2023 Fall CSULB Dance in Concert

Performances of CSULB Dance in Concert 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 November 16th: Eventbrite Tickets (recording will be viewable until 12 AM November 20th)

LONG BEACH, CA October 31, 2023 – The CSULB College of the Arts and Department of Dance presents CSULB Dance In Concert with performances Wednesday-Saturday, November 15-18 at 8 p.m., with an additional matinée Saturday, November 18 at 2 p.m. A live stream of the performance will also be available on November 16 at 8 p.m. CSULB Dance In Concert will feature works by Guest Choreographer Dr. C. Kemal Nance and Faculty members Tsiambwom Akachu, Rebecca Bryant, Keith Johnson, Rebecca Lemme, and Andrew Vaca.

The Department of Dance welcomes C. Kemal Nance, C. Kemal Nance, Ph.D. "Kibon," a native of Chester, Pennsylvania, is a performer, choreographer, and scholar of African Diasporan Dance. Nance performed as a principal dancer with Kariamu & Company: Traditions (Philadelphia, PA) and a recurring guest artist with Chuck Davis' African American Dance Ensemble (AADE) in Durham, North Carolina. He currently directs the Nance Dance Collective, an all-male dance initiative that produces dance works about Black manhood. His latest work, Red, features a combined cast of dancers from the Nance Dance Collective and the Stella Maris Dance Ensemble and will be premiered in Kingston, Jamaica, in November. Nance is a master teacher of the Umfundalai technique of African dance, a founding member of the National Association of American African Dance Teachers, and an Executive Board Member of the Collegium of African Diaspora Dance. He has recently published a chapter about men's experiences in Umfundalai technique classes in Karen Bond's Dance and the Quality of Life and two chapters in the soon-to-be-released African Dance in America: Perpetual Motion and Hot Feet.

Haba Na Haba Hujaza Kibaba, named after the Kiswahili expression that means "little by little the container will fill," uses contemporary African dance and live music to respond to the sign of the time in which the killing of Black men has become a regular occurrence. What happens when an oppressed people's patience expires?

i promised I'd save a dance for you  

                                               Read 10:33 PM 

is a new work by Tsiambwom Akuchu in collaboration with dancers. This duet explores the complicated outcomes of failed romantic relationships, balancing the wants and needs of those involved with the reality of what their relationship has become.  Rebecca Bryant presents ///////////=======:::::::::::, a distilled series of movement excerpts generated for her upcoming evening-length multimedia dance work exploring the object/subject relationship with technology in our contemporary world.  

Keith Johnson will be re-setting a work called Death Of A Promise, which premiered at Highways Performance Space in 2016. Inspired by the music of Ge Gan-Ru and the musician Margaret Len Tan, Keith explores the ideas of loss and letting go of expired relationships. Rebecca Lemme’s communion follows four individuals as they search for connection and exchange. Scenic and costume design contributions, from Theatre Arts Assistant Professor Emily MacDonald, create both shared and individual worlds for the performers to navigate as they shed layers of superficial unity to find deeper connections to self and others. As bell hooks writes in All About Love, “rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.” So, too, might we better know ourselves through knowing one another. Using jazz and contemporary-influenced dance style, Andrew Vaca’s premiere, Watchful Waiting for One, examines the fine line between the desire to be invited into the whole and the confidence to bring oneself into the whole, a struggle he has witnessed in himself and others more prevalently following the pandemic. Andrew’s work is set to a new score by choreographer Mike Esperanza (espbymike.com). 

Technical Coordinator Stephanie Losleben; Lighting Designer Stacy Fireheart; Costume Designer Kelsey Vidic; Technology and Media Advisor Gregory  R.R.  Crosby;  and  Music  Director  Don  Nichols all offer contributions in their areas of expertise.  

Dance In Concert opens Wednesday, November 15, and runs for five performances, closing on Saturday, November 18. Shows are daily at 8 PM with an additional matinée Saturday at 2 PM. Shows are 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 and the livestream are $25 General Admission and $16 Seniors, Students/Faculty/Staff. All tickets must be purchased online. Ticket sales are available until 30 minutes past the start of each show, or until sold out. 

Contact:
Keith Johnson
Keith.johnson@csulb.edu

$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.

CSULB Dance in Concert will also be streamed live via Eventbrite at 8 p.m. on November 16th.

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 2023 Fall CSULB Dance in Concert Eventbrite Event Page.  An encore streaming presentation will be available for purchase later in December.