Columbia College Chicago will hold its inaugural Festival of Dance Clubs from March 31 to April 3 at the Dance Center, featuring student-led performances in styles ranging from Latin dance to K-pop.
The festival aims to showcase the creativity and diversity of Columbia’s student dance community, providing a platform for students to express their identities and collaborate across campus organizations.
Throughout the event, students will take charge of choreography, themes, and production elements. Leslie Torres, captain of the Mi Gente Dance Team, said, “We want the audience to feel seen and moved. We want them to connect back with their culture and continue to be more themselves and not afraid to show that part of their culture. Especially with what’s going on right now, we want to see more things like this in media or in life in general because no one should be excluded or judged for just their identity.”
The festival opens with a program by the Mi Gente Latin Dance Club focused on cultural expression and community through various Latin dance traditions. On April 2, the Columbia Renegades Dance Team will present a showcase shaped by collaboration among members with diverse backgrounds. Emma Graveen ‘27, captain of the team, said, “For the Columbia Renegades Dance Team, every semester, we find our identity as a club changing in beautiful ways, as we welcome a new group of dancers who bring their specialized skill sets, such as musical theater, stage performance, or team spirit. We then name our showcase according to the semester and year that it takes place. The show is always made up of dances created, choreographed, and fully designed by members of the club. It is a fun way to all collaborate and learn from each other, and it is my personal favorite event each semester.”
The festival concludes with C2K’s K-pop dance team performance inspired by East Asian survival shows. Zihomara Mercado ‘26 said: “Our C2K showcase is inspired by survival shows across East Asia where K-pop trainees compete for spots in a girl/boy group. Our members love watching survival shows and were really interested in using the concept for this year’s showcase. They will be ‘competing’ for a spot in the final global group to become stars. We want the audience to not just enjoy the performances, but to enjoy the survival show aspect.”
Organizers say these performances offer an immersive look at how choreography and culture intersect on stage while highlighting collaboration among students.
