographed by Red Hamblin ’27, sought to represent “the beauty of the African diaspora” and “the long and alluring history of Eleganza,” as described. The looks included everything from shiny silver to stark white pants contrasting with a dark backdrop. All of these elements came together to celebrate black joy through the pillars of Eleganza, dance and fashion.

Closing remarks were given by Executive Producer of Stage and Production Norah R. Ostin ’25 and Executive Producer of Finance Melanie M. Volz ’25 as the crowd filed out. From the opening to the audience’s departure, Eleganza 2024 was a vibrant showcase of the everlasting charm of dance, music, and passion.

—Author Gillian Selig can be reached at [email protected].