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Oct. 24 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents ‘An Evening with Lil Buck and Jon Boogz’ at Campbell Hall

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With a combined repertoire that spans Memphis Jookin’, hip hop, ballet and contemporary dance, world-renowned artist Lil Buck and award-winning choreographer Jon Boogz perform an original dance piece developed especially for UCSB Arts & Lectures

SUMMARY

“We don’t believe dance is just entertainment. We believe dance is a tool to educate, a tool to empower.” – Lil Buck

“Fueling it all is the emotion that drives his magnetic dancing. There is struggle and pain, joy and healing, and ultimately, a transformation.” The New York Times on Lil Buck
SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents An Evening with Lil Buck and Jon Boogz on Thursday, Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. at Campbell Hall. An award-winning performing artist and advocate for the arts, Charles “Lil Buck” Riley defies gravity with a repertoire that spans Memphis Jookin’, hip hop, ballet and contemporary dance, to name just a few.
A world-renowned artist, Lil Buck has performed original works created in collaboration with such luminaries as Yo-Yo Ma and Mikhail Baryshnikov. He’s undulated, twisted and turned past Picasso and Matisse masterworks for Louis Vuitton and has performed for international brands including Nike, Apple and Vogue. In 2023, choreographer and movement artist Jon Boogz became the first Black street dancer honored by the Emmys when he won Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming for his work on the Starz show Blindspotting. He has received numerous accolades for constantly pushing the boundaries of movement, storytelling and dance. Together, Boogz and Buck will develop and perform an original dance piece created especially for UCSB Arts & Lectures, along with screenings of their award-winning work and an in-depth conversation/Q&A with the audience.
While in residency at UC Santa Barbara, Lil Buck and Jon Boogz will lead several Theater and Dance classes including Modern Dance I and II, Movement for Stage, and the BFA Actors Forum among others. These opportunities to connect artists with students and deepen cross-campus collaborations are made possible by the Arnhold A&L Education Initiative.
Related event: Thematic Learning Initiative documentary screening of Move, season 1, episode 1 on Wednesday, October 23 at 7 p.m. at Pollock Theater (note new location). Co-presented with UCSB Carsey-Wolf Center. With thanks to our visionary partners, Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin, for their support of the Thematic Learning Initiative
Lil Buck & Jon Boogz: The Book of Secrets

Lil Buck and Jon Boogz, “The Book of Secrets”

ABOUT LIL BUCK

Charles “Lil Buck” Riley is a world-renowned and award-winning performing artist, entrepreneur and advocate for the arts and humanities. Lil Buck’s dance repertoire includes a multitude of styles including Memphis Jookin’, ballet, hip-hop and modern, just to name a few.

Over the course of his career, he has performed and collaborated with some of the world’s finest artists and brands including Yo-Yo Ma, Madonna, Alicia Keys, Janelle Monáe, Lizzo, Nike, Chanel, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Apple, Jordan, Lexus, Gap and many others.

Outside of dance, Lil Buck is a true creative and has provided a unique skill-set to top-notch projects which include being a choreographer on the Starz TV series Blindspotting, Season 1 and 2, a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance, and roles in both the movie Emperor and the feature film Her. Lil Buck designed a capsule collection for Versace and has provided artistic consultation to many brands over his lengthy career. Recently, Lil Buck’s story and creative process were captured in the documentary Lil Buck: Real Swan which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and in the documentary series, Move.

Lil Buck has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. In 2014, Lil Buck was presented with the Wall Street Journal’s Innovator of the Year award. His strong business acumen is ever present in the many projects that he is involved in outside of dance which include ventures related to food and beverage, brand management, fashion and production.

Currently, Lil Buck is personally producing multiple major stage shows which culminate the essence of dance as a tool to change the world. One of his newest productions transforms Lil Buck back to his home-town roots. Entitled Memphis Jookin’: The Show, this awe inspiring production brings Lil Buck’s career full circle.

ABOUT JON BOOGZ

An Emmy winner, director, movement artist and choreographer, Jon Boogz seeks to share with audiences of all backgrounds an appreciation of the melding of art forms while inspiring and bringing awareness to social issues.

He most recently co-directed, choreographed and was featured in Louis Vuitton’s tribute to designer Virgil Abloh. Other directing projects include the Emmy-nominated Where I’m From, part of the NFL’s Inspire Change Campaign; and Banana Republic’s campaign No Boundaries, celebrating people, style and community through the lens of black artists and visionaries, which Boogz co-directed, choreographed and was featured in.

First motivated to dance by the work of Michael Jackson, he has choreographed for icons including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Naomi Campbell, Gloria Estefan and for Pharrell’s Adidas Originals campaign. He creative directed, choreographed and performed in Adidas’ Standing Rock campaign at ComplexCon and has directed and choreographed campaigns for Louis Vuitton, Banana Republic, NFL, Apple and Lexus.

Boogz’s collaborators include TriBeCa Film Festival, Dom Perignon, Terrence Malick, TEDx, Lil Buck and Flying Lotus; his choreography has been used in Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance; Cirque du Soleil’s MJ ONE and he was featured at the Geffen Playhouse’s Backstage at the Geffen with his dance company Control Freakz, Lil Buck, and spoken word artist Robin Sanders to honor Morgan Freeman and Jeff Skoll.

His choreography was recently featured in all eight episodes of the Lionsgate/Starz 2021 hit TV series Blindpsotting, created by Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, which has been renewed for a second season.

As a pioneer of street dance, Boogz is featured in episode 1 of the first season of the documentary series Move, exploring his journey as a creative, how he’s championed the art form of street dance and changed audiences’ perception of the stories this medium can tell.

Boogz is currently in the process of developing a commercial theater show for the Broadway stage with Hamilton producers The Public Theater; developing a first of its kind action-adventure dance series and a dance feature film, both with Serial Pictures and Anonymous Content; and a biopic feature with A24.

ABOUT UCSB ARTS & LECTURES

Founded in 1959, UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) is the largest and most influential arts and lectures organization between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A&L annually presents more than a hundred public events, from critically acclaimed concerts and dance performances by world-renowned artists to talks by groundbreaking authors and film series at UCSB and Santa Barbara-area venues. With a mission to “educate, entertain and inspire,” A&L also oversees an outreach program that brings visiting artists and speakers into local classrooms and other venues for master classes, open rehearsals, discussions and more, serving K-12 students, college students and the general public.

An Evening with Lil Buck and Jon Boogz is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures in association with UCSB Department of Theater and Dance.

Major Sponsor: Jody & John Arnhold

Special Thanks: Santa Barbara Independent

Tickets are $37.50 – $67.50 / $15 UCSB students (Current student ID required)

For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or purchase online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu. 

UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges 2024-2025 Season Sponsor Sara Miller McCune.
 

UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges our Community Partners the Natalie Orfalea Foundation & Lou Buglioli for their generous support of the 2024-2025 season.