After finding out about NLE Choppa’s withdrawal, almost two weeks before the event, the Spring Fling committee scrambled to find a replacement act. Despite this last-minute line-up change, the committee is still confident that Ken Carson is the “right choice for the student body,” said Morris Raskin ’26.  

“Carson’s music is stylistically very different from NLE. It’s so energetic,” said Raskin, talent chair of the Spring Fling committee. “They’re both rappers, but on two very opposite sides of the rapper continuum.”

Even before his arrival to Yale, Ken Carson had already associated himself with the school through the eponymous single, “Yale.” This made Carson an “exciting and immediate choice,” Raskin said.  

Carson, whose real name is Kenyatta Lee Frazier Jr., is an Atlanta rapper and producer known for his high-intensity music, electrifying performance style and unique blend of musical styles. 

He rose to fame in 2015 after signing to 808 Mafia, and later solidified his fame after signing with Opium — a label owned by Playboi Carti, who performed at Yale’s Spring Fling in 2019. 

“It was very surprising and disappointing because we were very excited to have NLE come, but now that we have a new option, we are excited,” Raskin said. 

Finding and securing an artist usually takes months of work, but committee members expedited this process to select Ken Carson in a matter of days. 

The process of recruiting Ken Carson was an “uphill battle,” according to Raskin, especially as late April marks a busy time for college music festivals. 

“We’ve already had a lot of reps and experience of trying to figure out who to book, so it was just about getting right back into the flow of thinking about who our school would want to see and who would please the most people,” Raskin said. “I’m very proud that we were able to pull this off.” 

With the new lineup locked in and the event fast approaching, the committee looks forward to seeing the campus’s reaction. The concert has been a “long time coming,” said Raskin. 

Yale’s Spring Fling will take place on April 26 on Old Campus. 

The post Ken Carson to replace NLE Choppa as Spring Fling 2025 headliner appeared first on Yale Daily News.

In an Instagram post, organizers cited the rapper’s “health complications” as the reason for the cancelled performance and said that they are searching for a new headliner. 

“We know that this is disappointing news for many, and we share in that disappointment,” the committee shared on Instagram. “That said, our team is already hard at work securing a new headliner for Spring Fling 2025.”

NLE Choppa’s cancellation follows a string of dropped performances in recent days, including at Vanderbilt University, where the school’s Programming Board told attendees on April 2 that Choppa would not perform due to “extreme dehydration and exhaustion.”

Yale’s Spring Fling committee did not immediately respond to request for comment. However, in an Instagram post, the committee encouraged Yale students to be on the lookout for further updates and announcements in the coming days. 

Students the News spoke to expressed disappointment at the cancellation and hope that the Spring Fling committee will be able to find an exciting replacement. 

Fidah Kabwita ’26 said that it was “shocking” given the event’s close date. She also shared her optimism that the committee will be able to find an equally popular talent on such short notice.

“I hope Spring Fling can come through,” Kabwita said. “It’s in two weeks and it’s giving very 11:59 due date, but I trust that the committee can pull something together.”

Favour Akingbemi ’26 invited her friends from home to come to the event, and said that she was dismayed at the news. She also expressed hope that the Spring Fling committee will be able to “find someone who is at the same level or maybe better,” even if she is unsure how possible it is.  

In a joint statement to the News, members of the Yale student Band “Clementine,” which performed at Spring Fling’s Battle of the Bands in 2024 and their Tiny Desk series, wrote that NLE Choppa cancelling was “honestly a tragedy.”

Soleil Piverger ’27 said that while she was upset that NLE Choppa would no longer perform at Yale, she was glad the artist was thinking about his health. 

“We were thrilled to have him, but we will be even more thrilled to know he’s in good health,” Piverger said. 

Meka Rucker ’28 said she’s “sad to hear” that NLE Choppa is not feeling well, but noted that he was never one of her favorite artists. A last-minute replacement could be “even more hype,” she added. 

Spring Fling’s most recent cancellation occurred in 2019 when the committee announced three days before the concert that Playboi Carti would replace Lil Uzi Vert as the headlining act.

Last-minute cancellations aren’t uncommon, with Chance the Rapper canceling his 2014 Spring Fling performance just four days before the show.

Last year, Swae Lee headlined Yale Spring Fling.

The post NLE Choppa no longer performing at Spring Fling appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The show will feature dancing, singing and other performances celebrating aspects of Filipino culture, history and community.

“As we say in the introduction to the show each year, Barrio is principally an expression of Filipino artistic joy; it’s a time to celebrate our shared heritage and culture, and a reminder that being Filipino is more than just a label—it is a lived experience,” Janina Gbenoba ’27, Kasama co-president, wrote in an email to the News.

Each year follows a specific theme, this year’s theme being “Kasamarama” — inspired by Filipino game shows. The show also draws inspiration from Philippine Cultural Nights.

According to Marissa Halagao ’27, Kasama co-president, Philippine Cultural Nights emerged as a way for Filipino migrants to hold onto and cherish their culture as they navigated through assimilation throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

“Barrio represents our community’s resilience and commitment towards empowering our heritage, as we navigate a space that historically has not always adequately empowered or represented our identities,” Halagao wrote in an email.

One of the most anticipated parts of every year’s Barrio Fiesta is Tinikling — the Philippines’ national dance. Dancers jump in and out of bamboo poles, and the goal is for one’s feet to not get stuck in between.

There will be three different Tinikling routines at Barrio, with each taking months to perfect. Of the three, two are newly choreographed performances, according to Naysa Kalugdan ’27, Kasama’s Barrio Director.

“We’ve been working very hard since February to showcase these routines and are extremely excited for everyone to witness them,” wrote Naysa Kalugdan ’27, Kasama’s Barrio director.

For members of Kasama, this year’s Barrio Fiesta is especially meaningful because it will also celebrate Kasama’s efforts to offer Tagalog at Yale. Tagalog is the Philippines’ national language and one of the most spoken languages within the United States.

In partnership with the MacMillan Center’s Council for Southeast Asian Studies, Kasama was able to get Tagalog offered as a language course beginning in the Fall 2025 semester.

“We hope this milestone for Yale and the Filipino community can help us amplify our desire for more Filipinx Studies and Filipino history representation as a whole, and the fact that the fight for Tagalog is rooted in anti-colonialism, and we stand for anti-colonialism everywhere,” wrote Halagao.

Many find preparing for the show to be a fun and challenging way to connect with their Filipino heritage, especially for those who did not grow up around many Filipinos.

The community has become invaluable to members of the club.

“I’m from Minnesota, which is not home to many Filipinos, so joining Kasama felt like a home away from home,” said Kalugdan. “I really felt connected to our community through the weekly tinikling practices from my first year. I simultaneously got to know the members of Kasama better and learned more about Filipino culture last year,” wrote Kalugdan.

Barrio will be held at 53 Wall St. and is entirely free of charge.

The post Kasama to host annual Barrio Fiesta cultural show this Saturday appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The group will be hosting “True Blue: The New Blue’s 55th Anniversary Jam” on Saturday, March 29. The reunion weekend will span from Friday, March 28, to Saturday, March 30.

“We were honored by the current group and the later alums as the real trailblazers that we were,” wrote Joanne Wible Kant Morse ’73, of the last reunion concert in 2015. “It’s nice to be part of something you started that has survived for 55 years.” 

Kant Morse ’73 is a founding member of The New Blue and was a part of Yale’s first women class. 

Spring Jam is New Blue’s final and biggest concert of the academic year. This year’s Spring Jam will bring over 40 alumni to New Haven for the reunion weekend. 

“Spring Jam is fun because we really only have a few gigs on campus through the school year,” said Alicia Shen ’26, co-musical director and reunion manager. “People in the group arrange all our songs so it will be the first time a lot of songs have been performed.”

According to Shen, the a cappella group has spent months preparing for this special Spring Jam concert. Following their spring retreat, which happens during spring break, members rehearse every night leading up to the concert. 

Alumnae visiting will perform four songs with the group at the end of Saturday’s jam. They will rehearse on the day of the jam to refresh their memory of the music.

“I am so looking forward to reconnecting with friends, meeting the new generation of the New Blue family, and to singing together,” wrote Sarah Graham ’07. “I have also followed a professional path in arts administration and development which was inspired in part by my experience as a student business manager of New Blue.”  

This reunion is the first one in a decade, after the 50th reunion was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.

The group will be hosting various meals and rehearsals in addition to the concert during reunion weekend. Members of the group also coordinated with an archivist at Sterling Memorial Library to create an open-house, archival exhibition which tells the story of the group’s founding.

“I was so excited to be accepted into The New Blue in the spring of 1970,” said Morse. “The New Blue gave me a great anchor and a sense of belonging.” 

Kant Morse recounted the group’s initial struggles to find gigs and performance opportunities, as there were many who had “mixed emotions” not just about women at Yale, but women in Yale’s music scene. 

While it was difficult to build their name on campus, it was a rewarding experience, Kant Morse said. 

Members of The New Blue said that they are proud to have carried on this legacy during their time at Yale. Many speak to how The New Blue have allowed them to forge some of their closest bonds, some of which continue to exist to this day. 

“Being in New Blue was perhaps the most defining part of my undergraduate experience,” wrote Graham. “It was fun and meaningful to bond over making great music together, and New Blue was a space where we all felt grounded together outside of the classroom and our other activities.”

The New Blue has performed for audiences all over the world including former presidents George Bush and Barack Obama.

The post New Blue of Yale’s 55th anniversary concert brings over 40 alumni to campus appeared first on Yale Daily News.

According to committee members, the lineup of artists captures the current moment in music at Yale.

“Our committee is super excited about this year’s lineup and I feel we put together a group of musicians that gives Yale students songs they know, love, and can dance to,” said Morris Raskin ’26, talent chair of the Spring Fling Committee.

Headliner NLE Choppa has amassed over 5 billion streams across various music platforms; his first Billboard Hot 100 hit was “Shotta Flow.” Since then, he’s since released a handful of hit songs — “Slut Me Out,” “Gang Baby,” “Walk Em Down” — and has accrued a combined following of over 18 million across social media platforms.

The Spring Fling stage will also be shared by New York City dream-pop band Cults and British electronic music duo Snakehips.

Describing Choppa as a “hustler,” the committee said that they chose the artist due to his continued relevance.

“We’ve been keeping our eyes out for what he’s doing and who’s listening,” said Kristin Meola ’26, hospitality and outreach chair of the Spring Fling Committee. “We’ve been to so many parties and events throughout the school year where we’ve heard him being played and that to us, was an indicator that he’s someone very current.”

Cults are best known for their hits “Always Forever” and “Bad Things” — which was sampled by rapper J. Cole in his 2013 single, “She Knows.”

According to Raskin, the group came onto the music scene in the early 2010s and recently had a “total resurgence” on the internet, reintroducing them to a new generation of college-age listeners.

“They have this very musically diverse and rich catalog, but also so many hit songs that a lot of people recognize. We really have fallen in love with the Cults’ music since,” he said.

Similar to Cults, Snakehips is a musical act that meshes many genres together. According to Jenna Chow ’27, chair of production of the Spring Fling Committee, the duo has worked with notable artists and has remixed hits, from The Weeknd to Tinashe and Chance the Rapper.

Their most-listened-to song, “All My Friends” featuring Tinashe & Chance the Rapper, has more than 600 million listens on Spotify.

“I think that they’re going to contribute a lot to the energy of the headliner, and are going to incorporate EDM into pop in a way that is singable and danceable, and also really crazy and fun,” Chow said.

The Spring Fling committee, consisting of around 25 members, hit the ground running in August and September in search of prospective artists. The committee chairs have described booking as an “arms race” in terms of timing, as many schools fight over a very limited number of artists — whose schedules are busy and fees costly.

Last year’s lineup consisted of Swae Lee, Dayglow and Coco & Breezy.

When selecting the lineup, the chairs said that they prioritize creating a festival that appeals to Yale students. As part of the search process, the committee sends out a survey asking students for their preferences and artists they’d want to hear.

According to Raskin, the survey received thousands of responses. Meola said that students consistently want songs that “they’re familiar with and know the words to.”

The committee also spends a lot of their time reviewing concert footage from potential performers to reach final decisions.

“You can love the music of someone, but at the end of the day, if they don’t have good stage presence, or they’re not a good live performer, they’re not going to have a good show,” said Willa Hawthorne ’26, Spring Fling’s creative and marketing chair.

Committee chairs have also expressed excitement to involve new members, whose roles will prove instrumental in preparing and executing this year’s concert.

“It was really wonderful to see our new class of Spring Flingers get closer throughout the year, and be so passionate about the festival itself and all the acts,” Chow said.

Although members of the committee are usually busy preparing and do not get to partake in Spring Fling festivities, Chow shared that being able to contribute to this tradition is something special.

Prior to Spring Fling performances, students can see performances from three student group winners of the committee’s “Battle Of The Bands.” Performer applications for the competition close this Friday, March 7.

Students can register for and pick up wristbands the week leading up to Spring Fling. Each attendee is allowed to bring one guest to the festival. Tickets are free.

The post NLE Choppa to headline Spring Fling 2025, alongside Cults and Snakehips appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The conversation, moderated by film journalist Kevin McCarthy, offered a glimpse into Levy and Reynolds’s collaborative relationship and insights from their experiences in the film industry. Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds are frequent collaborators, known for joint projects, such as “Free Guy,” “The Adam Project” and “Deadpool and Wolverine.”

“These are two people so in sync with each other that they are the testament to the true idea of cinema,” McCarthy said during his introduction of Levy and Reynolds.

The line for entry stretched from the Schwarzman Center to Cross Campus. Woolsey Hall, which seats over 2,600 people, was at full capacity.

When Yale registration opened on Jan. 24, the event was completely booked within seven minutes of opening. Similarly, registration for the general public reached its limit quickly, and the event ended up having a waitlist.

“I went because I’m a big fan of Ryan Reynolds and wanted to hear from him and Shawn Levy about their work together,” wrote Carim Jalloh ’28. “I really enjoyed getting to see Ryan’s personality in real life, as well as the connection between Reynolds and Levy and how that played into their work.”

From Deadpool to Blue Shirt Guy from “Free Guy,” many audience members were dressed up as different characters that Reynolds had played. 

New Haven residents and cousins Davey Lozano and Julian Shadeck dressed up as Deadpool and Wolverine. The pair sat in the very front and received attention from Reynolds, who walked over and offered them a water bottle so they could stay hydrated in their costumes.

The talk began with a screening of the opening scene of “Deadpool and Wolverine,” which features Reynolds as Deadpool battling his enemies while dancing to NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye.”

McCarthy described the clip as one of the “best openings seen in film” and a scene that encapsulated Levy and Reynolds’s collaboration.

Returning to the origins of their collaborative relationship, McCarthy displayed a text conversation from 2018 in which Reynolds asked Levy to sign onto “Free Guy.”

“Emotionally, what does that text mean to you?” McCarthy asked.

According to Reynolds, “it was like a feeling.” He urged the audience to believe in themselves and go with a “feeling.”

“I had a feeling about Shawn,” Reynolds said. “We would have a creative love that would work somehow.” 

According to Levy, Hugh Jackman predicted the duo’s strong collaborative dynamic when he starred in Levy’s film “Real Steel.”

Upon their first encounter, Levy and Reynolds were instantly very comfortable with each other, Levy said.

“Maybe it was because we’re both Canadian,” Levy joked.

Reynolds noted that what stuck out to him about Levy’s films is that they all contain the theme of joy. Existing in many forms — from the “subversive” to the “totally gnarly” — joy is Levy and Reynolds’s “north star,” he said.

Levy recounted how he and Reynolds would take the Acela between Boston and New York City. During the journey, the two would pass a laptop back and forth, rewriting the scenes they planned to shoot the following week.

“When we’re making a movie, we’re not always thinking about the theme, rather the feeling,” said Levy. “Ryan and I want to put this feeling into the world because feeling matters most.”

Levy and Reynolds seek to create films that bring joy, connect audiences and evoke the feeling of togetherness that the duo experiences while collaborating.

Reynolds and Levy said that the current times are “divisive” and expressed their desire to make films that provide a “memory, escape and connected moment.”

“Films, concerts and sports are the great bastions of togetherness,” said Reynolds.

Throughout the night, audience members heard about the creative processes behind specific scenes of the three movies Reynolds and Levy collaborated on. Teamwork is essential to bringing their vision to life, they said.

“You can’t make anything great without enthusiasm. We want everyone on our crew to have their best time of their lives,” said Reynolds.

Following the moderated questions, McCarthy turned to the audience. Before anyone could raise their hand, he shared that someone had already sent in a question.

To much surprise, Hugh Jackman appeared on the screen. Jokingly, he expressed his disappointment over not receiving an invite to join the conversation. While the audience responded to Jackman’s sudden appearance, Reynolds and Levy expressed their surprise at Jackman’s mustache.

“I have lunch with him on Saturday and I would love for him to not bring that,” Reynolds joked.

Following the video, Reynolds and Levy fielded questions from the audience. One audience member asked Levy and Reynolds about how they get into their creative flow when writing their scenes.

Levy highlighted the ever-present possibility of creativity. One of the final scenes from one of his movies was inspired by an art history class he took at Yale.

“You don’t know where the next great idea is going to come from,” Levy said.

Reynold and Levy’s 2021 film “Free Guy” includes a reference to the Beinecke Library.

The post Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds delve into years of collaboration, filmmaking appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Our goal for this issue is to pass the torch to the next generation of Black creatives on campus, bridging the old and the new. It is important to us that we keep the tradition of commemorating Black History Month alive through this special issue. 

Our voices matter now more than ever, and you can find those unique voices in Olivia Cyrus’ profiles of six Black first years — members of the first class of Black students following the fall of affirmative action. In Nora Moses’s article on the Yale chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, traverse the rich history and legacy of one of Yale’s Divine Nine sororities. Also, enjoy learning about the ways in which Yalies embody Blackness through style written by Shela Mensah.

We would also like to give special thanks to the contributors and everyone at the News for which this issue wouldn’t be possible without their hard work, talent and vision. 

We welcome and appreciate any feedback about the spissue. Feel free to contact us at editor@yaledailynews.com, or email us directly via email.

With love,

Collyn Robinson and Gemard Guery are the co-editors for the Black History Month Spissue. Collyn is the Multimedia Managing Editor emeritus for the News and Gemard is an associate beat reporter for the Arts Desk covering music at Yale.

Writers

Nicolas Ciminiello

Olivia Cyrus

Gemard Guery

Adele Haeg

Jamar Jackson

Shela Mensah

Nora Moses

Tyson Odermann

Prentiss Patrick-Carter

Collyn Robinson

Faven Wondwosen

Illustrators

Maria Arozamena

Ericka Henriquez 

Photographers

Kris Aziabor

Nicolas Ciminiello

Elishevlyne Eliason

Shela Mensah

Ethan Wolin

Photo Editors

Christina Lee

Production and Design

Carter Cashen

Ariela Lopez

Alexander Medel

Collyn Robinson

The post Introduction: Black History Month Special Issue appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Levy and Reynolds have collaborated on multiple projects, including “Free Guy”, “The Adam Project” and “Deadpool and Wolverine.” The duo will discuss their multiple years of partnership and the dynamics of the film industry in a conversation moderated by film journalist Kevin McCarthy.

“I’m inspired to meet young academics and hopefully illustrate how dreams really do come true, especially when dreamt at Yale,” Reynolds wrote to the News. “I’d have given anything to attend an institution like this, but I’ve always struggled with math. Ultimately, my goal is to one day buy the entire concept of math. And then have it destroyed. Because it scares me.”

According to Levy, his love for collaboration grew during his time with the Yale Dramatic Association, also known as the Dramat.

Beyond the lessons that he learned in the classroom, Levy was inspired by the theatrical productions he acted in and directed. During his senior year, Levy directed a production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

“The fact that all three of our collaborations have turned out to be such global hits is certainly thrilling, but the PROCESS of making these movies has truly been our favorite part,” Levy wrote about his work with Reynolds.

Describing his work with the Dramat as “life-defining,” Levy remarked that the friendships he forged and lessons he learned about collaborative, creative teamwork are “still bedrock values” he tries to uphold in every production he works in.

Levy seeks to bring these similar lessons to current Yale students by bridging the gap between academic studies and professional practices.

Praising the Schwarzman Center for allowing professionals to speak with student artists, Levy hopes that students will be inspired by his stories and use them “as fuel for their own pursuits.”

Levy had previously visited Yale on Jan. 16 to discuss his experiences and challenges in working in the film industry. There, he spoke about “Crafting the Hollywood Dream.”

Many attendees of Wednesday’s event, such as Denise Pawleen Cabrera ’28, have watched films starring Reynolds and films directed and produced by Levy. 

“I’ve also worked in media production in the past, so I’m excited to listen to industry professionals as they share their experiences and pieces of advice,” Cabrera said.

In addition to speaking about his own experiences at Yale and within the film industry, Levy will talk with Reynolds about their partnership across different projects. Levy described their partnership as a “brotherhood founded upon mutual respect.”

In an email to the News, Reynolds said that his “deep respect” for Levy and his time at Yale is what inspired him to speak alongside Levy on Wednesday.

“I’m humbled to stand next to my friend, proud son of Yale, at his esteemed Alma Mater…I don’t know what ‘Alma Mater’ means in America, but in Canada it means inviting people to dinner, giving them a ten-minute head start, and then hunting them,” Reynolds jokingly wrote.

Shawn Levy first met Ryan Reynolds while directing “Real Steel.”

The post Shawn Levy ’89 returns to Yale on Wednesday. This time with Ryan Reynolds. appeared first on Yale Daily News.

This year’s new tap class represented breaks from tradition. For the first time in the group’s history, the Whiffenpoofs welcomed a female musical director, Eunice Oh ’26, as one of its 14 members.

“As soon as one of the members introduced the news, at that moment, it really just felt warm to be welcomed into a family,” said Yixiao Zhang ’26, a new Whiffenpoofs member from the Alley Cats.

New Whiffenpoofs member Noah Jung ’26, of the Alley Cats, was pacing around Beinecke Plaza when he received the FaceTime call. On the other side of the phone, current Whiffenpoof members gathered to welcome taps and shared memories from their year of concertizing and traveling the world.

According to Jung, the anxiety leading up to the call made the “super, super energetic phone call” worth it.

Isabelle Millman ’26, the new pitch of Whim ’n Rhythm and current pitch of Something Extra, said that she was “equal parts excited and terrified.” 

When her phone rang, Millman ran out of her music class and took the call in the hallway, where a former Something Extra member and current Whim ’n Rhythm member notified her of her acceptance.

When Oh received the call from Logan Foy ’25, the Whiff’s current pitch, she knew that she had gotten the position.

“I was in shock throughout the phone call; there’s kind of a sense that it doesn’t feel real,” said Oh.

Historically, the Whiffenpoofs have consisted of all-male seniors, while Whim ’n Rhythm only tapped female seniors. In 2018, both groups began admitting taps of all genders — the Whiffenpoofs tap singers with tenor and bass vocal range, while Whim ’n Rhythm perform a soprano and alto repertoire.

This year marks the first time in the Whiffenpoofs’ 116-year history that the illustrious pitch position has been awarded to a woman.

While this achievement is a first for the group, Oh is no stranger to this role. Over the past year, Oh served as the first female pitch and musical director of the a cappella Society of Orpheus and Bacchus, or SOBs, an experience she believes has prepared her for this new challenge.

“I think that the transition from a co-ed space to co-ed leadership is something that I’ve navigated, so I’m excited to figure out how that works for this new group,” she said.

In addition to Oh and Zhang, the Whiffenpoofs tapped Gui Medeiros Costa Pereira ’26, Emily Frances Patrick ’26, Charlie Calkins ’26, Benjamin Jimenez ’26, Lucas Oland ’26, Brandon Lee ’26, Quincy Rosenzweig ’26, Joseph Aguilar ’26, Peighton Lotwis ’26, Elijah Lee ’26, Noah Jung ’26 and Tabatha Stewart ’26.

Whim ’n Rhythm selected Millman, Sophie Garcia ’26, Sophia Lahik ’26, Estelle Balsirow ’26, Anjal Jain ’26, Jaime Cha ’26, Genevieve Kim ’26, Aryana Ramos-Vazquez ’26, Hai Yen Tran ’26, Kate Van Tassel ’26, Graciana Doster ’26, Leila Glotzer Martin ’26, Lu Arie ’26 and Joanne Lee ’26, who is also the co-podcast editor at the News. 

For both groups, the tap and audition processes are incredibly similar — consisting of warm-ups, pitch matching and memory exercises, solo performances and interviews. 

As many seniors noted, the rush process for the senior a cappella groups is different from the audition process for other a cappella groups. For one, there are no callback auditions, and decisions are announced a mere few days after auditions. 

According to Oh, her audition was much longer for the Whiffenpoofs. She had to go through a pitch audition process, which involved leading a 40-minute rehearsal through two arrangements, followed by a 20-minute interview. 

Aryana Ramos-Vazquez ’26 described the Whim ’n Rhythm audition process as a “lovely” and “supportive environment.”

For some taps, the idea of singing in Whiffenpoofs was on their radar before arriving at Yale. Charlie Calkins ’26, of the Alley Cats, attended his first Whiffenpoofs concert with his father in sixth grade. From that moment, he knew he wanted to be a member. “It was really a dream come true to be tapped,” he said.

New taps from both groups are incredibly excited for what’s to come in the following year. With many members already part of Yale’s a cappella community, prospective members said that they look forward to strengthening existing friendships and creating new ones.

“I really look forward to getting to know my fellow people much better,” Lahik said. “I don’t really know many of them, so I look forward to mixing and building new connections and relationships with them. I’ve heard great things from every Whim class so far.”

Tap night for both Whiffenpoofs and Whim ’n Rhythm was on Old Campus on Tuesday.

The post Whiffenpoofs and Whim ’n Rhythm announce newest tap classes appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Kimberly Dixon-Mays ’92 could tell by Ngwenya’s demeanor that this group would be a collaborative and creative force, she told the News, 37 years later — so she decided to join.

Many followed suit and contacted Ngwenya. Soon after, a co-ed group of eight students began singing music of the African diaspora in one another’s dorms. Eventually, this group would migrate to the Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale.

The group wanted to sing music that reminded them of their upbringing, home and culture, members said. They aimed to create “the most authentic performance of this music,” Ngwenya said. With that, the Shades of Gray – later the Shades of Yale — were born.

“We didn’t see what we wanted within the a cappella scene,” said Ngwenya ’92. “No other group was doing Black music the way we had grown up with, seen, performed and loved. It came naturally for us to do music that we grew up with.”

The name was eventually shortened to Shades, as members felt that the Shades of Gray didn’t reflect the energy and passion of their music. Additionally, the founding members decided that all could join, regardless of musical experience or racial identity.

Eventually, the group joined the Singing Group Council and began tapping new members in the fall of 1989.

While it was incredibly fulfilling work, Ngwenya said, it was also difficult to start a new group from scratch. The group only had eight members at its founding and had a more alto-heavy composition.

The group also had to build a repertoire from scratch and spent much time selecting and arranging the songs they would perform. In doing so, they drew from different musical groups, such as Sweet Honey in the Rock and Take Six.

A lot of these songs continue to be performed today. For instance, the group always begins their fall concert with Sweet Honey in the Rock’s “More Than A Paycheck.” The performance features various movements — clapping, cradling, picking — and was choreographed by Kimberly Dixon-Mays ’92, Shades’ first choreography.

“It seemed odd to not move while singing,” said Dixon-Mays. “I loved to dance and move, and choreographed some things in high school, so it all came naturally. It was one of thousands of examples of how the organization started with the ideas of its members.”

Unlike other a cappella groups on campus, Shades is mission-based. According to the group’s website, it aims to provide a “unique, musically excellent, and spiritually enriching performance experience at Yale University and beyond.”

The members felt called to this mission due to the lack of representation of Black music on Yale campus.

“The mission evolved from us just wanting to make a space to do Black music that we loved in community,” said Ngwenya. “We’ve always performed in spaces that were not your traditional spaces for acapella groups.”

Throughout different iterations and across the years, members have interpreted this mission in various ways. For instance, in January 2025, Shades performed at Yale’s annual MLK Commemoration. In recent decades, Shades has been called to perform “uplifting, inspiring and unifying” songs at protests and social justice events.

At the time of the group’s formation, the group included Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika to advocate against South African apartheid and promote solidarity with Black people still affected by apartheid.

In 2007, Shades toured New Orleans following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The group sang at schools and churches throughout the city and interacted with residents.

In one year, the group raised money to perform at different schools in New Haven. Shades continues to host workshops and perform at schools.

“I remember one woman, a teacher, at a school we visited, who said, ‘Thank you for remembering that we’re here,’” wrote Olga Pagan ’10. “That meant so much to me, and speaks to the mission work that Shades has always done and will continue to do.”

In December 2013, the group performed in front of the Obamas at the White House Christmas Party. In August 2003, the a cappella group was invited to perform at the coronation of King Leruo Molotlegi, in front of Nelson Mandela.

Many Shades members were inspired to audition for the group by seeing the group perform. According to Ngwenya, some members were even motivated to attend Yale, as opposed to other schools, out of a desire to audition for Shades of Yale.

“Shades had a different feel about it and I could see myself in it,” said Shades alumni coordinator Aman Fikre ’26. “I wanted to be a part of a group that was musically excellent and I resonated with in its entirety.”

Across different compositions of the group, one thing hasn’t changed, said members. According to Fikre, Shades has continuously been a family and safe haven for those of the group. The group has always been a space where members could have conversations about everything, including politics, race and ethnicity, Ngwenya said.

For many, this community exists well after members leave the group and graduate from Yale. Ngwenya said that her fellow members encouraged her to be “vulnerable” and “leave everything on the stage.”

“I met some of my best friends through Shades. A lot of Shades people I plan to be friends with for the rest of my life,” wrote Dzidedi Azumah ’23. “Also, having a constant creative outlet with some of the best musicians I know did a lot for my soul when I was feeling down.”

In October 2023, Shades celebrated its 35th anniversary.

At the anniversary event, Tony Melson ’00, alongside other musical directors of different years, came up with the first-ever “Generations Jam” — in which different cohorts of the group came together and sang songs from their time.

“ I was surprised to see how emotional it was. They tapped us in and it was one of those instances where you didn’t realize it would be so meaningful,” said Dixon-Mays. “We wanted Shades to exist past our four years, but for it to exist 35 years later, it was really amazing.”

Since its inception, the group has grown to have more than 200 alumni — speaking to the longevity of the group and the power of music, said Ngwenya.

Shades’ final concert of the 2024-25 school year, Spring Jam, will be held in April 2025.

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