# About OFA Dance ## About OFA Dance The OFA Dance Program empowers students to take risks, build resilience, and find joy through movement. ![dancer on stage holding flowers](/sites/g/files/omnuum13031/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/2026-07/2026%20Harvard%20Arts%20Festival-1496%20Large.jpeg?h=f67b98f7&itok=KG8ozA6X) ## expand\_more The OFA Dance Program promotes dance as a way of knowing, understanding, and inquiring, and as an integral part of culture. We aim to advance dance literacy; create transformative dance experiences; and cultivate citizen-artist leaders, in beloved community, for a more just and promising world. Housed within the Harvard Dance Center at 66 Garden St, Cambridge, MA, the OFA Dance Program offers meaningful engagement—on campus, and in our greater Cambridge and Boston communities and beyond them—that promotes access, inclusivity, reflection, dialogue, community, expression, research, and invention. No matter the point of entry, from community dance classes and visiting artist workshops and conversations, to student-led dance groups, our focus is to foster a transformative student experience and empower tomorrow's artists, innovators, and leaders. The OFA Dance Program offers non-credit community classes in a range of culturally-rooted dance traditions taught by highly seasoned dance professionals and culture bearers, and which are free for Harvard undergraduate students. We regularly host guest artists who lead workshops, talks, and conversations, cultivating exceptional opportunities for students to work with intergenerational professional artists who are groundbreakers in the field and in disciplines linked to dance. Programming, classes, and events are inclusive of all abilities and levels of experience. Central to programming is partnerships with departments, programs, and student organizations across campus. In collaboration with partners, the OFA Dance Program supports artist residencies, commissions, performances, and special events, and provides workshops and dialogues that center community and belonging. Additionally, we provide mentorship, support, and residency opportunities for over 27 student-led dance groups, representing traditions from across the globe. Cross-campus connections include the Dance Researchers Community Group which convenes students and faculty who are interested in research linked to dance, and the [Legacy of Slavery Walking Tour](https://legacyofslavery.harvard.edu/get-involved/self-guided-tour/#links) on the Harvard campus. ### **Curricular studies in Theater, Dance & Media** For Undergraduate students interested in concentrating in Theater, Dance & Media, visit the [TDM course list](https://tdm.fas.harvard.edu/course-list). Undergraduate students interested in more information about secondary and concentration opportunities in Theater, Dance & Media, please email and visit [tdm.fas.harvard.edu](https://tdm.fas.harvard.edu). ### **All Are Welcome** The Harvard Dance Center and the Office for the Arts (OFA) are spaces where every student can be fully self-expressed; a space where the social contract supports each person's self-respect and dignity, and encourages everyone to respect others. ### **The Harvard Dance Center** The Harvard Dance Center opened in the Fall of 2005 and is one of the primary performance venues for dance at Harvard. The Center houses the Dance Office and features two studios and performance amenities for students and visiting artists. Studio One converts from a 3,500 square foot studio to a theater space with a capacity of 300. Both spaces are used for courses, artist residencies, classes and undergraduate dance company rehearsals and residencies. The Harvard Dance Center is accessible for individuals using wheelchairs. ### **History** Dance has existed in various forms at Harvard University and Radcliffe College, from social dances to visiting artist workshops, since the late 1890s. In 1964 Radcliffe appointed [Claire Mallardi](https://ofa.fas.harvard.edu/tribute-dance-director-emerita-claire-mallardi), Dance Director Emerita, to develop dance into a full-scale program. The Dance Program has been a dynamic part of the Office for the Arts since 1973 and became a part of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in 1999. [Elizabeth Bergmann](https://www.elizabethbergmanndance.com/), former Chair of the University of Michigan’s Dance Department, served as Director of the Dance Program from 2000 until 2011, while also a Lecturer in the Committee on Dramatic Arts. Under her leadership and signaling a burgeoning presence of dance on campus, the Dance Program moved to a dedicated dance space, the Harvard Dance Center at 66 Garden Street, where the program is still housed, though the building is now managed by Theater, Dance & Media (TDM). In 2011, [Jill Johnson](https://ofa.fas.harvard.edu/dance-center-announcement) was appointed Director as part of the fulfillment of the Task Force on the Arts at Harvard, an initiative launched by President Drew Gilpin Faust to develop artmaking through new degree programs, courses, and spaces. Johnson was pivotal in the creation of TDM where she served as Senior Lecturer and Head of Dance, developing a new dance curriculum representing a range of dance traditions and emphasizing transdisciplinary inquiry. Since Johnson’s departure in 2021, the OFA Dance Program has been led by [Elizabeth Epsen](https://ofa.fas.harvard.edu/people/elizabeth-epsen) who was appointed Manager of College Dance in 2024. Epsen has continued to grow the program and build upon her predecessors’ contributions to create transformational dance education with a focus on supporting dance research and creative process; developing cross-disciplinary and community partnerships; expanding access and offerings; advancing social progress through the arts; and empowering emerging artists, innovators, and leaders. The OFA Dance Program aims to honor the legacy of Dance at Harvard by continuing to advance and expand dance knowledge and literacy on campus, with recognition of dance as culture and community. --- ## Program Contact Please reach out with any questions about the OFA Dance Program. [### Elizabeth Epsen ](/people/elizabeth-epsen) Associate Director for College Dance, OFA Dance Program Elizabeth Epsen (she/her) is the Associate Director for College Dance for the OFA Dance Program where she oversees all co-curricular dance in the OFA including artistic and pedagogic curation of programming; administration; communications; undergraduate... ![Black and white headshot of Elizabeth Epsen looking directly into the camera.](/sites/g/files/omnuum13031/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-08/052326_ProxiesHeadshots_OliviaMoonPhotography-20.jpg?h=e47c3a49&itok=llRUHOp_) ### Learn more about OFA Dance Explore all of the OFA Dance Program's course offerings, special projects, and more. [ OFA Dance Program arrow\_circle\_right ](/dance) ![Women in pink outfits dancing](/sites/g/files/omnuum13031/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/2026-03/4b74272b6cb872a84257a158f580b99debc53dc0%20%281%29.png?h=ba0e32a7&itok=8Ua0hSfx)