On Friday, April 26, the Colgate University community enjoyed the Spring 2025 Dancefest. This semester, 32 dances were performed by 14 different dance groups in the Colgate Memorial Chapel. Students performed in various styles of dance, ranging from contemporary to tap, ballet to hip-hop and more. Dancers ranged in their level of experience, including novice dancers whose passion began at Colgate and those who have been dancing all their lives.
Senior Jackson Kustell performed in Colgate Ballroom Dancers’ large group dance and emphasized that the exposure to other groups participating in Dancefest helped him appreciate the skill and dedication of his fellow dancers.
“Getting the opportunity to perform in the dances made me really appreciate how impressive the other dancers are,” Kustell said. “I have no idea how some of them move the way they do! It’s a sport as much as it is an art form.”
The Chapel was packed with attendees, with the line of students and community members waiting at the door stretching across the Academic Quad. High energy continued throughout the performances with many audience members carrying signs and flowers for performers. The event was emceed by juniors Maxwell Walker and Corrigan Peters and senior Alex Tauber, who kept energy high with their comedic banter.
Along with the talented dancers and hosts, background actors like senior Brian Douglas, who designed and executed the audiovisual production for Dancefest, helped the event run smoothly.
“With such amazing talent on the stage, we felt it important to give them the best that we could offer,” Douglas said. “Dancefest is complicated in terms of the space, rehearsal time and quantity of groups performing, so we had to utilize some creative solutions. In order to accomplish this, we request that each group sends a video of their piece along with the audio track. From these, we use a 3D model of the Chapel with lighting visualization tools to essentially create Dancefest virtually and then translate it onto the real stage in an extremely few number of hours as compared to a typical theatrical or dance production.”
The technology used to coordinate the popular event is no easy feat, according to Douglas.
“It’s highly precise and completely automated thanks to a special suite of programs and tools used in theaters worldwide. In the end, I hope that we help the talent of our dancers shine a little brighter with the production value they deserve and that those in attendance are excited, engaged and dazzled by their fellow students.”
It was a particularly special Dancefest for senior performers as their last performance at Colgate, and there were more than a few tears after the performances concluded. Senior Natalia Legname, leader of Colgate Ballet Company and choreographer for Colgate Dance Initiative, was sentimental as she recounted dancing on the stage for a final time. Among the other groups she danced with, she also choreographed a duet with her friend, senior Sophie Smyth. As long-time dance partners, Smyth and Legname wore costumes from the first dance they choreographed together as sophomores, and used pieces of choreography from all of the dances they’ve choreographed together over the years.
“My favorite memory was finishing out my last performance with [Smyth],” Legname said. “I remember so vividly when we first went to ballet together as first-years and when we choreographed our first Dancefest piece as sophomores. It was so full circle to perform our duet together, and for that to be my last piece that I’ll ever perform on the Dancefest stage, I wouldn’t have wanted it to be any other way.”
Dancefest is one of the ways Colgate students show their creative and artistic sides outside the classroom, and it is a beloved one. The semesterly showcases are an important part of campus culture for dancers and audiences alike.
“Dancefest is so important to our Colgate community,” Legname added. “Not only do we get to celebrate the incredible talent we have on our campus, but it’s an opportunity for students from all backgrounds, dance experience or not, to watch or perform in a show! It’s an amazing opportunity to witness the creativity that students on our campus have. Dancefest was made for students by students, and I’m amazed every year to watch the amazing pieces that students put so much work into all semester. It makes me so happy to see such a huge turnout from our audience members every semester; it makes all of our work feel so rewarding to be able to celebrate it with both our dancers and the audience members!”
