The New Lineup Celebrates Boundary-Pushing Performances Across Disciplines
The UCLA Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA) has announced its 2025–26 season, a multidisciplinary lineup featuring groundbreaking music, theater, and dance by acclaimed artists from around the world, as announced by Executive and Artistic Director Edgar Miramontes.
Set to begin in September, the season explores themes of identity, memory, resistance, and joy through daring and deeply personal performances. From electrifying jazz and Afro-Latin fusion to experimental opera and interactive theater, the program invites audiences to experience the arts as both a space for reflection and a catalyst for connection.
- Breakout 23-year-old jazz songstress Lucía weaves her Latin folk roots and American jazz influences into something entirely her own, performing music from her debut album and beyond (October 10, 2025)
- Celebrated dance-theater artist David Roussève presents his first full-length solo performance in over 20 years with the west coast premiere of Daddy AF — an intimate meditation on life’s purpose, created and performed by a queer African American acutely aware of the finite time he has left on the planet (October 17 & 18, 2025)
- In the international hit By Heart, Tiago Rodrigues invites audiences to spend an evening learning a poem, a practice inspired by Rodrigues’ grandmother’s journey to blindness, creating a tapestry of storytelling, both personal and universal (October 24 & 25, 2025)
- Pulitzer Prize nominee Jlin, one of the most distinctive composers in America and one of the most influential women in electronic music, brings her thrilling, emotional, and multidimensional compositions to The Nimoy (November 15, 2025).
- Laurel Halo previews her upcoming 2026 album and latest work for piano and electronics — a transportive blend of ambient, drone, jazz, and synthesis (December 13, 2025)
- Powerhouse musicians Seth Parker Woods, Julia Bullock and Conor Hanick unite for an evening that showcases titan composers of lyricism and storytelling (January 15, 2026)
- Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang’s chamber opera note to a friend draws inspiration from three texts by iconic Japanese writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Performed by the Attacca Quartet and vocalist Theo Bleckmann, note to a friend creates a powerful, emotional exploration of loss and reflection (February 28, 2026)
- Thirty years after its groundbreaking premiere during the AIDS epidemic, Bill T. Jones’s Still/Here returns—a fearless, era-defining work that fused spoken text, video portraits, and dance to blur the line between personal and political, shaping a uniquely American form of dance theater (March 5, 2026)
- Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Tyshawn Sorey joins forces with pianist Aaron Diehl and bassist Harish Raghavan in a genre-blurring jazz trio (April 10, 2026)
- asses.masses is a cheeky, live-play video game where the audience joins a herd of unemployed donkeys fighting to reclaim their jobs in a post-industrial world. Best described as Animal Farm meets Pokémon meets Final Fantasy, it’s an immersive journey through labor, revolution, and the power of play (February 6 & 7, 2026)
Under Miramontes’ leadership, the season underscores CAP UCLA’s commitment to international exchange and cultural dialogue, spotlighting voices across continents and disciplines. Performances will take place primarily at The Nimoy—the center’s Westwood venue—as well as UCLA’s Royce Hall and Freud Playhouse.
Headlining artists include Grammy Award-winning musicians Arturo O’Farrill and Vijay Iyer, trans composer and bassoonist Joy Guidry, Mexican performance collective Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol, and choreographer David Roussève. Other highlights feature Barcelona-based theater company Agrupación Señor Serrano, Pulitzer Prize finalist Jlin, jazz phenoms Lucía and the Tyshawn Sorey Trio, and iconic choreographer Bill T. Jones with a restaging of Still/Here, his landmark work created during the AIDS crisis.
Throughout the season, works challenge conventional storytelling and immerse audiences in topics ranging from queer mourning rituals and migrant journeys to labor revolutions and ancestral memory. The lineup includes new commissions, U.S. and West Coast premieres, and co-presentations with partner institutions such as Angel City Jazz Festival and Piano Spheres.
The season also expands CAP UCLA’s education program, Design for Sharing, which offers free matinee performances and in-class arts residencies to K–12 students from Los Angeles public schools. Thousands of students are expected to attend events at The Nimoy and other venues.
Tickets for the general public go on sale Tuesday, June 18, at 10 a.m. Additional details, including the full season schedule and artist lineup, are available at cap.ucla.edu.
Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- The Mexican collective Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol explores Central America in their latest work, revealing a region marked by dictatorships, U.S. interventions, and cryptocurrency emergence. Integrating documentary elements and theatrical innovation, their performance vividly blends realism, fantasy, and political intimacy, challenging and reimagining the future.
Arturo O’Farrill and The Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble
Friday, October 3, 2025 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- A globally recognized force in the Latin jazz community, Arturo O’Farrill and The Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble are renowned for their musicality that bridges genres and cultures. The Grammy-winning group’s sound is steeped in Latin jazz traditions and a history of collaboration.
Saturday, October 4, 2025 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- Joy Guidry’s new album, Five Prayers, is an intuitive convergence of sound, spirit, and radical self-expression. In the live performance, Guidry pairs the bassoon with low rumbling synths, warm electronic sounds, and poetry that reflects the artist’s lived experience as a Black trans woman from the South.
Friday, October 10, 2025 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- Breakout 23-year-old jazz songstress Lucía, known for her collaborations with Natalia Lafourcade and Aloe Blacc, strikes out on her own with a debut album that is a perfect union of her Latin folk roots and American jazz influences.
Vicky Chow performs Surface Image by Tristan Perich
Presented in partnership with Piano Spheres
Saturday, October 11, 2025 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- New music superstar Vicky Chow presents the West Coast premiere of Tristan Perich’s Surface Image, a concert-length work for solo piano and 40-channel 1-bit electronics.
Milena Casado + Stephanie Richards Power Vibe
Presented in partnership with the Angel City Jazz Festival
Sunday, October 12, 2025 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- Called “a revelation” by The New York Times, trumpeter and composer Milena Casado is a compelling new voice in jazz. Blending fluid improvisation with acoustic and electronic experimentation, she bridges tradition and innovation. The evening opens with dynamic improviser and trumpeter Steph Richards, a dynamic improviser.
Friday, October 17 and Saturday, October 18, 2025 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- Celebrated dance-theater artist David Roussève’s Daddy AF connects elements encoded in his body — including 600 years of genealogy, a roller coaster journey with HIV, and the shattering loss of a husband of 26 years — while revisiting movement from 35 years of dance-making.
Friday, October 24 and Saturday, October 25, 2025 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- In the international hit By Heart, Tiago Rodrigues, the famed international director of the Avignon Festival, invites an audience to spend an evening learning a poem, a practice inspired by Rodrigues’ grandmother’s journey to blindness.
Saturday, November 1 and Sunday, November 2, 2025 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- From Australia’s award-winning collective Pony Cam, Burnout Paradise is a frenetic, physical, and darkly comedic showdown performed on treadmills. Four performers spiral through escalating tasks, confronting burnout, broken systems, and the struggle to set boundaries.
Fri, Nov 7, 2025, at 8 pm
The Nimoy
L.A. Omnibus is a forum for Los Angeles artists, writers, and thinkers to share ideas, pose questions, and uncover our unique communities. Deriving inspiration from the Latin meaning of Omnibus, “for all,” these programs explore how our dynamic city is constantly shifting, settling, and remaking itself.
- Three visionary artists — Carmina Escobar, Karen Tongson, and Megan Auster Rosen — explore the rituals of love, grief and rebirth. Together, they reflect on how mourning shapes queer communities and celebrates the spirits of the departed.
Saturday, November 8, 2025 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
This performance will be available for purchase at a later date. Details to be announced.
- Wild Up at The Nimoy is a three-concert series celebrating ecstatic freedom in music, from improvisation to minimalism and beyond. Experience radical, expansive works by Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman, Cassandra Miller, Catherine Lamb and more. Full programs and special guests to be announced.
Saturday, November 15, 2025 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- Pulitzer Prize nominee and proud resident of Gary, Indiana, Jlin (Jerrilynn Patton) has quickly become one of the most distinctive composers in America and one of the most influential women in electronic music. A sought-after collaborator, Jlin has been commissioned by heavy-hitting artists such as Kronos Quartet, Third Coast Percussion, the Pathos Quartet, choreographers Wayne McGregor and Kyle Abraham, fashion designer Rick Owens and the visual artists Nick Cave and Kevin Beasley.
Third Coast Percussion and Salar Nader, tabla
Murmurs In Time
Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- Third Coast Percussion pays tribute to the late Zakir Hussain with Murmurs in Time, his final commissioned work. Featuring tabla virtuoso Salar Nader, the program also includes solo tabla and new works by Jessie Montgomery, Tigran Hamasyan, and Jlin — honoring Hussain’s enduring legacy at CAP UCLA.
Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 8 pm
This performance will be available for purchase at a later date. Details to be announced.
- Parable of Portals is a creative constellation of dance, transmedia storytelling, and music that dreams Octavia E. Butler’s professional and personal writings into an immersive and interactive live performance experience.
Laurel Halo (Live piano & electronics)
Saturday, December 13, 2025 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- Experience Laurel Halo’s latest works for piano and electronics — an immersive blend of ambient, drone, jazz, and synthesis. These boundary-pushing pieces explore rhythm and harmony with mesmerizing depth, previewing her 2026 album. Join us for a transportive journey through sound, sensation, and imagined sonic landscapes.
Seth Parker Woods, Julia Bullock, and Conor Hanick
Thursday, January 15, 2026 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- Powerhouse musicians Seth Parker Woods, Julia Bullock and Conor Hanick unite for an evening that showcases titan composers of lyricism and storytelling. The musicians perform works by George Walker, John Tavener, Ravel, Andre Previn, Nina Simone and Tania Leon.
Friday, January 23, and Saturday, January 24, 2026, at 8 pm
MacGowan Little Theater, UCLA
- Birdie is a multimedia performance with live video, Hitchcock’s The Birds revisited, scale models, and over 2,000 mini animals. Blending themes of war, smuggling and mass migration, three performers navigate this chaotic world with sharp wit, critical insight and a deep commitment to humankind.
Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 1 pm
The runtime for this experience is 7 hours, including breaks with food, all of which are included in the ticket price.
The Nimoy
- asses.masses is a cheeky, custom-made video game played live by the audience. Join a herd of unemployed donkeys fighting to reclaim their jobs in a post-industrial world. Best described as Animal Farm meets Pokémon meets Final Fantasy, it’s a bold, immersive journey through labor, revolution, and the power of play.
Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez
Friday, February 13, 2025 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- Grammy-nominated Cuban artists Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez deliver an electrifying duo performance blending virtuosic piano, Afro-Cuban percussion, and powerful vocals. Expect irresistible rhythms, bold improvisation, and a high-energy show that turns every seat into a dance floor.
Attacca Quartet and Theo Bleckmann
Saturday, February 28, 2026 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- In this 60-minute chamber opera, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang reimagines three texts by iconic Japanese writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa. The result is a stunning and haunting monodrama, note to a friend, addressing our eternal human fascinations with death, love and family.
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company
Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 8 pm
Royce Hall
- Thirty years after its premiere, the historic Still/Here by Bill T. Jones returns. Created during the AIDS epidemic, Still/Here broke boundaries between the personal and the political through spoken text, video portraits, and breathtaking dance. This fearless work exemplified a uniquely American form of dance theater, defining and ultimately transcending its era.
Saturday, March 14, 2026 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- In Manifestos 6: Ben Patterson, world-renowned artist Charles Gaines interprets Fluxus artist Benjamin Patterson’s Variations for Double-Bass (c. 1962) — a word-based score for performance — through a musical notation system Gaines devised in 2004. The resulting composition pays homage to Patterson while demonstrating Gaines’s engagement with systems of language, notation and sound.
Friday March 20 & Saturday, March 21, 2026 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- Bellow is a unique and astonishingly beautiful theater performance that tells the true story of Danny O’Mahony, the acclaimed accordionist who has dedicated his life to the preservation of traditional Irish music and to the mastery of his craft. Featuring an original electronic composition by Valgier Siggurdson, Bellow paints a portrait of one man’s artistic journey.
Wild Up
Perfect Offering
Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
This performance will be available for purchase at a later date. Details to be announced.
- Wild Up at The Nimoy is a three-concert series celebrating ecstatic freedom in music, from improvisation to minimalism and beyond. Experience radical, expansive works by Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman, Cassandra Miller, Catherine Lamb and more.
Friday, April 10, 2026 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Tyshawn Sorey joins forces with pianist Aaron Diehl and bassist Harish Raghavan in a genre-blurring jazz trio. Celebrated for their bold reinterpretations and original works, the trio delivers emotionally charged performances that reshape the American Songbook with elegance, edge, and stunning musical chemistry.
Friday, April 24, 2026 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- Grammy-winning pianist, composer and bandleader Sullivan Fortner’s massive talents have earned him a reputation as an inimitable and versatile artist. Fortner gained global acclaim for his work with Grammy-winner Cécile McLorin Salvant, cementing his status as one of today’s most prolific and masterful jazz musicians.
Luciana Souza
New Moon
Saturday, April 25, 2026 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- Grammy-nominated vocalist Luciana Souza and guitarist Marcel Camargo unite for New Moon — a spellbinding journey of voice, guitar, and strings. Blending Brazilian roots with bold new compositions, they create an intimate, soul-stirring sound that invites you to listen closely — and feel deeply.
From Rock to Rock from rock to rock… aka how magnolia was taken for granite
Sat, Mar 28, 2026, at 8 pm
Freud Playhouse, UCLA
- Inspired by a rapper’s copyright lawsuit against a video game company, choreographer Jeremy Nedd’s work explores “the Milly Rock,” a viral dance move inspired by the rapper 2 Milly. In this study of the Milly Rock, Nedd and company question if any singular entity can own dance.
Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2, 2026 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- Anchored by family relics — a journal, a playlist, an interview — Josh Quillen and Ain Gordon craft a moving portrait of a father’s ALS diagnosis, brought to life through bold performance and design. Through music and storytelling, audiences are drawn into a powerful journey of family, legacy, and the stories that shape us.
Saturday, May 9, 2026 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
This performance will be available for purchase at a later date. Details to be announced.
- Wild Up at The Nimoy is a three-concert series celebrating ecstatic freedom in music, from improvisation to minimalism and beyond. Experience radical, expansive works by Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman, Cassandra Miller, Catherine Lamb and more. Full programs and special guests to be announced.
Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith
Saturday, May 16, 2026 at 8 pm
The Nimoy
- Composer-pianist Vijay Iyer and composer-trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith unite forces for an evening of duets that defy categorization in pursuit of an evocative, arresting sound. Deeply attuned and grounded in the present, Iyer and Smith perform cuts from their latest album, Defiant Life.
Design for Sharing
Design for Sharing (DFS), CAP UCLA’s K-12 arts education program, provides free matinee performances and interactive art-making activities to young people from Los Angeles public schools. Thousands of students will experience the joy of live performance at The Nimoy and other CAP venues, or explore their own creativity with our in-class arts residencies. Most DFS programs also include the opportunity to explore the UCLA campus, providing our community’s youth a first hand look at a public university.
