Models dance on stage during the spring 2009 Eleganza show in the Lavietes Pavilion Saturday.

CORRECTIONS APPENDED

Eleganza, a fashion show fundraiser put on by Black C.A.S.T, celebrated its 15th anniversary in Lavietes Pavilion on Saturday night with an estimated 1,500 people in attendance but without the highly anticipated musical guest: Fabolous.

Audience members waited for over an hour after the hip-hop artist was expected to arrive, but at approximately 10:45 p.m. event organizers asked everyone to leave the venue.

Executive Producer Alexandra N. Alves ’11 said it appeared that Fabolous was running behind schedule after performing at Brown University. He did not arrive at Harvard until around 11:30 p.m. [SEE CORRECTION BELOW]

According to the show’s directors, Fabolous’ representative admitted that they were at fault for breaking the contract and agreed to refund all of the money paid for the performance.

“I think people were more upset because they had waited for so long,” said Alves. “But I think the show was so great that people didn’t think we needed a celebrity.”

Overall, negotiations between Eleganza and the booking agency have been peaceful according to Nicholas J. Navarro ’10, one of the show’s executive producers. Fabolous’ representative returned half of the deposit on Saturday and the remainder of the money is due to be returned by the end of the week.

Despite the glitch, the rest of the show lacked any other major problems said Executive Producer Denetrias J. Charlemagne ’11.

She attributed part of the success to the smaller, “more intimate” venue. This year, the catwalk and V.I.P. seating were placed on the basketball courts, with additional seating available in the bleachers. Last year’s event was held in the expansive Bright Hockey Center with general admissions and V.I.P seating both available and varying distances from the stage.

Charlamange said that this years producers sought to return the show’s focus to fashion in response to criticism from past years.

The show was divided into three stages—the dream, the nightmare, and the wake—and each scene incorporated variations on an Alice in Wonderland theme. [SEE CORRECTION BELOW]

Navarro, who attended Eleganza as a pre-frosh, said that the show’s commitment to diversity inspired him to attend Harvard. “Eleganza is meant to be a cultural celebration about Harvard coming together to enjoy our community and culture,” he said.

Proceeds from the show are given to Teen Empowerment, a Boston Area charity that works on leadership development in urban youth.

CORRECTIONS

The headline and text of the April 27 news article "Fabolous a No Show at Eleganza" repeatedly misspelled the stage name of the hip-hop artist who had been expected to perform at Eleganza. The artist's stage name is Fabolous, not Fabulous.

The subheadline and text of the article also incorrectly stated that Fabolous did not show up because he was behind schedule after performing at Brown University. In fact, Fabolous had been performing at Bryant University.

The article also incorrectly identified one of the stages in the show. It was "awake," not "wake."