15 Dance Performances to See This June—Two Are FREE
Catch American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Pilobolus and more
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June is bustin’ out all over with diverse dance performances. Enjoy Alvin Ailey at BAM, Step Afrika!’s mediation on the Black American experience, American Ballet Theatre’s summer season and a few dazzling dance festivals—some performances are even FREE!
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SORE
The Flea, 20 Thomas Street between Broadway and Church Street in Tribeca
Runs June 4-6.
A duet by Ashley Pierre-Louis in collaboration with Dominica Greene, SORE focuses on two Black women working together to reclaim pleasure in the name of collective healing.
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Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Avenue between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street in Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Runs June 4-7.
Alvin Ailey’s superlative troupe returns to Brooklyn for its annual BAM engagement. The lineup features a revival of Hymn, the late great Judith Jamison’s tribute to her mentor, Alvin Ailey; Blink of an Eye, a contemporary ballet by Medhi Walerski and the company’s calling card: the always rousing Revelations.
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40th Annual Performance Mix Festival
Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand Street near Pitt Street on the Lower East Side
Runs June 4-7.
New Dance Alliance’s annual fest of daring downtown artists turns 40. This anniversary edition spotlights experimental offerings by 35 eclectic dance and performance artists, including alumni such as Julia Antinozzi, chameckilerner, Ursula Eagly, Stacy Grossfield, Antonio Ramos & The Gangbangers, Rosy Simas, Anh Vo and Nami Yamamoto.
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Ballet Tech Kids Dance
The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street in Chelsea
Runs June 4-7.
Students from Eliot Feld’s rigorous Ballet Tech, the only NYC public school dedicated to dance, return to The Joyce for their annual showcase. Current pupils share the stage with alumni in artistic director Dionne Figgins’ new full-length ballet Echoes of the Studio. Joggers and A Stair Dance, a pair of classic urban playground ballets choreographed by Feld, are also on the program.
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Bryant Park Picnic Performances
Bryant Park, 40th to 42nd Streets between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Midtown West
Runs June 4-5 and 11. FREE
This FREE summer-long series at the Midtown green space features a wide array of performances, everything from opera to jazz to movement. This month includes a trio of dance offerings: Thursday, June 4 is a triple bill featuring Carolyn Dorfman Dance, Terk Lewis and WHITE WAVE Dance. Friday, July 5 is a contemporary dance sampler including Buglisi Dance Theatre, Joffrey Concert Group and vildwerk. Thursday, June 11 features hip-hop through the eyes of It’s Showtime NYC!, SOLE Defined and the legendary Robin Dunn.
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Tabula Rasa Dance Theater: Un-Choreographed
El Teatro at El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street in East Harlem
Runs June 5-6.
Tabula Rasa Dance Theater presents four commissioned world premieres that dive into modern-day Latine identity throughout the diaspora. The disparate works are by Théa Bautista, Diego Gómez, Miguel Miranda and Tabula Rasa’s artistic director, Felipe Escalante.
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Inayat: A Duet for Four
Hearst Plaza at Lincoln Center, 65th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue in Lincoln Square
Runs June 10-12. FREE
Part of Lincoln Center’s expansive Summer for the City series, Inayat: A Duet of Four combines two ancient Indian art forms: Rajasthani folk music and classical Kathak dance. Enjoy traditional songs of the Langa community performed by a trio with Tarini Tripathi dancing solo.
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Step Afrika!: The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence
The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street in Chelsea
Runs June 10-21.
Step Afrika! returns to New York with its full-length celebration of visual artist Jacob Lawrence’s landmark The Migration Series, an incredible series of paintings chronicling the 20th-century journey millions of Black folks took from the South to the North. Through stepping and tapping, the dancers bring vibrant projections of Lawrence’s work to thrilling life.
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LABEL•LESS
The Duke on 42nd Street, 229 West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in Midtown West
Runs June 10-August 29.
Boy band heartthrob Drew Lachey from 98 Degrees and his wife, choreographer Lea Lachey, team up for this new dance musical, which examines complex issues of identity facing young adults today. Featuring a diverse cast of singer-dancers, LABEL•LESS has a positive pop appeal even as its stars share real-life tales of isolation and discrimination.
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Ke’ron J. Wilson: in essence
Triskelion Arts, 106 Calyer Street at Banker Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Runs June 11-13.
Transfemme dance maker Ke’ron J. Wilson presents a ritualistic piece exploring the experiences of trans and queer folks, including joy, oppression, resistance and what they do to survive in a hostile society.
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General Mischief Dance Theatre: Along the Way
The Riverside Theatre, 91 Claremont Avenue between 120th and 122nd Streets in Morningside Heights
Runs June 12-13.
When’s the last time you giggled with joy at a dance performance? That’s one of the goals of General Mischief’s evening of jubilation and playfulness performed to Pablo Eluchans’ live percussion.
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American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House, 30 Lincoln Center Plaza at 62nd Street in Lincoln Square
Runs June 17-July 18.
American Ballet Theatre’s monthlong summer season features four glorious, full-length ballets: Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Onegin and Sylvia. Notable milestones include the farewell performance by longtime principal Cory Stearns in Onegin on June 27; sparking soloist SunMi Park debuting as the Swan Queen in Swan Lake on June 20; and virtuosic phenom Jake Roxander taking on Basilio in Don Quixote on July 3.
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Jeremy Nedd: from rock to rock…aka how magnolia was taken for granite
Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, 1941 Broadway at 65th Street in Lincoln Square
Runs June 18-19. Pay-what-you-wish starting at $5.
Brooklyn-born, Basel-based choreographer Jeremy Nedd uses the viral Milly Rock dance craze to investigate the ever-evolving movement language of Black culture.
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Pilobolus: Trips
The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street in Chelsea
Runs June 23-July 12.
Pilobolus is famous for showcasing scantily clad dancers undertaking gravity-defying feats that explore the surreal side of life. This time around, the company is taking audiences on a jaunt through the universe with Trips.
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2026 Dumbo Dance Festival
Taylor Dance East, 551 Grand Street between Lewis and Jackson Streets on the Lower East Side
Runs June 26-28.
The location may have changed but the ethos remains the same at WHITE WAVE Dance’s Dumbo Dance Festival, born in Brooklyn a quarter century ago but now performed on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Enjoy three evenings of eclectic performances from 35 emerging and established dance companies.
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