MFA/BFA Dance Concert INTERTWINED | UNRAVELED Comes to UHM Kennedy Theatre in January

The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa's Department of Theatre & Dance and Kennedy Theatre will present Intertwined | Unraveled, 2026 MFA/BFA Dance Concert featuring original choreographic works by graduating MFA and BFA student artists.

Under the guidance of Sami L.A. Akuna, this concert showcases a slate of world-premiere works for both stage and screen, created by emerging artists whose voices span identity, culture, and personal narratives. Performances will take place in the Earle Ernst Lab Theatre at the Kennedy Theatre from January 28 through February 1, 2026 with evening performances Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and a Sunday matinee at 2:00 p.m. An informal post show Q&A with the director and choreographers will follow the Friday, January 30th performance. Tickets range from $9-$18.

Intertwined | Unraveled features new works by MFA candidates Max Winig and Bayardo Rodriguez, alongside BFA candidates Mia Davies, Tiare Kehaulani Reincke, and Tessa Rudig. Their choreography explores themes ranging from long-distance connection, climate change, ʻohana and cultural continuity, dissociation and mental health, and Nicaraguan cultural identity. Together, these burgeoning choreographic artists offer a compelling evening of dance that reflects the expansive interests and diverse experiences of UHM's next generation of dance makers.

Inspired by Dalton Day's book Exit, Pursued, Max Winig's Enter, In Pursuit examines themes of closeness and distance, connection and miscommunication. Through dance theatre, duets, and shifting character roles, Winig brings abstract and surreal poetry to life. “My hope is that everyone who watches this piece can find something in it that resonates with their life,” Winig shares. Bayardo Rodriguez's Nicaragua: Yo Pronto Llego a CASA! honors his Nicaraguan heritage through poetry, music, memory, and movement. Incorporating multiple dance genres and richly layered cultural textures, the work serves as both a celebration and testimony – an offering to identity, lineage, and the power of cultural continuity. “My deepest wish is that something in this work nudges audiences back toward their own roots,” Rodriguez reflects.

Mia Davies' contemporary work Can We Turn Back Now? confronts the urgency of climate change, drawing from the rising sea levels that shape Hawai‘i's environmental reality. This piece shifts from warning to resilience, echoing determination of younger generations who continue to envision a brighter environmental future. Tiare Kehaulani Reincke's ‘Ohana honors strength, continuity, and love passed down through lineage. Shaped by cultural values, her contemporary movement landscape becomes a celebration of resilience and shared identity. In Sunder, Tessa Rudig blends her studies in dance and psychology to examine dissociation – the blurring, drifting sensation of disconnection from one's own experience. Contrasting states of presence and absence, the work reflects on how contemporary pressures, drive culture, and burnout can fracture a sense of self.

Hawaii Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. PARADE (Manoa Valley Theatre)

30.9% of votes

2. IRVING BERLIN’S WHITE CHRISTMAS (Diamond Head Theatre)

27.7% of votes

3. ONCE ON THIS ISLAND (Manoa Valley Theatre)

10.2% of votes

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