Celebrated violinist Itzhak Perlman is known for giving himself completely over to the music, and in an appearance at UCLA's Royce Hall last night, he not only lived up to that reputation, but proved as well that he's a master of the difficult art of both playing with both honesty and reserve. His performance was never overly aggressive or sentimental, but rather in perfect, restrained sync with the tenor of the music. more ›

Tuesday, award-winning author Rebecca Skloot will read from her New York Times best-selling book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks at UCLA Live’s Royce Hall. The critically-acclaimed nonfiction book has been heralded for its intricate research and gripping story. more ›

Starting their 2011-12 Dance Series at Royce Hall with a bang, UCLA Live presents a return engagement of the Hofesh Shechter Company and the U.S. premiere of Political Mother, the highly acclaimed choreographer’s first full length work. Described in promotional materials as “part dance show, part heavy rock gig, part political statement . . . and an audio-visual marvel,” the evening length event for ten dancers and as many musicians (drums and electric guitars) promises to reveal a “raw physicality [and] gritty emotional complexity.” more ›

This weekend, UCLA Live is presenting one of the classic postmodern dances choreographed by Judson Church movement pioneer Lucinda Childs at Royce Hall. Created in collaboration with visual artist Sol Lewitt and (at the time emerging) music composer, Phillip Glass, the full length work for eight dancers premiered in 1979 and was considered to be a “breakthrough” in dance by respected critic Alan Kriegsman of the Washington Post. more ›

Oft labeled a rising star in contemporary dance, Los Angeles-bred and European/Israeli infused choreographer Barak Marshall and UCLA Live bring a company of ten dancers to Royce Hall for two shows this weekend. Presenting the evening length physical theater work Monger, its sound score includes excerpts of Gypsy, Balkan, classical and rock music and a narrative drawn from sources such as artist/writer Bruno Shultz’ life and work, Jean Genet’sThe Maids and Robert Altman’s film Gosford Park. more ›

Next weekend, LACO brings Canadian pianist Jon Kimura Parker to LA to perform Beethoven's Emperor Concerto. If you missed out in January, don't miss out on this weekend's program which includes Dvorak's Serenade in E Major for Strings and John Harbison's Gli accordi più usati (“The Most Often Used Chords”). more ›

Oh look, another New York transplant is heading out west - at least for a night or two. WNYC’s Radiolab, the popular public radio / podcast storytelling show with a scientific bent, will be at Royce Hall on Wednesday (sold out) and Thursday evening as part of a three-city tour, eventually culminating in Seattle at the end of the month. more ›

Bringing international artists onto the Westwood campus, UCLA Live is presenting Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite this weekend at Royce Hall. With her company Kidd Pivot Frankfort RM, the artist continues her investigation into the metaphoric implications of movement and performance. Promotional materials say that in Lost Action, the evening length work they’ll perform here, the dancers “sculpt space in real-time, working inside a form that is constantly in a state of vanishing.” more ›

In the mood for something subversive? You're in luck. The ever-peculiar John Waters will be taking the Royce Hall stage on February 23rd as part of the ongoing UCLA Live season. Parents: you've been warned. more ›

Wallace Shawn has the face of an aging angel, which has borne itself onto screen in well-remembered roles in The Princess Bride, Manhattan, and Clueless. Yet, on stage, Shawn is a sharp-witted maestro of the theatrical arena, having collected an Obie award and many adoring fans for his thought-provoking, politically-driven pieces. In some cases, such as his one-man monologue The Fever, Shawn strips down the essence of the theatre itself, preferring to stage the show in living rooms and other close quarters. more ›

British singer-songwriter David Gray is kicking off his "Lost and Found" tour next month, and he'll be making a stop at Royce Hall on March 8th, 2011. We are giving away a pair of tickets to see Gray at Royce Hall to one reader who enters our contest. more ›

It is almost impossible to overstate the effect that Ornette Coleman had on the world of American music in the late 1950s. Coleman’s early records for Atlantic - using a band formed in LA, with Don Cherry, Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins, trading the drum seat with Ed Blackwell - declared complete freedom from jazz convention, including the restrictions of tonality itself, while remaining rooted in the blues at its deepest level... more ›

Opening up the UCLA Live dance series for 2010/11 season is the local contemporary company, Helios Dance Theater, led by choreographer Laura Gorenstein Miller. The group is the first Los Angeles-based troupe to grace the Royce Hall stage in a decade and they will premiere the seasonally-inspired Beautiful Monsters this Saturday night! more ›

Royce Hall was packed to the gills Thursday for Anthony Bourdain's book signing and speaking tour. Really, his lecture was more like stand-up comedy, with his acerbic wit with razor-sharp observations. He machine-guns bon mots so fast, so smoothly, it's easy to believe he does 40 speaking engagements a year. more ›

Anthony Bourdain. The take-no-prisoners author will be making a rare appearance at UCLA's Royce Hall on Wednesday, June 16th, fresh on the heels of his new book, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook, which will be released on June 8th. more ›

With a painting of the yellow-brick road as their backdrop, it was easy to see that Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros know there’s no place like home. When they played in their hometown at UCLA’s Royce Hall on Thursday night, lead singer Alex Ebert and crew made sure that the audience felt at home, too. Sporting an overgrown beard and a worn-out suit he probably snagged from a thrift store, Jesus look-alike Ebert embraced the audience as he sauntered and danced across the stage, drawing cheers from the anxious crowd. more ›

It's unusual for a ballet company to explode onto the international scene as quickly as the "overnight" successes in other arts. To do so, there needs to be a philanthropic supporter who gets the ball rolling and stays there, like Lincoln Kirstein and the NYC Ballet or Baroness Rothschild and Martha Graham. So, for an American company to do this in our economically-challenged 21st century is an unexpected wonder! But "Hello!" to Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and welcome to Los Angeles! more ›

There's that magical moment when you're hearing a story being told when you're hooked. You might not say it aloud, but there's that pressing sense of wonder: "And then what happened?" The action unfolds, and then there's that pause. The "ahhhh" moment. You're digesting the lesson, the connection, the revelation. You're satisfied. Exhale. more ›

Last month KCRW announced an event that had many This American Life addicts abuzz. The show's beloved host, Ira Glass, will be appearing live onstage at Royce Hall for a night of two shows in March during which he'll talk about his career in radio, and give audiencce members a chance to put him on the spot and ask him the questions. During KCRW's recent Winter Pledge Drive pairs of tickets to this one-night only event were snapped up as premiums to subscribers as soon as they were offered on the air. If you weren't one of the lucky few tomorrow is the first chance for you and to buy tickets when they go on sale at 10 a.m. The tickets are only available for purchase online, and Glass is doing the show as a benefit for the Santa Monica-based station. Tickets are $32-$58 (plus fees); shows are at 7 and 10 p.m. more ›

C'mon, admit it...you've got a serious crush on Ira Glass of This American Life. Maybe it's an intellectual bromance, maybe it's a schoolgirl geek chic sweet-on-you kind of thing. You know it's the voice (who else can say "From Chicago Public Radio, this is..." and make you grin?) but how about in the flesh? Well, we can't guarantee you just how close to the flesh you'll get, but we can let you know that in late March you'll have the chance to get at least in the same room as Ira Glass, as KCRW presents "A Night With Ira Glass: Radio Stories and Other Stories" at UCLA's Royce Hall. more ›

Did you know that They Might Be Giants records albums for kids? That are educational? And still rock? If it was inevitable that all the long-standing indie music fans would grow up and have kids, it would follow that all the long-standing indie bands would grow up and have kids, too. And why should either group have to resign themselves to a life of mind-numbing Kidz Bop or Wiggles tunes? more ›

Thursday night at Royce hall in UCLA was like the face melting "Stoned Again" poster. A great start, but it ended badly. It was hard to guess which R. Crumb would be on stage, the self-loathing, misogynistic misanthropic, insensitive curmudgeon or the boyishly endearing, insightful artist. more ›

World renowned Batsheva Dance Company returns to UCLAlive’s Royce Hall to present the L.A. premiere of MAX on Saturday and Sunday night, Feb. 28-March 1. This new work by award winning choreographer Ohad Naharin is an evening length piece for 10 dancers that continues Naharin’s research into the roots, origins and essence of movement. The highly refined choreography investigates notions of structure, time and space, with each dancer compressing utmost attention inward. Set to original music composed and performed by Maxim Waratt, an onstage awkwardness turns into beauty when performed by this athletic and innovative dance company. more ›

At the near-forty-year mark in their career, the bro-team of Ron and Russell Mael are finally receiving the kind of success that occasionally visits extremely unique musicians who hang in there for the long haul. Even if their music is so out-there as to only appeal to 1% of the listening audience, there’s a new potential audience every year as another crop of rock and roll kids sets out on their path to discovery, and the ones inclined to bizarre postmodern pop will eventually cross their path. Over time, those small numbers add up. So it was that Sparks sold out Royce Hall on Saturday by combining new and vintage material for a show that brought out the faithful in droves. more ›

“A 4,000-year-old rock ‘n’ roll band.” - William S. Burroughs more ›

Royce Hall has always been the spot for the classical concerts in the Westside. This week, they host two world class events, with performances by the Takács Quartet and the Guarneri String Quartet. more ›

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Returning to Westwood after a five year absense, Montreal postmodern dance company La La La Human Steps brings its newest explosion of clasical technique, high speed dancing and punk attitude to Royce Hall this weekend through UCLA Live. more ›