2024 Contemporary Dance Festival: Program A & B

Performances of the Contemporary Dance Festival (Program A—April 25 at 8 PM and April 27 at 2 PM; Program B—April 26 and 27 at 8 PM) are in the Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater, with tickets $25 for the general public and $16 for students and CSULB faculty/staff. 

Two Ways to View Our Show

1. In-Person at the Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater: TIX.com
2. Online Live Stream on April 25 and 26: Eventbrite Ticket Link (recordings will be viewable until 11:59 PM April 28th)

Long Beach, CA –The CSULB College of the Arts and Department of Dance present the Contemporary Dance Festival, showcasing work by twelve undergraduate choreographers in two unique programs. Concert presentations of Program A will occur on Thursday, April 25 at 8:00 PM and Saturday, April 27 at 2:00 PM, and presentations of Program B are on Friday, April 26 at 8:00 PM and Saturday, April 27 at 8:00 PM. Both programs will also be live-streamed on Thursday, April 25 (Program A) at 8:00 PM and Friday, April 26 (Program B) at 8:00 PM, in addition to the live performances in the CSULB Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater.

The Contemporary Dance Festival features new work by undergraduate choreographers: (Program A) Anessa Davies, Jackie Escamilla, Abril Fajardo, Shanti Topzand, Jennifer Vieweg, Eva Watson; and (Program B) Jordyn Apostolache, Jesus Gallardo, Katrina Giannini, Annelise Licata, Michael Mendoza, and Jayde Spiegel.

Program A
Anessa Davies’ Coffee For Two explores the story of a lost friendship and shared memories. El Camino, by Jackie Escamilla, is inspired by the Latine community and the difficult conditions of immigrant border crossings. Abril Fajardo’s Don't Try To Make Me Feel Nice embodies contradictory interpersonal feelings of being too much, yet never enough. Shanti Topzand’s new work explores the melancholy and solitude of the human experience of time and the human connection to fleeing moments. With a self-designed score including music from artist Kaho Matsui, Jennifer Vieweg's that’s the right idea takes inspiration from the Japanese concept of 侘び寂び (wabi-sabi), a worldview encouraging us to appreciate that nothing is truly perfect or permanent in life. Finally, Eva Watson’s I Sit Before The Spinning Wheel explores the concept of destiny through the lives of the Three Fates of Greek Mythology. 

Program B
Jordyn Apostolache’s choreography for fața amorțită creates a world of emotional detachment while investigating the emotional constraints of conformity. Jesus Gallardo’s Out:Lier explores the feeling of solitude and not belonging, within a space of being drawn to people while also being pulled away. Using a variety of athletic movement patterns to create visual movement, Katrina Giannini’s Kaleidoscope focuses on how individualistic patterns collide in a chaotic world. Annelise Licata’s The Entertainer investigates the hardships of reality in entertainment, performance, and art, juxtaposing moments of performance against internal relationships within a narrative structure. Michael Mendoza’s (they/them) Amor de un Rato is a piece about the non-acceptance of queer relationships in public settings, exploring the resilience of queer people to be their authentic selves. Finally, Jayde Spiegel’s Year 2080 transports the viewer to a zany, dystopian future in the hands of the elite, where four stages of spectacular catastrophe are set to a whimsically eerie score.  

Performances of the Contemporary Dance Festival are in the Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater, just east of the Walter Pyramid on Atherton Street.  Tickets are $25 for the general public and $16 for students, CSULB faculty/staff, and seniors. To purchase tickets, visit https://www.csulb.edu/dance.  All tickets must be purchased online. Ticket sales are available until 30 minutes past the start of each show, or until sold out. $15 campus parking is available in CSULB Parking Lot G12, directly in front of the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, via parking kiosk (cards only) and the ParkMobile App.

For show information or to discuss bringing a group to see the concert, contact Concert Director Keith Johnson at Keith.Johnson@csulb.edu, or visit www.csulb.edu/dance. For parking information, visit https://www.carpenterarts.org/directions-and-parking. To make donations to the CSULB Department of Dance and our Scholarship program, visit https://www.csulb.edu/dance and click on GIVE.

Each Concert Program will also be streamed live via Eventbrite at 8 PM on Thursday, April 25, and Friday, April 26. Tickets are $25 General and $16 students/CSULB faculty and staff/Seniors for access to BOTH programs! Live stream videos will be available to view through Sunday, April 28.

This broadcast utilizes five 4K cinema-quality cameras to transmit a network television experience to your home in High Definition. This is perfect for supporting the choreographers and performers of CSULB Dance while at home or on the go.

To access the streaming links, please visit the 2024 Contemporary Dance Festival Eventbrite Event Page.

No CSULB Dance concert is complete without the invaluable collaborative efforts of our production team.  Technical Director Stephanie Losleben; Lighting Designer Stacy Fireheart; Costume Design Supervisor and Shop Manager Kelsey Vidic; Costume Technician Erika Hansen; Technology and Media Advisor Gregory R.R. Crosby; and Music Director Dr. Don Nichols have all contributed in multiple ways to the artistic excellence of these choreographic visions.