2026 Variance: a BFA Dance Concert

Variance opens Thursday, October 8 and runs for four performances, closing on Saturday, October 10. Shows are daily at 8pm with an additional matinée Saturday at 2pm, located in the Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater on the CSULB Campus (located just east of the Pyramid on Atherton). 

Tickets for the live show are $30 General Admission and $20 Seniors, Students, and CSULB Employees (have ID ready to show at the door). All tickets must be purchased online. Ticket sales are available until 30 minutes past the start of each show or until sold out. 

Group Ticket Info Contact: Rebecca Lemme, Rebecca.lemme@csulb.edu

The CSULB College of the Arts and Department of Dance present Variance with performances Thursday-Saturday, October 8-10 at 8pm, with an additional matinée Saturday, October 10 at 2pm. Variance is the 11th annual presentation of choreography by BFA Candidates Niko Black, Jeffrey Bull, Mia Katsaros, Nicolette Miguel, and Maddie Youmans and esteemed Guest Artist Ruthie Fantaye.

The evening includes collaborations with CSULB alumni composers and is a diverse collection of choreography examining topics affecting our collective humanity. The work ranges in styles from contemporary, to hip-hop, to acrobatics, and dance theater. It is a performance not to be missed! Check out all the details below and join us! 

Opening the show is Jeffrey Bull’s Blind Box, a highly physical contemporary dance work that explores the sliding doors of life—are there alternative life circumstances and scenarios that might be preferable to those we find ourselves in? Can we take a chance, roll the dice, or find a new perspective that might make these dreams a reality? Follow along as the dancers explore a world where they make the rules, navigate interpersonal relationships, and create meaning with authenticity and honesty through movement that is centered around physicality and trust.

Next up is Mia Katsaros’ premiere choreographic work, to let you see me, a contemporary piece that manifests the feeling of having emotional walls. It questions whether this defense mechanism obscures or protects the true self. The musical score is composed by recent CSULB Cinematic Arts alum Fernando Acosta.

Supernova, a contemporary dance piece by Niko Black, takes inspiration from the present, past, and imminent future of queer lives. Referencing the theory of queer temporality and J. Jack Halberstam’s “In a Queer Time and Place,” Supernova explores how LGBTQ+ identifying people often experience time. Through Black’s sound design, the audience is taken on a time-warping journey through a bold, vibrant, queer nightclub, representing how queer individuals accept their alternate modes of being.

Maddie Youmans' dance theater work, Personality Hire, explores the complex relationship between performance, emotional labor, and identity. Through breaking the fourth wall, moments of theatricality, humor, vulnerability, and pattern disruption, the dancers navigate the blurred lines between genuine connection and the performance of usefulness. Ultimately, the work asks: “What happens when you are consistently rewarded for a version of you that might be hurting you?” If I stop performing for others, would I still belong?”

In Echo Chamber, Nicolette Miguel presents a complex world where the relationship between the self and one’s environment is in a power struggle that constantly unravels and reforms. These loops—these echoes—affect the individual in conscious and subconscious ways. Through six beautiful movers, we witness the euphoria of connection and surrender. Through it all, the humanity of the individual creates a permeating echo of everything we are. 

Closing the show, the Department of Dance is thrilled to welcome Ruthie Fantaye as this year's esteemed Guest Artist for Variance. Fantaye, a Los Angeles native with Ethiopian roots, is a Hip Hop Freestyle dance artist, choreographer, and educator who has been active in both choreography-based and street dance communities in California for over a decade, building a career that bridges structured performance and individual expression. Her premiere, The Recipe, bridges hip-hop freestyle and choreography, honoring the dance while embodying a multitude of individual expressions through a hip-hop lens. Set to the discography of LA's own, Villain Park, the work moves through raw freestyle, West Coast dances, introspection, pride, joy, and more—showcasing the many ways hip-hop can present itself.

Technical Coordinator Stephanie Losleben; Lighting Designer Stacy Fireheart; Costume Design Supervisor and Shop Manager Kelsey Vidic; Technical Media Specialist Gregory R.R. Crosby; and Music Director Don Nichols all offer crucial contributions in their collaborations and consultations with each choreographer.  

Following Thursday’s performance there will be a short Q+A session with the choreographers moderated by Concert Director Rebecca Lemme. This is an opportunity for audience members to get more perspective on each artists’ approach and process. Students especially are encouraged to stay and engage in this discussion. Saturday’s matinée will be preceded by a community college engagement event; interested dance departments should contact Rebecca Lemme for details.  

Be sure to check out the lobby displays for each student choreographer to gain further insight into the work. And don’t miss a special live event in the lobby at intermission.

$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.