ONE ARTIST & DESIGNER. ONE SCHOLAR & HISTORIAN. BOTH TEACHERS, EXPLORERS, CURATORS, & ACTIVISTS. DESIGN MEDIA ARTS, WORLD ARTS & CULTURES / DANCE FACULTY, POLLY NOOTER ROBERTS, REBECA MENDEZ, DIALOGUE

First Hand is UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance presentation of new choreography danced by WAC/D students. The dances are by six of the nation’s leading contemporary dance makers: Kyle Abraham, Nia Love, Nina Flagg, Ros Warby, Gracie Whyte, and Cheng-Chieh Yu. First Hand is an intimate, refreshing series featuring newly conceived in-progress works, which offer the rare chance to witness the early formation of movement ideas that will eventually lead to completed works by the choreographers.

Utilizing a range of movement vocabularies and development processes, the choreographers have spent the current quarter working closely with WAC/Dance student performers in six project-based classes. First Hand is the culmination of their explorations and offer a rare peek into their exciting and varied choreographic expression.

Pia Gilbert, one of a small handful of educators who created the dance department at UCLA, passed away at her home on May 14, 2018. Born on June 1, 1921 in Kippenheim, Germany, Pia was "addicted" to music at an early age, an addiction that remained with her throughout her long life. Emigrating to New York together with her family in 1937, Pia eventually settled in Los Angeles where she taught music for dance at UCLA. As an emigre in Los Angeles in the 1950's, Pia formed lasting, close friendships with many of her fellow European emigres, writers and musicians, among them Igor Stravinsky, and the Arnold Schoenberg family, whom she called "my extended family". Pia also had profound friendships with John Cage and Merce Cunningham, as well as Virgil Thompson, Elliott Carter and Ned Rorem.

Pia will be greatly missed by her loving family, her daughter, Vivian, brother, Hans and his wife, Barbara as well as their children, Rebecca, Jonathan, and Sarah. Funeral services will be private.