Celesta M. Billeci Joins The Music Center, L.A.’s Performing Arts Center

You can’t keep a dedicated performing arts pro retired for long! 

When she took her final bow at the end of the 2024-2025 season after 25 years of leading UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L), Celesta M. Billeci made some vague comments about not being done with the performing arts world she’s so passionate about. Now she’s coming back in a big way, joining The Music Center in Los Angeles as principal strategic dance advisor for the institution’s Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center series. An $80 million nonprofit performing arts organization, The Music Center provides year-round programming inside The Music Center’s four theaters, on Jerry Moss Plaza, outside at Gloria Molina Grand Park — a 12-acre adjacent green space — in schools and other locations all over Los Angeles County and is also home to four renowned resident companies  — Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Master Chorale, L.A. Opera and L.A. Phil.

In her new role, Billeci will further enhance The Music Center’s longstanding commitment to present the highest caliber of dance experiences in Los Angeles, whose upcoming shows include Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theater and New York City Ballet, among others. Billeci will work closely with The Music Center President & CEO Rachel S. Moore, and she succeeds Martin Wechsler, who will retire at the end of 2025.

“Celesta is not only one of the most respected performing arts leaders and curators in the nation, but also someone I have known from a very young age. We grew up together in Sacramento’s dance community, training at the same ballet studio, and have admired each other’s accomplishments and success in bringing unforgettable dance experiences to countless audiences in Southern California. For more than two decades, Celesta’s artistic vision shaped the trajectory of concert dance presentation at UCSB Arts & Lectures and the West Coast,” said Moore, in a statement. “Her vast knowledge of and deep relationships with dance companies and choreographers around the world, paired with her impeccable eye for quality, make her an ideal and trusted partner. Together, we will continue to advance The Music Center’s role as the premier home for dance in Los Angeles.”

Under Billeci’s tenure as the longest-standing director in A&L’s 65-year history, the organization grew from a modest campus-focused series into a nationally respected presenting powerhouse; Billeci expanded its annual budget from under $1 million to more than $10 million and helped elevate Santa Barbara into a top destination for superb performing arts programming. Among the major American and international companies Billeci brought to town were: Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ballet Preljocaj, Batsheva Dance Company, Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan, Dorrance Dance, Lyon Opera Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, and New York City Ballet Moves. 

“I am honored to collaborate with The Music Center, a world-class performing arts institution I have admired throughout my career,” said Billeci, who will continue to live in Santa Barbara with her husband John Hajda. “Helping to expand and curate an acclaimed dance season for an organization with a deep commitment to artistic excellence, civic engagement, arts education, and cultural vibrancy is an extraordinary opportunity. I look forward to working with The Music Center team and especially with my longtime friend Rachel, who is known internationally for her clear and ambitious vision. We share a passion for the dance field and a love for arts education, and we are excited to bring today’s most compelling and distinguished dance works to L.A. audiences!”