The 2023 spring program lineup features engaging live musical performances and multidisciplinary collaborations on the stages of UCLA’s Royce Hall, Freud Playhouse and The Theatre at Ace Hotel. Highlights include the return of Ukrainian quartet DakhaBrakha, dancer / choreographer Shamel Pitts, Grammy-winning ensemble Quinteto Astor Piazzolla, jazz piano virtuoso Matthew Whitaker and more.
Shamel Pitts | TRIBE
Touch of RED
Fri, Mar 3 & Sat, Mar 4 at 8 pm
Freud Playhouse
2020 Guggenheim Fellow, performance artist, choreographer and dancer Shamel Pitts bring to the stage Touch of RED, a new evening-length duet of two men inside of a contemporary ring. This newest work in Pitts’ “RED Series” investigates how Black men can allow themselves to soften despite extreme pressure and heat.
DakhaBrakha
Sat, Mar 11 at 8 pm
The Theatre at Ace Hotel
Ukrainian quartet DakhaBrakha returns following their raucous sold-out 2022 engagement. Meaning “give/take” in the old Ukrainian language, their name signals the quartet’s unique brand of musical “ethno-chaos.” By breaking down stylistic barriers, DakhaBrakha re-territorializes foreign timbres into their own folk theater vernacular, resulting in an exuberant, entirely new, transnational sound rooted in Ukrainian culture.
Sam Green
32 Sounds
Sat, Mar 25 at 8 pm
The Theatre at Ace Hotel
Sam Green’s 32 Sounds is an immersive documentary and a sensory experience that explores the elemental phenomenon of sound and its ability to profoundly shape our perceptions. Presented in its “live cinema” form, 32 Sounds features narration by Sam Green and live music performed by JD Samson of Le Tigre.
Perla Batalla & Quetzal
Sat, April 29 at 8 pm
Royce Hall
Two essential musical voices of Los Angeles, Grammy-nominated, spellbinding singer-songwriter Perla Batalla and wildly innovative East L.A. Chicano rock group Quetzal, share the stage in a rare collaboration celebrating multiethnic LatinX culture through the unifying power of art and music. Come prepared to sing, dance and join a pluri-ethnic artistic community.
Dream House Quartet
Katia & Marielle Làbeque, Bryce Dessner & David Chalmin
Sun, April 30 at 7 pm
Royce Hall
Dream House Quartet, composed of luminary pianists Katia and Marielle Labèque and acclaimed composer-guitarists Bryce Dessner and David Chalmin, fuses decades of classical and contemporary musical mastery. Their premiere U.S. tour features newly commissioned works from artists such as Thom Yorke and Phillip Glass.
Avery*Sunshine
Sun, May 7 at 7 pm
The Theatre at Ace Hotel
Fluent in musical languages ranging from soul, R&B and house to jazz, hip-hop and gospel, Avery*Sunshine expresses herself with a powerful voice that sweeps the listener up in stories of love, loss and healing. Performing with her Grammy Award-winning creative partner and husband guitarist Dana “BigDane” Johnson, Avery’s repertoire features soulful, in-the-pocket R&B grooves and life-affirming gospel.
Quinteto Astor Piazzolla
Thu, May 11 at 8 pm
Royce Hall
Latin Grammy Award-winning ensemble Quinteto Astor Piazzolla is the premiere interpreter of the late composer and tango legend Astor Piazzolla. A master of the bandoneon, Piazzolla created a harmonic and rhythmic vocabulary dubbed "nuevo tango.” Founded by Piazzolla's widow to preserve his legacy, Quinteto Astor Piazzolla’s members’ mission is to share Piazzolla’s music with a new generation.
The Small Glories
Fri, May 12 at 8 pm
Royce Hall Terrace
Roots duo The Small Glories is a powerhouse musical partnership between veteran folk singers Cara Luft and JD Edwards. Delivering songs of love, loss and the natural environment with soaring vocals and the traditional instrumentation of stomping clawhammer banjo, guitar and harmonica, The Small Glories have an intimate performing style that makes audiences feel like they’re on stage, too.
Matthew Whitaker
Sun, May 21 at 7 pm
The Theatre at Ace Hotel
Jazz piano virtuoso Matthew Whitaker has been garnering acclaim for almost as long as he has been making music. At 15, he was named a Yamaha Artist, the youngest musician to join a stellar roster of jazz pianists. Now 21 years old, Whitaker will perform music from his latest album, Connections, a bold declaration of his maturity as a player, composer and bandleader.
Dan Froot & Company
Arms Around America: The Podcast
Live recording of performance and community forum
Thu, June 22 at 8 pm
Royce Hall Rehearsal Room
Arms Around America (AAA) is a collection of plays investigating America’s relationships with guns. Staged as if performed by a radio theater company recording a live broadcast, the performance is comprised of six short plays based on oral histories from American families affected by guns, collected by Dan Froot & Company.
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