UCLA World Arts and Cultures/Dance Department Presents WACD Senior
Projects 2026: SONDER
A celebration of emerging artists at the intersection of culture, identity, and social
change.
LOS ANGELES, CA — The UCLA Department of World Arts Cultures/Dance proudly presents WACD Senior Projects 2026, SONDER, a landmark showcase featuring the graduating senior class and their capstone performances, presentations, and exhibitions. Taking place at the Glorya Kaufman Dance Theater and Glorya Kaufman Hall, Room 208, with two performances and an open gallery exhibition accompanied with WAC senior presentations.
- ● Friday, May 15, 2026 at 7:30 PM
- ● Saturday, May 16, 2026 at 2:00 PM
- ● WAC Exhibition Gallery and Artist Presentations: Friday, May 15 at 6:00 PM and Saturday, May 16 at 12:30 PM Exhibitions of WAC capstone projects will be left on display in Room 208 of Glorya Kaufman Hall before and after each live performance, offering audiences a closer look at the research, creative inquiry and community-rooted work produced by senior WAC majors. WACD Senior Projects 2026 highlights a multidisciplinary range of artistic presentations, bringing together works that explore healing, identity, access, community, sustainability, cultural memory and social transformation. From dance and spoken word to sculpture, installation, film, writing, and community engagement, each project reflects a deeply personal and intellectually rigorous creative process shaped by artists’ lived experiences and scholarly inquiry. Among the featured works are Maia Driz-Diaz’s After, It Was Warm, which uses audio description and improvisation to explore access as an aesthetic; Kylee Miller’s Embrace, a meditation on loneliness, connection, and anxiety in everyday life; Katie Fang’s Ether Blue, a posthumanist visual narrative reimagining life after colonial violence; and Geary Aubert’s immersive farmers market installation, which examines community, agricultural labor, and shared culture. Additional projects include interdisciplinary performances and installations engaging themes of shame, sibling connection, racial ambiguity, violence, ritual, and belonging.
EVENT DETAILS
Performance Dates and Times:
Friday, May 15th at 7:30 PM
Saturday, May 16th at 2:00 PM
Gallery Hours: Room 208 at 6:00 PM and 12:30 PM before both performances
Venue:
Glorya Kaufman Dance Theater, UCLA Glory Kaufman Hall, Room 200 and 208 120 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095
Admission:
Free. Reservations required via Google Form.
Reserve tickets online at https://forms.gle/JVr6qBsG2bjN8o188.
Exhibitions:
WAC project exhibitions viewed in Room 208 before and after each performance.
Parking:
Paid parking available near Glorya Kaufman Hall in Parking Structure Lot 4.
Featured Artists:
- ● WAC – Geary Aubert, Katie Fang, Dina Ryen Gregg, Adam Nadifi, Gabriela Moncerrath Valdes, Sanjeev Varma
- ● Dance – Erin Co, Maia Driz Diaz, Mikayla Knestrick, Kylee Miller About UCLA World Arts and Cultures/Dance — The UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance draws upon multiple disciplines and artistic approaches to position creative work within broader social contexts and cultural communities. Department programs are committed to academic excellence, freedom of expression, and social transformation through the arts, cultivating the next generation of artists and scholars. Press Contact: Ginger Holguin | gholguin@arts.ucla.edu | (310) 825-3951
Admission is free, but reservations are required: Reserve tickets online.