FRIDAY, JUNE 6 @ 8PM

SATURDAY, JUNE 7 @ 8PM

Eleftheria 

Choreographer: Brenda Estrada

Dancers: Evelyn Mares Moreno, J’Sean Wiley, Mariana Noriega, Yuliana Noriega, Teresa Velasco, Nicole Constan, Chazaiah Johnson, Idaliz Lua-Sandoval, Italy Villarial

This piece offers a deeply personal and poetic exploration of the immigrant experience — intertwining a mother’s quiet resilience, the weight of being undocumented, and the universal longing for freedom, safety, and belonging. It challenges the dehumanizing narratives imposed on immigrants by amplifying the voices of those who live the reality — voices that walk, run, and sprint not only to survive, but to pursue dreams.

What does it mean to be truly seen? To be exhausted, yet keep going? To carry culture, memory, and pain in silence while facing judgment in plain sight? Through rhythmic storytelling and reflection, this piece calls for empathy instead of alienation, understanding over ignorance, and pride in identity rather than erasure.

Elefthería confronts erasure, challenges imposed ceilings, and makes visible the invisible labor of perseverance. It honors the dreams of those who came before us, the battles we continue to fight, and the radical act of refusing to give up. I do this for myself. I do this for my mother. And I do this for everyone who is still running toward a freedom they deserve to claim.

Much More Than This

Choreographer: Celia Carton

Dancers: Catalina Bilandzija, Ella Breaux, Celia Carton, Ella Chan, Christie Chen, Jillian Curry, Abby DeSpain, Kaitlyn Fong, Mirelle Nakoud, Lauren Pak, Nazia Quadir, Leilani Rivera, Yael Sela, Michelle Shen, Lexi Stahl, Mars Stern, Maile Wong, Elaine Zhao

Much More Than This is a manifestation of how my grandfather Koppy, who I never got to meet, has deeply impacted who I am and how I go about my life. This piece highlights important memories, stories, quotes, and interactions that have contributed to who we are as individuals and why we continue doing the things we love, our passions, or even why we get out of bed in the morning.

It is truly remarkable to think about the different challenges we have each faced throughout our lives and how we continue to keep going. As humans we are strong, determined, kind, loving, and extremely complex beings. This piece is a reminder of that unique resiliency, an acknowledgement and appreciation of the little things we each hold close, that keep us going. 

OOPS, he fumbled

Choreographer: Kristina Little

Dancers: Heidy Amaro, Natania Asapokhai, Mark Betancourt, Audrey Chang, Alexia Demiroska, Kaitlyn Fong, Mariah Huizar, Zelie Neal Huerta, Claire Kim, Yoonjin Lim, Hannah Lucas, Mirelle Nakoud, Arden Noland, Nicole Sahrling, Jianna Scordo, Paul Suksunpantep, Mars Stern, J'Sean Wiley, Clara Williams, Maile Wong, Hannah Yuan

This piece follows a collective journey of attraction, illusion, heartbreak, and ultimately, empowerment. What begins with curiosity and desire shifts into a reckoning — a realization that being wanted is not the same as being respected. Through layered storytelling and emotionally charged movement, this work explores how people can lose themselves in the chase for validation, only to find something more powerful: clarity, self-worth, and solidarity. Through moments of temptation, confrontation, and celebration, this piece is a reminder that the glow-up isn’t just about being seen… it’s about seeing yourself clearly and choosing better. This is about what happens when someone fumbles the real prize — and those they lost rise, unapologetically.

A Bildungsroman

Choreographer: Katie Gillespie

Katie Gillespie, Emily Gonzalez, Mariah Huizar, Arianna Kricun, Zelie Neal Huerta, Hope Sato, Grace Trainor, Clara Williams, Anni Wu, Erin Yamaoka

A bildungsroman is a coming-of-age story, particularly involved with a person’s education; it’s a transformation of the psyche from childhood to adulthood . “A Bildungsroman” centers my development as not only a dancer, but as a person, through my time here at UC San Diego. I have grown so much through my four years of involvement within the dance department. This piece serves as both a thank-you note and a love letter to this community I have grown into, spreading the joy and connection that I have felt in all of my dance classes and productions. 

This piece also serves to tackle the question: when the world is constantly changing around us, how do we keep moving forward? This question gets more important every day. We keep going through the people we surround ourselves with, the communities we forge, and the company we keep. Together, we are strong. “A Bildungsroman” seeks to remind ourselves that the only way out is through, and the only way through is with each other by our sides. We are nothing without each other.

Ixchenantzin

Choreographer: Natalia M. Morales

Dancers: Yael Sela, Autumn Pedranti, Orelia Oiknine, Sona Ovasapyan, Teresa Velasco-De-La-Rocha

Ixchenantzin is a contemporary folklórico fusion work that honors the dual energies of Tonantzin and Ixchel—Aztec and Mayan goddesses who embody motherhood, healing, and resistance. Rooted in sacred femininity, the piece navigates identity, diaspora, and ancestral memory, serving as both a personal reclamation and a broader invocation of the motherlands from which we descend. Through movement, it conjures the internal landscape of the maternal spirit: beautiful, chaotic, protective, and endlessly resilient. The choreography unfolds in three sections—first, a spiritual realm invoking the presence of maternal ancestors; second, a warrior phase embodying fierce protection and survival; and finally, a space of grief, restoration, and quiet rebuilding. Ixchenantzin is an offering—a danced prayer for those who came before us, and those we are becoming.

Brenda Estrada is a graduating Business Economics student at UC San Diego with a strong interdisciplinary interest in both performance and strategic thinking. Her academic work explores systems, markets, and decision making — a curiosity that complements her artistry on stage. Brenda has performed in several UCSD department productions, including Fall Works, Winter Works, and New Directions, and was a featured ensemble member The Running Show with Monica Bill Barnes & Company. This final performance marks the culmination of her undergraduate journey — where movement, identity, and purpose converge.

Katie Gillespie is a fourth year double major in Cognitive Science (Machine Learning) and Dance, graduating this June. She started getting more involved with the UC San Diego dance department productions in the last year, performing in Winter Works (2024) and JoyUS JustUS (2024). In her last year at UCSD, Katie has decided to find whatever scares her the most and run full force into it, leading her to choreograph her own piece in New Directions (2025). She hopes that you enjoy what she has created. She would like to thank her parents and her sister, who have always supported her dancing, as well as all of her friends and mentors within the department. With their support, she is strong.

Katarina Guillot  is a fourth-year Dance major graduating in June 2025. Born and raised in Guatemala, Katarina’s dance journey has been deeply shaped by her family and community. She has had the blessing of traveling around the U.S. teaching and performing bachata while juggling college. She is proud to finally share her work at UCSD before continuing her professional career in Latin dance. This piece is about connection—connection to self, to community, and to the cultural roots of bachata. Traditional bachata is more than just steps; it’s a feeling, a conversation, and a history. Katarina hopes to inspire dancers to move authentically, embrace vulnerability, and discover how we connect, both with ourselves and those around us. With heartfelt gratitude, she extends her love to her family for their constant support, to her partner Josue for being a never-ending source of inspiration, and to her cast for bringing her vision to life with such dedication and passion.

Kristina Little is a fourth year public Health major with a minor in dance,  graduating in June 2025.  Born and raised in Maryland, Kristina has been dancing for 19 years and continues to find joy, purpose, and power through movement. Kristina first performed in New Directions during her first year as a soloist, and now, closing out her college journey as both a choreographer and performer in the same production feels bittersweet and full-circle. She believes her place in this world is to uplift others, share knowledge, and create meaningful connections across diverse communities.  With a deep hope for a more unified world — one that learns from its past rather than repeating it — Kristina uses dance as a tool for both expression and change. She extends heartfelt thanks to Ozi Boms, Elizabeth Haldo, and Arden Noland for their invaluable contributions in bringing this piece to life.

Natalia M. Morales is a fourth-year Political Science and Dance Scholar, graduating in June 2025. Proudly from the suburbs of Los Angeles and rooted in a richly mixed heritage, Ixchenantzin is her offering to the world—woven from intellectual inquiry, cultural memory, and embodied storytelling of divine femininity, inspired by the quiet, fierce, and ethereal energy of her mother. Some of her proudest undergraduate moments include creating her independent dance film Vueltas y Tradiciones (2023); performing in Little Amal with La Jolla Playhouse (2024); joining the Community Cast of CONTRA-TIEMPO’s joyUSjustUS (2025); and co-directing Ballet Folklórico La Joya de México’s 2024 Showcase. Her choreographic specialty lies in using movement as a political spearhead—exploring how the act of moving can reclaim, reimagine, and guide us back to our deepest truths. She is endlessly grateful to her incredible cast for their commitment over the past ten weeks, and sends all the love to her mom, dad, her twin sister Samantha, her rescue pup Romeo, and her mini chipin Zeus—her anchors, her safe place, her everything: “I love you guys, to the end of the world.”

Chenning Zhang is a first-year Human Biology international student, graduating in possible June 2028. This is her first time doing a self choreographed dance performance in UCSD. Originally being raised and growing up back in China, she has a distinctive cultural understanding and a broad worldview. Throughout her 18 years of exploring journey, she has been duing slowness art practices and spiritual meditation practices consistently. With her slow and reflective nature on exploring the world, along with the passion to body freedom and gracefulness to world origin, she sees the significance of being aware of one's own body control, and its dynamic nature in a changeable living society. With boundless creativity and passion in dance expression, she likes to feel and see the world with free imagination and express her feelings with movement. A book that gives her huge inspiration is Unflattening written by Nick Sousanis. It gives out solutions, art making and dancing, as our glue against the flattening of individual’s characteristics in the current capitalist society. A dance artist she admired so much is German choreographer Pina Baush who is willing to discuss women and frustrations in the society with dance shows. Therefore in her choreography “ I Myself, Infinitely ”, thanks to her amazing creativity, she herself is exploring the individual freedom of being and making. She would let go of concerns and social restraints, feeling the world freely.