CUA Dance Company Hosts ArtsFest, Celebrates Student Performing Arts Groups
Image courtesy of Abigail Nelson.
By Griffin Cappiello
On Wednesday evening, the CUA Dance Company hosted their 2025 ArtsFest, a celebration of the performing arts at Catholic University. Several student-lead performing arts organizations performed at the event, which also featured holiday-themed cookie decorating and raffle prizes.
CUA Dance Company led off the performances with a ballet to “Tightrope” from The Greatest Showman choreographed by Company Co-Artistic Director junior Emma DeBiase and a lyrical to “Chasing Shadows” by Alex Warren choreographed by Company Vice President sophomore Abigail Nelson.
Take Note A Cappella, represented by an all-male delegation known as Side Note, sang “Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream)” by The Chords. CUA Dance Company returned to the stage with a ballet to “Arabian” from The Nutcracker choreographed by junior Isabel Fay, and the nationally-ranked Catholic University Dance Team performed a dance to “Kiss” by Prince.
Catholic University Gaels Irish Dance Team performed several dances, including group performances to “Christmas in Killarney,” an Irish folk song; and “Rocky Road to Dublin” from Sinners; and an individual performance by club Irish Dance Director sophomore Karolin Kleiber to “Once Upon a December” from Anastasia.
Performances began to get the audience in the Christmas spirit with CUA Dance Company performing a jazz to “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson choreographed by Company Co-Artistic Director sophomore Veronica Biondi. The Washingtones A Cappella also sang “Carol of the Bells” by Peter Wilhousky and “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby.
Tim McGuire, the Washingtones’ secretary, talked about the event: “This was Washingtones’ first time at ArtsFest, and we had a blast! The holiday season is always fun to prepare for since we’re calming down from the torrential beast that is Spookapella. It’s a fun way to close out the semester with some of my favorite people, and I definitely think we’ll be back next year.” Washingtones’ Vice President, Dominic Gearhart added that he “ was glad to come back to Artfests for my senior year to perform with the Washingtones as Vice President. It really showed me how much the club has grown under my and Allison’s (our president) leadership. It was nice to see that take form at Artsfest yesterday.”
CUA Dance Company closed out the evening with a final performance, dancing a lyrical/hip-hop mix to a mashup of “Uncharted” by Sara Bareilles and “Rather Be” by Clean Bandit.
Abigail Nelson, who coordinated the event, was proud of how the evening turned out.
“There was so much hard work that went into it,” she said. “The best part was… seeing all the different talent that’s on campus.”
In the coming semester, CUA Dance Company will host Women in the Arts, their Spring Showcase, and an event for International Dance Day — all events that continue to celebrate the many talented and creative organizations with which CUA students work.
