UCLA Mixed Alumni Association Presents Multiraciality in the Arts

Join the UCLA Mixed Alumni Association for a virtual panel event featuring multiracial artists from the Bruin network. Spanning theater, dance and film, this conversation will explore the intersections of mixed identity, representation and storytelling in today's creative economy.

Featured Artists

Kenny Ramos '13 (he/they) is a theater artist from the Barona Band of Mission Indians/Kumeyaay Nation. He grew up on the Barona Indian Reservation and graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in American Indian Studies. Kenny specializes in contemporary Native theater and has collaborated on Native theater productions and projects at Cornerstone Theater Company, Omaha Theater Company, Perseverance Theatre, Illinois Theater/KCPA, Native Voices at the Autry, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center and The Kennedy Center. Awards: First Peoples Fund’s Cultural Capital Fellowship, Theatre Communications Group’s Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowship, and Yale Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity, & Transnational Migration’s Mellon Arts Practitioner Fellowship. Kenny is a proud ensemble member at Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles, and is currently an Artist-in-Residence at La Jolla Playhouse and working on his first play commission for Diversionary Theatre, both in San Diego. Outside of theater, Kenny works with tribal organizations, including United American Indian Involvement and California Native Vote Project. In his tribal homelands, Kenny is involved with language revitalization efforts and with the Rainbow of Truth Circle, a tribal organization promoting two spirit education and wellness.

Miya Shaffer M.A. '19, Exp. Ph.D. '24 is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance at UCLA. Her dissertation explores an original theorization of a “multiracial analytic” for viewing dances: an interpretive position that excavates key North American multiracial discourses within contemporary dance. Miya’s research has been generously supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the New York Public Library’s Short-Term Research Fellowships, and UCLA’s Institute of American Cultures. She is a recipient of the Dance Studies Association’s Selma Jeanne Cohen Award for graduate student excellence in dance research, which she received for her work on mixed-race performance. Miya is also a dancer, trained in ballet and Limón modern, and has performed throughout Los Angeles, Toronto and Montreal.

Kenji Igus '13 can be seen tap dancing in a variety of media including doing work for ESPN and Capezio. Kenji has choreographed two shows for Universal Studios Hollywood, consulted on a Coen Brothers movie, Hail, Caesar and starred in Rhythm is my Business, a film showcasing tap dance in the modern world sponsored by Levi's Jeans. Kenji is featured as a writer for a Google Arts and Culture’s editorial to bring more information on Tap Dance to the general public. Currently, Kenji tours internationally with the iconic show, Riverdance.

Nerris Nevarez-Nassiri '15 is a Mexican & MENASA writer, director and musician. His feature screenplay MO’ALLEM made the finals at the Austin Film Festival. and his 2022 feature BHAI/HERMANA landed a shopping agreement with Khrisp Entertainment. His latest script, NO TE OLVIDES, recently won a Musical Film Fellowship from The Black List. Nerris has also been awarded fellowships from The Disruptors and Minorities in Film. His commercial directing has seen him work with clients such as Disney, Aputure, Cirque du Soleil and others. Nerris' proud immigrant upbringing compels him to write coming-of-age and fish-out-of-water stories with a whole lot of music.