A performance built entirely from gestures, The Symphonic Body UCLA is a movement-based orchestral work performed by people from all across the UCLA community. Instead of instruments, individuals in this orchestra perform gestural portraits based on the motions of their workday. These portraits are like individual dances, custom made for each person, choreographed from the routine movements of their daily lives. The Symphonic Body UCLA is a tapestry of gesture, a window into the breadth of human labor and activity that animates and emanates from this university. It is populated by a compelling cross-section of the individuals that make UCLA rattle and hum.

Choreographer Ann Carlson has been an artist in residence embedded on campus for nearly a year working one-on-one with people from all corners of the campus, and she will conduct the performers in their symphonic configuration.

Ann Carlson’s award-winning work borrows from dance, performance, theater, visual and conceptual art. Ann is the recipient of more than 30 commissions and numerous awards, including a 2015 Doris Duke Award for contemporary dance.