New Directions

This year's concert features works by:

Elizabeth You

Gage Stixrude-Bertelloni

Italy Clark

Fabricio Apuy Novella

Saryah Colbert

Yali Alsberg

Mira Mitre

Vrisika Chauhan

Yvente Situ

Lauren Lee

Sage Kowalkowski

Content Warning:

• Flashing/ Strobe Lighting
• Firearm Depictions
• Blood
• Simulated Violence/Torture
• Visuals of Pain

Director: Ana María Álvarez

Choreographer: Elizabeth You

Choreographer: Gage Stixrude-Bertelloni

Choreographer: Italy Clark

Co- Choreographer: Fabricio Apuy Novella

Co- Choreographer: Saryah Colbert

Choreographer: Yali Alsberg

Choreographer: Mira Mitre

Choreographer: Yvente Situ

Choreographer: Lauren Lee

Choreographer: Vrisika Chauhan

Choreographer: Sage Kowalkowski

Lighting Designer: Vida Huang

Lighting Designer: Taylor Olson

Lighting Designer: Stephaney Knapp

Lighting Designer: Melody Vilitchai

EDI Advocate: Aysan Celik

Production Manager: Laura Manning

Props Shop Supervisor: Jeni Cheung

Costume Shop Supervisor: Jan Mah

Electrics Supervisor: Mike Doyle

Audio & Video Supervisor: Steve Negrete

Wardrobe Supervisor: Debbie Callahan

Technical Director: Daniel Capiro

Stage Management

Production Stage Manager: Yulin ‘Lisa’ Fang

Assistant Stage Manager: Piper Lord

Assistant Stage Manager: Max Thompson

Production Assistant: Maya Melancon

Crew

Light Board Op.: Gabby Mostamand

Sound Board Op.: Gabriella Marie Johnson

Scenic/Prop: Tairan Zhang

Scenic/Prop: Jordan Ruggles

Costume: Valeria Borjas

Alexia Demiroska

Haru Mokudai

Vivian Wu

Hannah Lucas

Mars Stern

Allen Valencia

Leela Noguchi

Maile Wang

J’Sean Wiley

Elizabeth You *

*Dance Captian

Alexis Stahl

Mark Betancourt

Cece Carton

Hongbin Miao

Alexia Demiroska

Yali Alsberg

Elizabeth You

Mars Stern

Mirelle Nakoud

Emmerson Lahey

Litzy Martinez *

Denisse Cardoso

Mark Dyachuk

Hongbin Miao *

Adela Gonzales

Kylah Whittaker

Mark Betancourt

*Dance Captains

Fabricio Apuy Novella & Saryah Colbert's Piece - The Weight of Lives

Director's Note

“When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”

― Audre Lorde

Whether you’ve been inside of the creative process with us, or are here to witness these works for the first time -  we are so glad you are here! New Directions is a yearly concert produced by the Theatre & Dance Dept, where a group of student choreographers are selected to create new works, with a cast of students from our department and across our campus. 

Art making is the radical act of imagining a world and then moving with courage to share those dreams with others. We have to contend with fear in order to cross the threshold from imaging to making. Tonight you will witness 11 courageous beings and more than 50 student artists crossing that threshold, collectively making the decision to show up and share these visions. Throughout this process I invited the choreographers to delve deeper into their personal ‘why’, to articulate their purpose for making work and more specifically THIS work. I encouraged them to explore the questions that each of their dances ask and to engage choreography as community organizing. I challenged them to hold space for and engage their casts in deepening their relationships with the work and with each other. 

It has been an intense moment for our university community, here at UCSD and across the globe. I have heard students sometimes refer to dance as a place of escape, a place where they feel free of the complexities of the world. I can understand that desire, to feel free from conflict  in a world that is complicated, contradictory and often feels in deep opposition to our well being. But what would the world be like if instead of escaping, we lean into discomfort, we welcome it in, and celebrate it? What if we learned to engage our bodies moving as a mechanism for understanding our stories and re-narrating our pasts and futures? What if dancing together could teach us how to be with discomfort? How can dance remind us of our shared liberation? Those are some of the questions that have been keeping me up at night and that I am witnessing our students grappling with. 

Today we share with you this process of making; designing movement, creating worlds of light and dark and telling the stories of our bodies and our ancestors. Every person on stage that you witness tonight and all of those people who are behind the scenes, have been invited to show up as their fullest selves. So tonight we invite YOU into the process with us. Let us collectively imagine a future where we are all less afraid and more free! 

with much love and gratitude,

Ana María Álvarez

Special appreciation for Margaret Marshall for her continued support of the New Directions Productions and our student dance makers.