While some artists reflect on the past and others imagine the future, the most exciting work coming to stages, screens, and less traditional venues this season is undeniably grounded in our shared present.
New York City Marks a Somber Milestone
Dance artists will help New York City move through the 25th anniversary of 9/11. As part of the River to River Festival, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company will premiere Jones’ Curriculum IV: Spin and Spin! Turn! Turn! Turn! (Sept. 10, 12, and 13 at Wagner Park), drawing from and reflecting on a commission that was supposed to premiere on the plaza between the Twin Towers on September 12, 2001. At Times Square, butoh artist Vangeline premieres Unforgotten: Butoh for 9/11, accompanied by cellist Katinka Kleijn, continuing Vangeline Theater’s two-decade tradition of performing on the anniversary in tribute to those lost in the attack. And at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Buglisi Dance Theatre will once again bring together dozens of multigenerational performers for the meditative Table of Silence Project 9/11, this year opening with a reimagining of Buglisi’s Requiem and preceded by an open-to-the-public dress rehearsal the evening prior. lmcc.net, vangeline.com, and tableofsilence.org.
Nature Hike
Dancer-choreographer Dominic Moore-Dunson takes to the outdoors for Black by Nature. “The concept is that you are on a hike with me,” says Moore-Dunson. “Over time, you stop at vignettes I have created with my collaborators that say something about my exposure to nature as a Black man and relate to my personal and the historical context of my people.”
The new site-specific dance work was born of his writings about the unease of the Black experience in nature. “I began hiking to discover what it is about this activity that people love so much,” he says, which led him to investigate the source of his discomfort. Presented by DANCECleveland, Black by Nature will be performed by Moore-Dunson and three dancers with musicians along two hiking trails (beginner and advanced level) at Cascade Valley Metro Park in Akron, OH. Sept. 19 and 26. dancecleveland.org.
Haunted Head Trip
With Story Ballet, slowdanger is going to hell. Lauded for its experimental, postmodern dance works, the tech-savvy multi-disciplinary entity here draws from Hector Berlioz’s trippy Symphonie Fantastique and 19th-century phantasmagoria. While Berlioz’s hero drowns unrequited love with an opium overdose, personal ghosts haunt Story Ballet’s cast—directors Anna Thompson and Taylor Knight, and collaborators Theo Bliss, Maree ReMalia, and Christian Warner. The five scenes correspond with the five symphonic movements of Berlioz’s work and feature manipulated elements of the score, deconstructed Romantic-era costuming, and plenty of tech candy, including holographs and motion-capture blobs that “look like the body with the skin taken off,” says Thompson. But it’s not all nightmarish: For the epilogue, they referenced Berlioz’s Lélio, or the Return to Life. “We didn’t want to drop off everyone in hell and just leave them there,” Thompson says. The work premieres at Eisemann Center in Richardson, TX, Sept. 25–27. slowdangerslowdanger.com.
Wilde West
Gay men have always had an essential presence in ballet. Yet their stories are rarely portrayed on classical ballet stages. So it’s notable that The Australian Ballet, in its first major U.S. engagement since 2012, will bring Christopher Wheeldon’s Oscar to California and New York this fall. The production, which had its world premiere in Melbourne in 2024, considers the life and work of Irish writer Oscar Wilde. Weaving together Wilde’s own story—his family, clandestine love affairs, trial for gross indecency, and imprisonment—with elements from his The Nightingale and the Rose (1888) and The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), Oscar paints a poignant, abstract portrait of the troubled writer. It exposes the fraught reality the queer community faced during his time—but at its core, Oscar is simply a love story. At Cal Performances in Berkeley, CA, Sept. 25–27, and New York City Center Oct. 8–11. australianballet.com.au.
Eyes on the Environment
Climate and sustainability concerns animate new works across genres.
Tuning In
Emily Johnson, from the Yup’ik Nation, has created an ambitious new art installation, community engagement project, dance work, and radio experiment. Unfolding over 24 hours in four six-hour segments, Overflow Radio includes live radio broadcasts featuring Indigenous and First Nations authors; skill-sharing activities; a collective feast; an installation of 84 community-sewn quilts designed by Fond du Lac Ojibwe artist Maggie Thompson; and choreography performed by Johnson, Brandi Norton, and Michelle Boulé. It also employs a new app that connects a network of tree carers to the project, with the goal of planting 1,000 trees in every place where they tour. Premieres Oct. 9–12 at Northrop in Minneapolis, with concurrent satellite gatherings at DiverseWorks in Houston Oct. 3–26 and further touring engagements to be announced. catalystdance.com.
Coastal Consciousness
Two works by Dance NOW! Miami’s artistic directors consider the pleasures—and urgent environmental perils—of life on the Atlantic coast. For the revival of OCEANICA, returning to the stage in May, Diego Salterini dives into a shimmering underwater realm evoked by gliding, darting choreography and a sculptural reef-formation set (by Elizabeth Camargo, with lighting design by Bruce F. Brown) constructed of sustainable materials. Here the beauty of endangered biodiverse wonders elicits a plea for marine conservation. Before then, Hannah Baumgarten’s site-shifting Shelter tallies the toll of climate change and sea-level rise. The new series of “guerilla pop-ups” will occupy unexpected but “weather-proof” locations throughout Miami-Dade County—stairwells, parking garages, high-rise elevators—from November to May. Within fortresses of utilitarian architecture, the performers play out postapocalyptic episodes, presenting survivalism as a cautionary tale, not without hope. dancenowmiami.org.
Breaking Point
Choreographic duo Jessica Wright and Morgann Runacre-Temple—better-known as Jess and Morgs—made a name for themselves with witty, fast-paced dance films. In recent years, however, they have taken the stage by storm: After a genre-bending, award-winning version of Coppélia for Scottish Ballet in 2022, their brand of cinematic dance—weaving virtuosic live camerawork into choreography—made it to the Paris Opéra Ballet this past March with Arena, which saw the cast vie for power in a dystopian dance competition.
This winter, Jess and Morgs will take on a pressing issue: the climate crisis. Prey, a “dark fairy tale” for Dutch National Ballet, dives into what might happen if nature reaches its breaking point. The staging will include the eruption of a volcano—striking fodder for their visual inventiveness. Feb. 13–March 2. operaballet.nl.
Minnesota Strong
Through dance and arts activism, Ananya Chatterjea’s work seeks pathways from chaos to community. The Twin Cities–based choreographer grounds her latest, PREM | Love: an Occupation, in two pivotal Minnesota crises: the 2020 protests following the murder of George Floyd and the 2026 federal immigration sweep known as Operation Metro Surge, during which federal immigration officers killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti as they observed enforcement activity. Chatterjea pairs elaborate theatrical design with Yorchhā, her movement vocabulary blending Odissi, vinyasa yoga, and the martial art Chhau. The work premieres Oct. 10–11, 15–17 at The Southern Theater in Minneapolis. ananyadancetheatre.org.
Musical Mélange
5 shows with an array of inspirations—and stellar choreographers—arrive in New York City.
All in the Family
Dubbed a “mostly true” musical, WANTED tells the story of Black twin sisters Mary and Martha Clarke. Faced with saving their mother and their family legacy—and aided by their ability to pass as white women in 1893 Texas—they soon became outlaws. Now, their legend comes to Broadway, via a book and lyrics by Angelica Chéri, herself a relative of the sisters. The show marks Chelsey Arce’s first turn as a Broadway choreographer, following her notable credits as an associate on CATS: The Jellicle Ball and Sweeney Todd. Opens Nov. 8 at the James Earl Jones Theatre. wantedmusical.com.
A Manga Musical
Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen marks the first manga to be made into an American musical in English. Based on Moyoco Anno’s popular serialized manga of the same name, the show follows Colette, who works at The Night Egg, a 20th-century Paris brothel. As she uses her powers of observation to fuel her writing, chronicling her clients, she also develops her sense of autonomy. How will the highly stylized 2-D art form translate to off-Broadway dance sequences? That’s a task for director-choreographer Rob Ashford, supported by the music and lyrics of Duncan Sheik (of 1990s pop fame and Broadway’s Spring Awakening and American Psycho). Opens this fall at The Night Egg, a new venue crafted for this show, at immersive-theater destination the Culture Club. memoirsmusical.com.
Cosmic Truths vs. the Catholic Church
In the 1600s, astronomer Galileo Galilei faced scrutiny from the most powerful institution of his time—the Catholic Church—for his discoveries about the universe. Now, this clash is being recounted as a rock musical on Broadway. Our hypothesis? David Neumann will formulate the right mix of austerity and wonder in his choreography for Galileo’s take on church versus science, drawing on his contemporary chops and his track record of haunting, tender work on musicals like Hadestown and Swept Away. Opens Dec. 6 at the Shubert Theatre. galileomusical.com.
Survive the Night
For the first time since Hamilton, there’s a new Lin-Manuel Miranda musical coming to Broadway—and, naturally, the project involves Miranda’s right-hand dance man, Andy Blankenbuehler.
Warriors, like both Hamilton and In the Heights, tells a New York City story. Based on the 1979 film The Warriors, the show follows a fictional gang across the five boroughs after they’re framed for the murder of a charismatic gang leader. There are shades of West Side Story in this long-gestating project, which Miranda and the playwright Eisa Davis produced as a concept album in 2024. But it’s not a period piece. Miranda and Davis’ songs adroitly incorporate rap, salsa, and funk, and their gangs include women. (On the gender-swapped album, Lauryn Hill voiced the ill-fated leader.) Blankenbuehler—who will both choreograph and co-direct Warriors—is a similarly gifted mixologist of styles and eras. Opens in April at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. warriorsmusical.com.
Sealed With a Kiss
Kiss of the Spider Woman boasts impeccable credentials. It has music by John Kander and Fred Ebb, whose dark-hearted songs drive the dancing in Chicago and Cabaret. Its story-within-a story plot is rich with choreographic possibilities. And its titular siren role has attracted impossibly illustrious dancers, including Chita Rivera, Bebe Neuwirth, and—in the 2025 film version—Jennifer Lopez.
But that doesn’t mean it’s a surefire hit. (Though the musical’s Broadway debut in 1993 earned seven Tony awards, the show’s first workshop, in 1990, was a mess.) It needs a deft creative leader to make its nesting-doll pieces fit together. Rumors that Andy Blankenbuehler was up for the challenge have been swirling for years. This spring, he makes it official, both directing and choreographing Kiss of the Spider Woman for New York City Center’s Encores! series. April 28–May 9. nycitycenter.org.
Romeo Refresh
This season, New York City Ballet acquires a new-to-the-company production of Romeo and Juliet, which will replace its previous staging, by Peter Martins. Originally created for National Ballet of Canada in 2011, Alexei Ratmansky’s version of the oft-adapted story turns its focus toward the private—the poetry of individual emotion. In small, revealing moments, we see the inner lives of the characters, even secondary ones like Lady Capulet and Friar Lawrence, or an unnamed woman of Verona. “I think it’s very important that the audience is drawn into the world of the lonely person and what he or she feels,” Ratmansky has said of his approach. His staging is also full of kaleidoscopic, layered, geometric, and remarkably classical dances for the ensemble that bring the whole stage alive with sparkling musicality. “The production is both beautifully crafted and balanced,” says NYCB associate artistic director Wendy Whelan. “Nothing about it feels forced or overdone.” NYCB’s production will have adapted scenery and costumes by Richard Hudson and new lighting by Mark Stanley. Jan. 19–31. nycballet.com.
Akram Khan Reinvents a Modern Classic
In recent years, the Limón Dance Company has been commissioning buzzy choreographers to respond to lost or nearly lost works from its archives. But what happens when the work in question is an oft-performed masterpiece?
José Limón’s The Moor’s Pavane, which premiered in 1949, brilliantly distilled the story familiar to most as Shakespeare’s Othello to four characters and a handkerchief. Now, as part of the company’s 80th-anniversary celebrations, lauded choreographer Akram Khan—no stranger to revealing hidden facets of repertory classics through radical reinvention—will craft his own take to a newly commissioned score by Aditya Prakash. Khan sees the Limón classic as “an epic sweeping gesture of comment on our sense of who we are not, rather than who we are,” he said in a press statement. What will his reimagining reveal about humanity as it is—and is not—today? The work premieres Jan. 30 at Northrop before a national tour. limon.nyc.
Finding Wonderland
There’s no shortage of Alice in Wonderland ballets. Houston Ballet artistic director Stanton Welch had no plans to add to the canon, but listening to the atmospheric soundtrack for The Social Network by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails fame sparked something. “I got this idea of a person, like Alice, falling through the rabbit hole of her phone,” says Welch. The resulting ballet, Where’s Alice?, is set in our social-media-drenched days. Familiar characters take on new, online dimensions, embodying ideas about connection, identity, and belonging in the modern world. “This is most definitely a comment on technology,” Welch says. “We can’t just live our lives digitally.” It’s a getting-lost-to-find-oneself story, ending on an analog, and hopeful, note. Welch promises spectacle, vivid storytelling, otherworldly projections by Wendall K. Harrington, and costumes by Marco Marco to accompany the Reznor and Ross–composed score. Feb. 25–March 7. houstonballet.org.
Keep It Lite
Even if you didn’t know Teyana Taylor started out as a dancer, you probably clocked it subconsciously: Whatever the multi-hyphenate artist is doing, her physical genius is undeniable. In the 2025 film One Battle After Another, where she played the cutthroat leader of a revolutionary group, she stalked her foes with electrifying bodily precision. Woe to the dancers who had to face off with her when she was battling as a teen in Harlem.
Now, Taylor, who choreographed for Beyoncé before turning to music and acting, is coming back to her dance roots. Get Lite, her directorial debut, follows a bookish New York City teenager who discovers a new world after joining a Litefeet street dance crew. “I feel like we haven’t had a good dance movie in a long time,” Taylor said in a 2025 red-carpet interview. Who better to lead the genre’s revival? Get Lite is slated for theatrical release in April. paramountmovies.com.
All Aboard
A trip to see the USS Intrepid inspired Open Dance Project executive artistic director Annie Arnoult’s next immersive dance experience, Ghost Ship: A Pocket Book Romance Aboard the USS Intrepid (Featuring Hedy Lamarr). After listening to recordings of men who lived on the famous aircraft carrier that served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 through 1974, the Houston–based choreographer was hooked. “The ship was all the things I love to make work about,” says Arnoult. “Not only was it a dramatic historical setting with all kinds of physical potential—chains and ropes to balance and walk on, ladders to climb and hang from, poles to slide down—but also the container of personal histories, stories of sailors doing their best to maintain some sense of themselves.” Her longtime collaborator Ryan McGettigan will create a multileveled set evoking the ship, which will be activated by Bryan Ealey’s environmental projections of the vast Pacific. Ghost Ship also includes an original score by Paul Beebe, inspired by the radio-frequency-skipping technology invented by Hollywood starlet Hedy Lamarr and her avant-garde composer collaborator George Antheil. Premieres April 29–May 8 at MATCH. opendanceproject.org.
Lose the Wilis
Few assignments carry more pressure than reinventing Giselle for the Paris Opéra Ballet, the company that created this quintessential French classic back in 1841. But with his track record of reinventing works like Swan Lake and Carmen, Swedish choreographer Johan Inger might be just the person to pull it off.
Inger has already indicated that audiences shouldn’t expect pointe shoes or ghostly tutus in the second act: The undead Wilis are set to be replaced with regular people manipulated by Giselle’s mother to carry out her revenge against Albrecht. A new score by the French composer Grégoire Hetzel and abstract sets will contribute to the contemporary setting. Still, Inger says he intends to “stay loyal to Giselle and her story.” His new-look heroine will be onstage at the Palais Garnier June 25–July 14. operadeparis.fr.
Dancing Democracy
In David Dorfman’s newest creation, the veteran choreographer investigates what it means to participate in American democracy from the perspective of election pollworkers. A potent mix of what he calls “sober reflection and joyous celebration,” The Front Line imagines Election Day 2040 in a middle-school gymnasium-turned-polling-site, and will be performed by David Dorfman Dance artists as pollworkers and local community members as voters. The thorny issues raised are daunting: What are the ramifications of who can vote and who doesn’t? Why is voter safety not guaranteed? Why have our communities become so polarized? But Dorfman intends to take strides toward answering what may be the most important question of all: What can we do? One of Perelman Performing Arts Center’s Democracy Cycle commissions, The Front Line will premiere at the American Dance Festival next summer, with subsequent engagements at Bates Dance Festival, Connecticut College, and more, in tandem with the company’s 40th anniversary. daviddorfmandance.org.