As smooth, dynamic jazz melodies overlaid with audience chatter filled the theater, the dancers of Columbia Ballet Collaborative prepared to take the stage. CBC hosted its semesterly gala showcasing ballet, contemporary dance, and contemporary ballet choreography on Dec. 6, 2025, at the Ailey Citigroup Theater. Regardless of whether they wore cloth ballet shoes, pointe shoes, or socks, the dancers crafted new artistic worlds with their movements.
CBC is Columbia’s oldest student-run ballet company, hosting showcases since 2007. It primarily premieres new choreographic works rather than resetting already choreographed pieces on its dancers. This allows them to work directly with their chosen choreographers on creating new movement.
In an interview with Spectator, Amber Li, CC ’27 and artistic director of CBC, described the preparation process and vision for the fall 2025 showcase.
“Over this show, I really wanted to explore organic elements … very nonhuman elements, and so this was sort of the inspiration behind the curation of the show,” Li said.
According to Ian Segall, CC ’27, executive director of CBC, this semester’s showcase was intended to reflect “the New York art scene” as a whole, unlike previous showcases.
“We have emerging choreographers, we have more seasoned choreographers,” Segall said. “It’s kind of giving you a good taste of what’s on the market right now and what’s hot.”
The gala opened with “Claymake,” choreographed by Adrienne Chan and set to a dynamic score of two combined pieces of music. Dancers wearing colorful, flowing dresses and pointe shoes awaited on stage as the music began. As they combined undulations and releases of weight with the curved arms and technique integral to ballet, they smiled into the audience. Layered, interrupting movement sequences performed by each dancer kept them connected while adding variety to the piece. In between movement canons and ripples, the choreography switched; the music track transitioned from a melodic instrumental to pounding sounds.
Moving from pointe shoes to socks, the next piece was a contemporary work choreographed by Vivake Khamsingsavath, titled “Everything is Upside Down.” Spotlights illuminated the dancers as they writhed on stage to the monotonous, beating sounds filling the theater. They were dressed in flesh-colored leotards, shorts, and bras with only leather jackets or trench coats to cover themselves. As the lights changed, bathing the stage in a deep red, the dancers’ movement became sporadic.
To end the piece, dancers discarded their jackets one by one while continuing their motions to the beat of a drum. Coupled with the costumes, the animalistic movements, and drumming captivated the audience.
According to Khamsingsavath, the piece was inspired by “society and people’s ideas of conforming” and its deconstruction by “throwing everything upside down.”
“Avenues,” choreographed by Aleisha Walker, pulled the program back to its ballet roots, with dancers wearing cloth ballet shoes and performing a modern take on classical ballet. The choreography featured repetitions of movements, creating dynamic and satisfying visuals. With each plié and arabesque, dancers played with their musicality to add dimension to seemingly traditional movements. As the dancers drifted in and out of diagonal floor patterns, duets, and solos, a bedrock foundation of ballet technique was formed.
Walker, who had never before choreographed movement for an ensemble of this size, was inspired by her observations of everyday pedestrians.
“I love people watching, and I think it’s just so funny to think, ‘Oh, someone’s going here, doing this,’ or just making your own story,” she said.
This year’s student choreography piece, “Sink or Swim,” choreographed by Henry Lichtmacher, CC ’29, featured dancers in pedestrian, monochrome clothes against a light blue backdrop. Their flowy, expansive movements mimicked the inflation and deflation of a balloon, complementing the melodic music. The tactile and grounded movement culminated in expansive floor patterns. Each walk, look, and small hand gesture had intention—almost as if the dancers on stage were stuck underwater. Brushing their hands against their bodies, they intentionally filled the space with their movement, presence, and unique performance qualities.
“Valse Fantaisie,” originally choreographed by George Balanchine and staged by Stacey Calvert, closed out the program. The quartet of dancers, male soloist, and female soloist all demonstrated the classical ballet movement and technique required for the Balanchine repertoire. The quartet and the female soloist were adorned in pale pink tulle with a couple of pink roses attached to the bodices of their costumes, complementing the male soloist’s flowing white shirt. With small, content smiles aimed toward the audience, the dancers’ movements mirrored each slight sound in the instrumentation, as if they were activating each small musical cue.
While CBC is historically known for and remains steadfast in its mission to premiere newly choreographed works, the student organization has developed a strong connection with the George Balanchine Trust, allowing it to restage and perform Balanchine’s repertoire, according to Segall. CBC is the first student-led organization to perform Balanchine’s repertoire, given the difficulty and process associated with restaging and performing.
“I think CBC inhabits a transitional and incubative space where we are having people come in, augmenting or seeking to reposition or translate their experiences from dance into new forms,” he said.
The audience included not only the friends and family of the dancers but also people like Harshul Gupta, SEAS ’25, who had never attended a ballet performance before.
“I’m just enjoying it and learning about it,” Gupta said.
Vanessa Chavez Anguiano, CC ’29, attended the event with a friend to support one of the performers in the showcase. She said they both enjoyed the performance, despite not being dancers themselves, and described it as “advanced.”
Following the Balanchine performance, the CBC gala came to a close, and audience members applauded the night’s performances. For Segall, this community enthusiasm is a central part of CBC’s mission as an organization.
“[I see] CBC as, yes, a dance form, but also as a community effort [that] really is a pillar of the Columbia community,” Segall said.