UMass Fine Arts Center

The Fine Arts Center will host seminal American dance company, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, on April 17, 2025 in a school matinee and public performance on our main stage, in a program built around the group’s acclaimed social justice ballet, “WOKE”. We are also planning two free outreach activities: an in-person artist conversation with the founding directors, Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, and a company master class for Five Colleges students.

We chose Complexions, a pioneer in racial, gender, and physical diversity in Western classical dance, as a capstone event to our 24-25 season of “Communion”. This yearlong theme is designed to repeatedly model community for students, faculty, staff, and the general public during a highly tense historical moment in US society.

We are also proud to share in the efforts of our NEST 3 co-applicants, Portland Ovations, Flynn Center for the Arts, and Global Arts Live, in celebrating the groundbreaking company’s 30th anniversary.