14 Dance Performances to See This October
Catch American Ballet Theatre, Oscar by The Australian Ballet, the Limón Dance Company and more
NYC’s busy dance scene this month includes some major premieres from The Australian Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, an anniversary celebration for the venerable Limón Dance Company and new choreography that pushes the envelope. Although we highlighted New York City Ballet last month, the troupe’s fall season continues through October 18, with longtime principal dancer Adrian Danchig-Waring giving his farewell performance on the final day.
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Limón Dance Company
The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street in Chelsea
Runs October 6-11.
The Limón Dance Company celebrates its 80th anniversary with a program that pairs a classic by its founding choreographer with a contemporary work. The performance opens with a notable revival of José Limón’s Mazurkas in its full 40-minute glory, accompanied by pianist Michael Scales. It’s followed by Aszure Barton’s Join, inspired by Limón’s description of Orestes, a lost work by Doris Humphrey. Though the pieces premiered decades apart, they complement each other and illustrate Limón’s ongoing influence.
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Works & Process at Refettorio Harlem: The 24/7 Diner
Refettorio Harlem, 37 West 119th Street between Fifth Avenue and Malcolm X Boulevard in Harlem
Runs October 7, 16, and 21. FREE on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Guggenheim’s Works & Process series presents its commission of ballroom icon Courtney “Balenciaga” Washington’s The 24/7 Diner at Refettorio Harlem, NYC’s only free restaurant. Performed by the MasterZ at Work Dance Family collective, the piece uses street dance and ballroom culture to celebrate chosen family and joy as resistance. Arrive early to snag your seat, which comes with a complimentary sit-down dinner!
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Ad Libitum
L’Alliance New York, 22 East 60th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues in Midtown East
Runs October 7-9.
Inspired by the Latin saying ad libitum, which translates as without restraint or limit, dancer Simon Le Borgne and musician Ulysse Zangs riff on the idea of reinventing oneself through art by fusing movement with a score of drums, electric guitar and synths. Part of the Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels series.
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The Australian Ballet: Oscar
New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown West
Runs October 8-11.
The Australian Ballet presents the critically acclaimed Oscar, Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon’s lavish exploration of Oscar Wilde’s dramatic life and timeless work as the writer’s memories are intertwined with his tales, including The Picture of Dorian Gray. Jody Talbot’s glorious original score is performed live by the 48-piece Orchestra of St. Luke’s.
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Allegra
New York Live Arts, 219 West 19th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in Chelsea
Runs October 8-10.
Using family tales, extensive research and the ancient Bugaku form (which inspired a work by George Balanchine), dancer-choreographer Benjamin Akio Kimitch examines the impact of World War II in Allegra. Fuses history and fantasy, he particularly delves into the experience of Japanese Americans in internment camps.
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Nrityagram Dance Ensemble
The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street in Chelsea
Runs October 13-18.
India’s leading Odissi dance company presents Khaṅkhaṇā, a collection of pieces by award-winning choreographer Surupa Sen that pays tribute to the red earth and community of the troupe’s home. The program includes both contemporary and classical works that offer a tour through the rich Odissi tradition.
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Johnnie Cruise Mercer: The Good News Suite
92NY, 1395 Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street on the Upper East Side
Runs October 16-17.
Johnnie Cruise Mercer was raised in the Black Baptist Church and The Good News Suite draws on that experience as he conjures community and a sense of healing. The program also features a fresh iteration of his solo Mercies of a Butterfly and the world premiere of The Unforced Rhythms of Grace, an ensemble piece for Black dancers and vocalists performed to gospel music.
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American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater, 20 Lincoln Center Plaza at 63rd Street and Columbus Avenue in Lincoln Square
Runs October 21-31.
American Ballet Theatre’s fall programming is stacked with classical treasures and lyrical contemporary works as well as some of the final performances by beloved principals Herman Cornejo and James B. Whiteside, who retire in 2027. Thankfully, they get plenty of performance time this fall. Cornejo gives a solo performance in Jae Man Joo’s Flight, accompanied by cellist Jonathan Spitz playing Bach. Whiteside dips his toes into George Balanchine’s stunning Ballet Imperial, set to Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 2 in G for Piano and Orchestra. Other highlights include Frederick Ashton’s gorgeous spin on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, titled simply The Dream; Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort, Kyle Abraham’s Mercurial Son and Trio Élégiaque by ABT dancer Brady Farrar.
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Untold Wajda: Blokowisko (The Estate)
La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theatre, 66 East 4th Street between Bowery and Second Avenue
Runs October 22-25.
Inspired by a story recounted to Oscar-nominated Andrzej Wajda by an actor in 1972, this contemporary dance-theatre work combines Blanka Barbara Stahl’s live electronic music, Anthony Matsena’s socially charged choreography and immersive video for this moving meditation on memory and loss. Presented in honor of what would have been the late Wajda’s 100th birthday.
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Toi, moi, Tituba…
New York Live Arts, 219 West 19th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in Chelsea
Runs October 23-24.
Dorothée Munyaneza uses her body to tell the story of Tituba, an enslaved Black woman who was caught up in the Salem witch trials. This solo riffs on French philosopher Elsa Dorlin’s essay on Maryse Condé’s heroine Tituba while collectively conjuring a multitude of figures lost from history.
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Mystical Feet Company: Dancing Into Roses
JACK, 20 Putnam Avenue between Grand and Downing Streets in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Runs October 23-November 1.
Yehuda L. Hyman combines movement and comedy on his quest to discover a dance that transforms pain into happiness. Dancing Into Roses is inspired by his journey as a dancer hired to bring the hottest disco moves to Germany in 1983 and his return to that country 35 years later to perform a protest at the site of a synagogue destroyed on Kristallnacht that became a party hub.
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Ambrose Akinmusire and Aszure Barton: A a | a B : BEND
Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater, Broadway at West 60th Street in Lincoln Square
Runs October 28-30.
Choreographer Aszure Barton and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire explore their shared fascination with the phenomenon of energy in A a | a B : BEND, a wild dance work that plumbs the depths of unfiltered human engagements. Performances are pay-what-you-wish.
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Christopher Williams: Spectre de la Rose and La Rhétorique des Dieux
92NY, 1395 Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street on the Upper East Side
Runs October 29-30.
Bessie Award-winning choreographer Christopher Williams has a knack for reimagining Greek myths as queer narratives performed by elaborately if scantily clad performers. The 92NY commission Spectre de la Rose is the sixth piece in his Queering the Canon: Reimagining the Ballets Russes series, bringing ballroom narrative to what is traditionally a twee fantasia about an air spirit who prances around a sleepy woman. Meanwhile, La Rhétorique des Dieux expands on the story of Phaëthon, who lost control of his father Apollo’s chariot.
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Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company: FRICTION
Ailey Citigroup Theater, 405 West 55th Street at Ninth Avenue in Midtown West
Runs October 29-31.
Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company returns to New York with its first full-length work in over seven years: FRICTION, a deep dive into the line that separates human creativity, technology and AI sentience.
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