Dance in Public
Dance in Public
A year-long pilot initiative where students conduct site-specific movement research in public spaces on/near campus. This first year will be led by artists Kelvin Vu (dancer and urban landscape architect) and Lonnie Stanton (dancer with specialty in site-specific work) who will lead a series of on-site workshops/movement labs throughout the academic year and which will culminate in an end-of-year, on-site performance.
A core cohort of Dance in Public Undergraduate Fellows will commit to the full year of movement labs and inquiry-based process, though each individual lab will be open for drop-in movement participation. Previous dance experience is not required for movement participation. Observers will also be welcome.
The program will be using a range of choreographic and cross-disciplinary research methodologies to explore ideas within design and architecture, dance and performance theory, civic engagement, social movements, creative research, and public life.
See below for 2026-27 onsite research labs and activations throughout the year and information on participating.
Participate in Dance in Public
All Dance in Public Labs are open for Harvard students to drop into! See below for list of dates and sign up for any lab. Documentation, critical writing, and artistic reflections are also welcome. Please contact Elizabeth Epsen at epsen@fas.harvard.edu to discuss further.
2026-27 Collaborating Lead Artists
2026-27 Dance in Public Site Partners
Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts (CCVA)
Loeb Drama Center (OFA)
Joy An ‘27
Joy An (they/them) is a senior in Leverett pursuing a double concentration in Chemistry & Physics and Comparative Literature, with a citation in Spanish. They are also the director of the Harvard-Radcliffe Modern Dance Company, and have served as a dancer, choreographer, and director for various dance-theater shows with the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club. Joy studies transmediation—the process by which works of art move between mediums, genres, and forms—and hopes to explore how dance can be used as a translational tool for interpreting and recreating a public space. They are also an avid lover of all things art and architecture history related, and are excited to learn more about how to “read” the design and patterns of a space.
JaKayla Harris ‘27
JaKayla Harris (she/her) is a senior at Harvard College double concentrating in physics and neuroscience. She is a dancer with experience teaching, choreographing, and performing across styles. On campus, she dances and choreographs with groups including the Harvard Undergraduate Contemporary Collective, Omo Naija x The Wahala Boys, Eleganza, and the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club. She has conducted research across quantum physics, political psychology, and computational psychopathology, and has completed academic work examining how aesthetic qualities of movement are represented in biological and artificial visual systems. As a Dance in Public Fellow, she hopes to draw on these interdisciplinary experiences to further explore movement and the human condition. In the future, she aims to continue combining analytical and creative approaches to the study of dance.
Selina Li ‘30
Selina Li (she/her) is a first-year at Harvard College studying computational neuroscience and philosophy. She's interested in exploring the simultaneous shame, joy, and anxiousness that public performance arouses in us, as well as how dance paradigms have shifted from cultural/community practices to inaccessible leisure, emphasizing class dynamics and political polarization rather than unity. As a Dance in Public Fellow, Selina hopes to delve into themes of isolation, quasi-isolation, and connection through both personal and collaborative movement research/interdisciplinary channels.
Anneliese Mattox ‘28
Anneliese Mattox (she/her) is a junior in Winthrop House studying History and Government with a secondary in Theater, Dance, and Media. Her primary interest in Dance in Public surrounds the accessibility of dance, both for observers or audience members, and for performers themselves. Anneliese fundamentally believes dance is for everyone. She thinks working in and taking advantage of public spaces as vessels for dance research is what makes the art form that much more accessible for the public.
Connor Mi ‘30
Connor Mi (he/him) is a first-year student at Harvard College planning on majoring in Government and Linguistics. His past research has investigated the relationship between policy-makers and community members in the context of language policy. He is interested in how public performance and institutional design shape community reactions to policy on both a micro and macro level.
Sarah Yee ‘29
Sarah Yee (she/her) is a Harvard sophomore in Lowell House studying Mechanical Engineering. Her research interests include how bodies and environments shape one another, and how engineering and technology can support movement and expand access for people with disabilities. Through Dance in Public, she is excited to explore how movement, spatial design, and accessibility shape the experience of shared spaces!
- Wed, Sept. 23, 6:30-8:30pm - Harvard Common Spaces/Smith Campus Center
- Wed, Oct. 7, 6:30-8:30pm - Harvard Common Spaces/Smith Campus Center
- Wed, Oct. 21, 6:30-8:30pm - Harvard Common Spaces/Smith Campus Center
- Wed, Nov. 4, 6:30-8:30pm - Harvard Common Spaces/Smith Campus Center
- Fri, Nov. 20, 3-5pm - Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts
- Wed, Feb. 3, 6-8pm - CCVA
- Wed, Feb. 10, 3-5pm - CCVA
- Wed., March 10, 6:30-8:30pm - Loeb Lobby
- Wed, March 24, 6:30-8:30pm - Loeb Lobby
- Wed, April 7 - TBD
- Last weekend of April, ArtsFest showing - TBD
Program Contact
Please reach out with any questions about the OFA Dance Program.
Elizabeth Epsen
epsen@fas.harvard.edu
