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14 Dance Performances to See in April

By: Susan Reiter
Date: Apr 10, 2024
Dance

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Catch New York City Ballet's spring season, Martha Graham Dance Company, Ballet Hispánico and more

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Spring is an ideal time to catch future dance stars. There are many showcases of up-and-coming talent, including the Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition, the Juilliard Senior Dance Production and the young members of Ailey II. For veteran dancers, check out performances by the Martha Graham Dance Company, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Ballet Hispánico and New York City Ballet's spring season.

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Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition

Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues on the Upper East Side

Runs April 8-12. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.

See tomorrow's dance stars today! More than 200 young dancers from a dozen countries convene for this annual competition. Through increasingly rigorous rounds, they showcase their skills in classical, contemporary and the newly added free-style category. The panel of judges includes luminaries such as Nina Ananiashvili and Charles Jude, and the event culminates in the April 12 gala featuring performances by the finalists, an awards ceremony and a special appearance by founder Valentina Kozlova.

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Ailey II

The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street in Chelsea

Runs April 9-14

Alvin Ailey's junior troupe features a dozen technically assured, highly individual dancers, some of whom will soon join the main company or move on to other prestigious dance ensembles. To mark Ailey II's 50th anniversary, the dancers will perform excerpts from works by Alvin Ailey, Judith Jamison and William Forsythe alongside Luminous by artistic director Francesca Harper and a world premiere by the inventive contemporary duo Baye & Asa.

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Young Boy Dancing Group 2024

Performance Space New York, 150 First Avenue at 9th Street in the East Village

Runs April 11-13

Denounced by Alex Jones, this decade-old, gender-inclusive, experimental collective performs raw and sensual dances through structured improvisation. See what riles Jones up live and in person!

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Dance Theatre of Harlem

New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown

Runs April 11-14. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.

Dance Theatre of Harlem presents its first NYC performances programmed by its new artistic director, Robert Garland, a longtime resident choreographer and former principal dancer. In addition to several of Garland's vibrant ballets that showcase the company's technical flair and individuality, the lineup includes Balanchine's classical Pas de Dix, the high-tech bravura of William Forsythe's Blake Works IV (The Barre Project) and the NYC premiere of Robert Bondara's Take Me With You, a duet set to Radiohead songs. The April 12 gala celebrates the 90th birthday of Arthur Mitchell, Dance Theatre of Harlem's late visionary founder.

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Beth Gill: Nail Biter

NYU Skirball, 566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square South in the West Village

Runs April 12-13

Contemporary dance-maker Beth Gill creates impactful works that are noteworthy for their craftsmanship and formalism. This new piece for five dancers, including Gill, explores our anxious times through myth, horror and collective angst.

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Calpulli Mexican Dance Company: Puebla: The Story of Cinco de Mayo

LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, 31-10 Thomson Avenue at Van Dam Street in Long Island City, Queens Long Island City, NY 11101

Runs April 14. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.

Learn the history behind the holiday at Calpulli Mexican Dance Company's one-day-only Puebla: The Story of Cinco de Mayo. Through folk and native dance, live music, colorful costumes and insightful narration, the troupe shares the tale of an outnumbered group of Mexican soldiers who managed to conquer the French army back in 1862. A great introduction to dance for kids.

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Sydney Dance Company: ab [intra]

The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street in Chelsea

Runs April 16-21

Australia's leading contemporary troupe, the Sydney Dance Company, specializes in boldly original choreography. For this Joyce run, the ensemble presents artistic director Rafael Bonachela's ab [intra], which translates to "from within." This exhilarating, evening-length work explores primal instincts as 17 dynamic dancers move to Nick Wales' propulsive score fusing cello and electronica.

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Tom Gold Dance

Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues on the Upper East Side

Runs April 17-18

Former New York City Ballet soloist Tom Gold crafts chamber ballets with a brisk contemporary flair. In addition to revivals of Counterpoint, set to music by Steve Reich, and Rapid Oxidation with a percussive Donald Knaack score, Gold's namesake troupe presents the world premiere of Lavender Is All the Rage, danced to an Ezio Bosso string quartet and featuring members of NYCB's corps de ballet.

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Martha Graham Dance Company

New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown

Runs April 17-20. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.

The venerable Martha Graham Dance Company has launched an ambitious three-year centennial celebration that culminates with its actual 100th anniversary in 2026. This first season is dubbed "American Legacies" and focuses on Graham's relationship with Americana and Modernism. The City Center run includes many of the groundbreaking choreographer's masterworks, including The Rite of Spring and Appalachian Spring, her beloved collaboration with composer Aaron Copland and designer Isamu Noguchi. There are also two intriguing additions to the troupe's repertory: Rodeo by Graham's contemporary and friend, Agnes de Mille, with Copland's music reorchestrated for a bluegrass band, and a new work by Jamar Roberts with a commissioned score by Grammy Award winner Rhiannon Giddens.

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Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca: Searching for Goya

The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street in Chelsea

Runs April 23-28

Choreographed by Noche Flamenca artistic director Martin Santangelo and Bessie Award-winning principal dancer Soledad Barrio, Searching for Goya further develops the troupe's potent, boundary-pushing blend of flamenco, drama and live music. Inspired by the 2021 Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit "Goya's Graphic Imagination," this evening-length work consists of a series of scenes conjuring the legendary artist's visual responses to Spain's political turmoil in the early 1800s.

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New York City Ballet: Spring Season

David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, 20 Lincoln Center Plaza at 63rd Street and Columbus Avenue in Lincoln Square

Runs April 23-June 2

The third and final portion of New York City Ballet's landmark 75th anniversary year juxtaposes the bold contemporary works the company has commissioned with classic repertory by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. The spring season opens with an all-Balanchine program, and later dates feature choreography by the likes of Kyle Abraham, Ulysses Dove, Christopher Wheeldon and Pam Tanowitz. The May 2 gala includes two world premieres, one by Tony winner Justin Peck, the other by Amy Hall Garner. The six-week run closes with Balanchine's delightful A Midsummer Night's Dream with multiple casts.

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Ballet Hispánico

New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown

Runs April 25-28. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.

The country's largest Latine dance company marks Eduardo Vilaro's 15th year as artistic director with a triple bill featuring the world premiere of his Buscando a Juan, inspired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's recent Juan de Pareja exhibit showcasing the work of the Afro-Hispanic painter. A reimagining of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Mad'moiselle exploring gender identity in Latin American and Gustavo Ramírez Sansano's 18+1 round out the program.

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Juilliard Senior Dance Production

Rosemary and Meredith Willson Theater, 155 West 65th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue in Lincoln Square

Runs April 26-28.

Another chance to see future dance stars! The breathtakingly talented seniors in The Juilliard School's Dance Division show off their creativity as they choreograph new works performed by their fellow students.

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Message in a Bottle

New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown

Runs April 30-May 12. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.

Award-winning British choreographer Kate Prince may not be well known on this side of the pond, but this dance-theatre epic set to songs by Sting is changing that. Message in a Bottle has been touring the US and was also streamed on PBS Great Performances late last year. Now catch this thrilling, street dance-infused spectacle in person at City Center depicting the tale of three siblings driven from their home by war.

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Susan Reiter covers dance for TDF Stages.