The UCSB Department of Theater and Dance will offer its annual fall dance concert, bearing the cautious title “Almost, Honest” (subtitled “Six New Dances from the Heart”) at 8 p.m. Friday and at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday in the Hatlen Theater on the university campus.

The concert, directed by UCSB faculty member Mira Kingsley, will showcase the choreography of advanced UCSB dance students intermingled with new works from faculty members Nancy Colahan and Christina McCarthy.

A brief description, in the words of the choreographer, of each of the six dances, follows below:

“‘I Made These Trees with Deep Roots,’” choreographed by Tenaya Cowsill, “invites the audience to enter into a story of the human need for connection.”

“Occupation,” by McCarthy, is “a stylized study of the dynamics that arise over contested territory and resources.” UCSB’s remarkable Percussion Ensemble will be playing live on stage during the negotiations, along with 40 chairs.

Choreographer Maggie Hurd’s “Crumbs at the Bottom” “explores the journey of five dancers with five backpacks revealing themselves to one another and to the audience.” Classical score.

Created by Colahan, “No Freedom Like a Dance” aims to “elicit luscious, powerful and fluid group displays, both powerful and tender.” Features both soloists and ensembles.

“Hyperbole” is a quartet by choreographer Giovanna Ventola. The work is “an all-out festival of virtuosic and mind-bending movement set to a playful rhythmic score.”

“A Story About a Boy and Girl Trying to Hold Hands,” a duet choreographed by Larry Daniels, is “an intimate portrayal of a relationship balanced between moving forward or ending completely.”

Tickets to “Almost, Honest” are $17 for general admission, $13 for students, seniors, UCSB faculty and staff, and are available at the Hatlen box office before the performance, or click here to order online.

— Gerald Carpenter covers the arts as a Noozhawk contributing writer.