The UNLV Department of Dance celebrates a remarkable milestone with its 50th Anniversary Concert Season, honoring five decades of creativity, artistry, collaboration, and innovation while looking boldly toward the future.
The 2026–27 season brings together distinguished guest artists, acclaimed alumni, faculty choreographers, and emerging student voices in a year-long celebration of the people and ideas that have shaped dance at UNLV. From Golden Glow, which opens the anniversary season with a vibrant reflection on the department’s past, present, and future, to the return of alumni in Legacy in Motion, the breadth of concert dance explored in Gilded Movement, and the culminating student showcase 50/50, the season celebrates not only where UNLV Dance has been, but the creativity and community that will carry it into its next 50 years.
Golden Glow
October 2-3, 2026 | Judy Bayley Theatre
The anniversary season opens with Golden Glow, a celebration of creativity, collaboration, and possibility. Fifty years deserve more than reflection. They deserve creation. This landmark performance gathers an extraordinary community of choreographic voices whose works celebrate where UNLV Dance has been, honor who it is today, and imagine where it will go next.
Featured guest choreographers include:
Emily Schoen Branch, a Dance Magazine "Top 25 to Watch" artist and former member with KEIGWIN + COMPANY. She performed and worked with Kyle Abraham/AIM, the Metropolitan Opera in works by Doug Varone, Mark Morris and Carolyn Choa, and the Rolling Stones during their 50th Anniversary reunion tour.
Robert Kleinendorst, who performed for 21 years with the internationally renowned Paul Taylor Dance Company, dancing 98 roles in 77 of Taylor’s dances and originating 28 roles with Mr. Taylor. Kleinendorst has also danced with Larry Keigwin, Doug Varone, Lial York, Doug Elkins, Bryan Arias, Pam Tanawitz, Margie Gillis, and Kyle Abraham.
Kedric Bateman, an award-winning Las Vegas choreographer and former Contemporary West Dance Theatre artist who toured nationally in works by Donald Byrd, Vernard J. Gilmore, Don Bellamy, Ulysses Dove, and Alving Ailey.
David Mayorga, whose career spans concert dance, commercial performance, film, television, and interdisciplinary movement practices. David currently works as a dance educator at Millenium Dance complex Las Vegas; a movement artist for Dani Maloney Dance Collective; and dancer at On the Record, a hip hop speakeasy.
The concert also premieres a new collaborative work by UNLV Dance faculty choreographers Hayley Meier and Jason Hortin, whose inventive partnership continues to expand the possibilities of contemporary choreography through thoughtful design, dynamic movement, and shared artistic inquiry.
Au (Gold)
November 12-14, 2026 | Dance Studio HFA 111
Named for the chemical symbol for gold, Au reminds us that the most precious discoveries are often found beneath the surface. Featuring original choreography and production design by UNLV's BFA students, this concert celebrates the next generation of artists whose creativity continues to shape the future of dance.
Legacy in Motion: The Alumni Concert
January 29-30, 2027 | Dance Studio HFA 111
The greatest legacy of any university is its students. Legacy in Motion welcomes distinguished alumni back to UNLV, where they return not simply to remember the past, but to share the artistry, innovation, and influence they have carried into the professional dance world.
Gilded Movement
February 26-27, 2027 | Judy Bayley Theatre
The spring season begins with Gilded Movement, an evening celebrating the richness and breadth of concert dance.
The program features a restaging by Louis Kavouras and Katherine Duke of Summer Clouds People (1983), the luminous abstract masterpiece by modern dance pioneer Erick Hawkins, alongside Reality of a Dreamer (1992), the celebrated jazz work by Sherry Zunker, former Co-Artistic Director of River North Dance Chicago and founder of the internationally acclaimed BeMoved® movement program. Together, these landmark works honor two extraordinary artistic lineages that continue to shape American dance.
The concert also features new choreography by the acclaimed UNLV Dance faculty. Vikki Baltimore-Dale contributes deeply humanistic and socially engaged choreography, Cathy Allen brings her lyrically expressive and emotionally resonant movement language, and new faculty member Tawn Dao premieres his first work created exclusively for UNLV Dance, marking the beginning of an exciting new choreographic chapter for the department.
50/50
April 22-24, 2027 | Dance Studio HFA 111
The Golden Anniversary season concludes with 50/50, a sparkling showcase of student capstone choreography, lighting, and production design, placing the final glittering touches on a year-long celebration of artistic excellence.
Throughout the season, audiences will experience choreography by UNLV Dance faculty Cathy Allen, Vikki Baltimore-Dale, Tawn Dao, Jason Hortin, Louis Kavouras, and Hayley Meier alongside distinguished guest artists from across the country. Lighting design by Michael Jarett and scenic and projection design by Michele Anderson complete a season celebrating not only 50 years of dance at UNLV, but also the imagination, artistry, and community that will carry this remarkable institution into its next 50 years.
For tickets and additional information, visit the UNLV Department of Dance or the UNLV Performing Arts Center websites.
