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Catch New York City Ballet, thrilling companies at the Joyce and more
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Kick off 2023 with world-class dance performances from across the globe, whether you love classical ballet or more experimental fare. New York City Ballet's winter season features traditional Tchaikovsky and tutus as well as new works by Justin Peck and Alexei Ratmansky, who's joining the company as an artist in residence this August. Other highlights include celebrated jookin pioneer Lil Buck, a new collaborative project from two-time Bessie nominee Johnnie Cruise Mercer and a bevy of notable troupes at The Joyce Theater.
In terms of COVID-19 safety protocols, rules vary by venue. While we are trying to keep this article up to date, be sure to double-check the protocols before purchasing tickets so you arrive prepared.
If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to see what we're selling as ticket inventory changes frequently.
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Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street in Chelsea
Runs through January 22.
Masks are required.
Ronald K. Brown returns to the Joyce with his expressive dancers, who excel in his thrilling blend of African dance, contemporary choreography, storytelling and spirituality. The program includes the New York premiere of The Equality of Night and Day, set to a commissioned score by celebrated jazz composer Jason Moran with spoken word by iconic activist Angela Davis. It's also the first time Brown's dancers will perform Open Door, a quartet he created for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
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Baryshnikov Arts Center, 450 West 37th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in Midtown West
Runs January 23-24.
Masks are optional.
Known for his innovative reinventions of traditional flamenco, Israel Galván returns to NYC with SOLO. In this one-man performance, he infuses the venerable Spanish dance with individual expression and disparate elements drawn from various influences, including pop culture, sports and activism.
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Soul Chain by tanzmainz / Sharon Eyal
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street in Chelsea
Runs January 24-28.
Masks are required.
tanzmainz, a 21-member contemporary dance troupe from Germany, makes its Joyce debut in a newly commissioned work by Israeli choreographer Sharon Eyal, whose own company L-E-V frequently performs at the venue. Exploring themes of love, longing and loneliness in eye-catching, synchronized movement, Soul Chain is set to Ori Lichtik's rhythmic electronic score.
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Peter Stathas Dance: There's More to Do
Mark Morris Dance Group, 3 Lafayette Avenue between Rockwell and Ashland Places in Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Runs January 27-28.
Masks are optional.
Peter Stathas' eponymous troupe returns to New York for the first time since 2019. In this program of four recent works, ranging from a solo to a full-company piece, Stathas, whose lineage includes leading modern dance influences, encourages his performers to infuse his moves with their individual personalities.
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Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street in Chelsea
Runs February 1-5. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Masks are required.
How's this for an intriguing combo: A 55-year-old Swedish company named for a seminal figure in the nation's ballet history makes its Joyce debut with a new work by legendary postmodern American dance-maker Deborah Hay. For Horse, the solos, Hay worked remotely with the Cullberg dancers as they rehearsed in an empty Stockholm theatre during the pandemic lockdown. Consisting of seven solos exploring climate change and other urgent issues, the work is set to a score by Graham Reynolds.
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Johnnie Cruise Mercer: Revival 2023 - "to those who have seed in the ground"
Kaufmann Concert Hall at 92NY, 1395 Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street on the Upper East Side
Runs February 2. Also streams online February 3-6.
Masks are optional.
Two-time Bessie Award nominee Johnnie Cruise Mercer packs a lot into this uplifting, one-night-only event. Inspired by the soulful 2016 album Sounds of Revival by Pastor William McDowell, this collaborative performance brings together a variety of professional and aspiring artists in multiple disciplines to explore Black spiritual traditions. The score is by dj Om-Amari, composer Young Denzel, lyricist Monstah Black and vocalist Jay Deamour, and the performers include the TRPNYC ensemble and students from Virginia's Appomattox Regional Governor's School and Brooklyn Prospect High School who have worked with Movement Research's Dance Makers residency program. This is Mercer's third year of leading this type of revival promoting communal breath and generational revitalization. Can't make it in person? A recording of the performance will be available to stream from February 3 to 6.
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Lincoln Center's Rose Theater, Broadway and West 60th Street in Lincoln Square
Runs February 2-3. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Masks are optional.
An extraordinarily flexible exponent of the unique dance style known as jookin that originated in Memphis, Lil Buck became a YouTube sensation with his deeply personal interpretation of "The Swan" from Camille Saint-Saëns' The Carnival of the Animals. He went on to perform at storied venues such as Fall for Dance and the Vail Dance Festival, and with Madonna, Yo-Yo Ma, and Cirque du Soleil. Decked out in spiffy sneakers and well-loved jeans, the Bessie Award winner returns to Lincoln Center alongside his fellow jookin practitioners with an exhilarating new program tracing the origins of this graceful mash-up of hip hop and modern.
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Mark Morris Dance Group, 3 Lafayette Avenue between Rockwell and Ashland Places in Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Runs February 3-4.
Masks are optional.
Miro Magloire—a musically sophisticated choreographer (he started out as a composer) and the founder of New Chamber Ballet—debuts his new evening-length work Sanctum. Performed in the round to a score by Kaija Saariaho and Karin Rehnqvist, the piece features Magloire's scrupulous dancers collaborating with the Ekmeles Vocal Ensemble, who sing live onstage.
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Rennie Harris Puremovement: Rome & Jewels
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street in Chelsea
Runs February 7-12.
Masks are required.
A groundbreaking and influential company, Rennie Harris Puremovement celebrates its 30th anniversary with a revival of its Bessie Award-winning production of Rome & Jewels, a fresh take on Shakespeare's romantic tragedy of Romeo and Juliet set in the choreographer's native Philadelphia and told through hip-hop and street dance.
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Film at Lincoln Center, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza on West 65th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue in Lincoln Square
Runs February 10-13.
Masks are optional.
No, these performances aren't live, but this 51st annual celebration of dance cinema is still a must for fans. A co-presentation of Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center, this edition features 13 different screenings, some of which are free. The opening night offering is Call Me Dancer and follows a Mumbai street dancer's artistic journey to New York. Closing night marks the 40th anniversary of Flashdance. In between there are documentaries about influential West Coast choreographer Bella Lewitzky and Dutch veteran Hans van Manen, as well as a number of curated programs of shorts. Check the calendar for a complete schedule as well as ticket prices.
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Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street in Chelsea
Runs February 14-19.
Masks are required.
It's hard to believe this perpetually forward-looking contemporary dance troupe is on the verge of middle age, but Hubbard Street Dance Chicago is currently celebrating its 45th anniversary. Now under the direction of former Alvin Ailey luminary Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, the company returns to the Joyce for the first time since the pandemic with Sapphire Season, a program of highlights from its wide-ranging repertory, including works by Kyle Abraham, Aszure Barton and Ohad Naharin.
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Ailey Citigroup Theater, 405 West 55th Street at Ninth Avenue in Midtown West
Runs February 16-18.
Masks are required.
It's been decades since the Joffrey Ballet decamped to Chicago. But the Joffrey Ballet School remains here, and its Joffrey Ballet Concert Group—a performing ensemble Robert Joffrey initiated in 1981—continues to present new works. Its latest program includes premieres by artistic director Bradley Shelver, Lindsay Grymes and Eric Trope.
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Versa-Style Dance Company: Freemind Freestyle
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street in Chelsea
Runs February 21-25. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Masks are required.
Known for blending an array of styles, including hip hop, krump, salsa and merengue, this Los Angeles-based company presents Freemind Freestyle, an evening-length work celebrating the art of improvisation. No two performances are alike.
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Dohee Lee Puri Arts: Chilseong Saenamgut (Duringut): Ritual for Sickness
Gibney 280 Broadway, 53A Chambers Street between Broadway and Elk Street in Tribeca
Runs February 23-25.
Masks are required.
Performance meets ritual in this world premiere as Gibney presents Dohee Lee's new work inspired by sacred traditions from her hometown of Jeju Island, Korea. She dances onstage alongside three musicians and an altar in this ceremonial event.
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New York City Ballet Winter Season
David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, 20 Lincoln Center Plaza at 63rd Street and Columbus Avenue in Lincoln Square
Runs through February 26. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets to select performances.
Masks are optional.
NYCB resident choreographer Justin Peck, who won a Tony Award for his evocative choreography for the recent revival of Carousel, reached a new level of invention with his lauded Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes set to the soaring music of Aaron Copland. That augurs well for his world premiere Copland Dance Episodes, a full evening set to four pieces by the 20th-century composer that was created in collaboration with painter and sculptor Jeffrey Gibson. Keerati Jinakunwiphat, a dancer with A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, also debuts a new piece as part of the 21st Century Choreography program. Also on the lineup: an all-Balanchine program and an evening contrasting two Jerome Robbins ballets, his exuberant, eternally popular first work Fancy Free alongside the rarely seen Rondo, a contemplative 1980 duet for two women. The season closes with multiple casts strutting their stuff in a two-week run of Balanchine's beloved The Sleeping Beauty featuring more than 100 dancers.
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Top image: New York City Ballet's Indiana Woodward, Taylor Stanley and company in Justin Peck's Everywhere We Go. Photo by Erin Baiano.
TDF MEMBERS: Go here to browse our latest discounts for dance, theatre and concerts.
Susan Reiter covers dance for TDF Stages.
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