It was my dream throughout college to play with the Dave Matthews Band…

UCLA made it possible. I even got to play with Herbie Hancock, Robert Randolph and the family band and many others. My dream took me on a journey and UCLA helped me accomplish it. This is a video that I recorded during my senior recital at UCLA describing how my dream was completed. It has gotten 5,000 views in two weeks and still climbing…

I transferred to UCLA and WAC after spending 2 years in a small liberal arts college because…

I wanted to blend my global upbringing and my art form (dance) into one major. I grew up in Singapore and Indonesia and both my parents grew up all over the world (Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Australia, and Boston) so I had quite the cultural identity crisis! When I first heard about WAC, I was intrigued by the interdisciplinary and cultural approach to the arts.

Once I got to WAC,

I discovered that my choreographic work can be used to build community, influence, and bridge cultural ties between groups. While at WAC, I performed with MFA students, other WAC undergrad students in the annual WACUS showcase, and learnt about video production. WAC also taught me to become more independent and pro-active in finding alternate ways to get my work shown. For my senior project, I opted to do a senior focus and self-produced my own show at a local theater in LA. The experiences that I had and the lessons that I learnt in and out of the classroom, studio, and video lab from the faculty, staff, and other students were invaluable.

Today, I am based in New York City and the Artistic Director of my own dance company.

A.H. Dance Company has performed all over the country and we are now approaching the world.

Here is a link to my website: http://www.ahdancecompany.com

My experience in the Art major at UCLA has allowed me to foster and develop…

the way I see the world in terms of art-making. Not only through the development of my knowledge in regards to art theory, the inspiring instruction from both permanent and visiting faculty has aided my self-discovery of what  I want to convey to the world through my work.

No longer am I producing work just because “it looks pretty.”

I’m learning to depict the world as I see it in the most effective way with the help of critique from my dedicated peers and professors, and as a result, see work in a completely different light than I did upon entering UCLA.

Though extremely challenging at times,

I truly believe being an Art major is fun and rewarding and has prepared me for the unpredictable and ever-changing creative industry.

My UCLA story is probably a little different from most other people’s…

– I am here as an International Student from Brazil and was fortunate enough to be given an almost full-ride scholarship in order to attend UCLA. Both my parents are Brazilian diplomats, so I have grown up all over the world (Brazil, Japan, Argentina, Spain, Bolivia, Chicago, San Francisco). The one thing that remained constant in my life, like a grounding rock of sanity, was my dance training – samba, jazz, ballet, hip hop, modern.

I immediately had my heart set on UCLA ever since I saw the Department name: “World Arts and Cultures.”

It couldn’t have been more perfect for who I was and what I was interested in.

In my four years that I have been here, I dove into the student activist scene, joining Student Activist Project and other student organizations. And I made it a point to cultivate a choreographer and performer career in the annual WACSmash! Undergraduate Showcase, self-produced shows at the Fowler Museum, and currently the WAC Senior Project Showcase.

I plan on building my choreography experience, performing and touring professionally with dance companies in Los Angeles,

continuing to do community organizing work, and I especially look forward to developing a career as a dance educator and teaching artist around schools in the LA area.

My experience at UCLA has been like none other…

I’ve traveled abroad to different cultures and learned a great deal, but those experiences pale in comparison to my time at UCLA. Where America is the land of opportunity, UCLA is the school of opportunity. I’ve lived in the dorms, university apartments, been a student leader, club member, volunteer, and so much more. I’ve learned everything from the history of writing, to multi-variable calculus.

I’ve been witness to and a part of more activism here than I perhaps will for the rest of my life.

One of my most cherished privileges has been the opportunity to perform with the multitude of music ensembles that the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music boasts.

And if UCLA is known for anything, it is its attraction of diversity in thought, and in body, and for that, I’ll forever have a special place in my heart for UCLA.

www.2infiniti.net