We’re on the cusp of January festival season, with a lot going on in the next couple of weeks — especially the very packed week of Jan. 6-12. Early January brings the annual NYC convening of APAP (the Association of Performing Arts Professionals), which is always the occasion for an abundance of shows and showcases across the performing arts. You can find some of this year’s most exciting dance offerings at Live Artery, presented by New York Live Arts at multiple venues; the Out-FRONT! Fest, curated by Pioneers Go East Collective at Judson Memorial Church and BAM Fisher studios; and the Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival at the Guggenheim.
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A few notes for navigating this list:
The events are listed in order of opening date. Where listed as “through” a certain date, the event has already opened.
The list has two main sections: performances (week by week) followed by a roundup of dance-related screenings, talks, and exhibitions.
* = free event (or event with a free option for the general public)
The information below is current as of the last time I checked, but things can change, and while I strive for accuracy, I will inevitably make a few mistakes. Please visit the event websites for up-to-date details and full date/time info.
I often add to Dance List as I learn of new events. The latest is below. To submit an addition or correction, write to me at danceletter@substack.com or reply to this email. (To keep the workload of this project manageable, I tend not to list student recitals or showcases, as much as I appreciate them!)
When I have work/news of my own to share, you can find it at the end under p.s.
January Highlight: Rotunda Dance Parties
As part of the Underground Uptown Dance Festival (Jan. 9-13), Works & Process is throwing a nightly party in the Guggenheim rotunda after showcases in the museum theater. The festivities include a salsa lesson led by Afro-Latin choreographer Sekou McMiller; an all-styles battle hosted by Ladies of Hip-Hop; and an evening of street and club dance improvisation, with musicians, dancers, and emcees brought together by Mai Lê Hô of LayeRhythm. Admission is included with tickets to performances in the theater, or can be purchased separately. (More details on the festival lineup below.)
Updated 12/31/24 at 4:54pm
Performances
Week of Monday, Dec. 30
Jan. 3-5: A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, If We Were a Love Song, part of Edges of Ailey, at the Whitney
Through Jan. 4: New York City Ballet, George Balanchine's The Nutcracker® at David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center
Through Jan. 5: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater winter season at New York City Center
Through Jan. 5: Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo at the Joyce
Week of Monday, Jan. 6
Jan. 7-8: GrahamDeconstructed: Cave of the Heart at Martha Graham Studio Theater
*Jan. 7 and 10: Split Bill: Miranda Brown + Noa Rui-Piin Weiss, !!simon says~~!:));)$$ and Nattie Trogdon + Hollis Bartlett, VESSELS, part of Out-FRONT! Fest, curated by Pioneers Go East Collective, at Judson Memorial Church
*Jan. 8-9: jill sigman / thinkdance, Re-Seeding (Encounter #4), part of Out-FRONT! Fest, curated by Pioneers Go East Collective, at Judson Memorial Church
Jan. 8-11: Faustin Linyekula / Studios Kabako, My Body, My Archive, part of Live Artery 2025, at New York Live Arts
Jan. 8-12: Ragamala Dance Company, Children of Dharma at the Joyce
Jan. 8-16: Marcella Murray, David Neumann, and Tei Blow for Advanced Beginner Group, Rich With History and other stuff you say at a haunted house, part of Under the Radar, at Mabou Mines, 122CC
Jan. 9-11: Susannah Yugler, CASSANDRA, part of Exponential Festival, at the Brick
Jan. 9-13: David Dorfman Dance, truce songs at Irondale Center
Jan. 9-13: Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival at the Guggenheim
Jan. 9: KR3TS (Keep Rising to the Top) with Violeta Galagarza; Sekou McMiller & Friends, Afro Latin Soul; Rotunda Party: Salsa with Sekou McMiller & Friends
Jan. 10: It’s Showtime NYC!, Pyramid by Cal Hunt and Johnathan Moore; Courtney “Balenciaga” Washington’s MasterZ at Work Dance Family; Rotunda Party: Ladies of Hip-Hop All Styles Battle
Jan. 11: Music From The Sole, House Is Open, Going Dark (working title); Kwikstep and Rokafella, AlgoRhythm; Rotunda Party: The Missing Element with The Beatbox House
Jan. 12: Emily Coates, The Scattering (working title); Marie Basse-Wiles and Omari Wiles, Djapo; Rotunda Party: LayeRhythm
Jan. 13: Lloyd Knight, Jack Ferver, and Jeremy Jacob, THE DRAMA; BalletCollective, The Night Falls by Karen Russell, Ellis Ludwig-Leone, and Troy Schumacher; Rotunda Party: Princess Lockerooo's Winter Waack Battle
*Jan. 9-18: Monica Bill Barnes and Robbie Saenz, Many Happy Returns at Playwrights Horizons
*Jan. 10-11: Boca Tuya (Omar Román De Jesús) and Rachna Nivas at 92NY
Jan. 10-11: Contemporary Dance Festival: Japan + East Asia at Japan Society
Jan. 10-11: Showcases at the Factory: Soles of Duende & Love Movement at the Chelsea Factory
Jan. 10-11: Stacy Matthew Spence, I am, here; Here with us; Where we find ourselves, part of Live Artery 2025, at Danspace Project
Jan. 10-12: Julia Antinozzi, THE SUITE, part of Live Artery 2025, at Triskelion
Jan. 10-12: Milka Djordjevich, Bob, part of Live Artery 2025, at New York Live Arts
Jan. 10-13: Jesse Factor, The Marthaodyssey, part of Live Artery 2025, at Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater
*Jan. 10 and 13: Split Bill: Blaze Ferrer, Dick Biter and Stuart B Meyers, thegarden, part of Out-FRONT! Fest, curated by Pioneers Go East Collective, at Judson Memorial Church
*Jan. 11: Split Bill: Angie Pittman, Black Life Chord Changes and Kyle Marshall, Joan, part of Out-FRONT! Fest, curated by Pioneers Go East Collective, at BAM Fisher Hillman Studio
Jan. 11-12: Leslie Cuyjet, For All Your Life, part of Live Artery 2025, at CPR
Jan. 11-12: Carolyn Dorfman Dance, The Legacy Project: A Dance of Hope at 92NY
Jan. 11-12: Showcases at the Factory: Heidi Latsky Dance & Ballez at the Chelsea Factory
*Jan. 11-12: Adrienne Westwood with Angélica Negrón, [ ] at Mercury Store (open rehearsals; RSVP here)
Jan. 11-13: Malcolm-x Betts and Nile Harris, Temporary Boyfriend, presented with Ping Chong and Company and Under The Radar, at the Chocolate Factory
Jan. 11-13: Live Artery Showings, with works by Ogemdi Ude, Michael Sakamoto and Paul Miller aka DJ Spooky, kNoname Artist | Roderick George, zoe | juniper, Cynthia Oliver / COCo Dance Theatre, and Joseph Keckler, at New York Live Arts (note: the artists listed here have public showings; others are invite-only)
Jan. 11 and 13: Symara Sarai, I want it to rain inside, part of Live Artery 2025, at New York Live Arts
Jan. 12-17: Dan Daw Creative Projects, The Dan Daw Show, part of Under the Radar, at Performance Space New York
Jan. 12-18: Miguel Gutierrez, Super Nothing, part of Live Artery 2025, at New York Live Arts
Week of Monday, Jan. 13
Jan. 14-19: Ronald K. Brown / EVIDENCE at the Joyce
Jan. 16-19: André M. Zachery / Renegade Performance Group, Against Gravity: Flying Afrikans + Other Urban Legends at 651 ARTS
*Jan. 16, 18, 19: Ralph Lemon, In Proximity, part of Ceremonies Out of the Air, at MoMA PS1
Jan. 17-18: IBStage Star Galas: New York at New York City Center
Jan. 17-19: Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Solo Voyages, part of Edges of Ailey, at the Whitney
Jan. 19: 7Midnights Physical Research at Arts on Site
Through Jan. 16: Marcella Murray, David Neumann, and Tei Blow for Advanced Beginner Group, Rich With History and other stuff you say at a haunted house, part of Under the Radar, at Mabou Mines at 122CC
Through Jan. 17: Jan. 12-17: Dan Daw Creative Projects, The Dan Daw Show, part of Under the Radar, at Performance Space New York
Through Jan. 18: Monica Bill Barnes and Robbie Saenz, Many Happy Returns at Playwrights Horizons
Through Jan. 18: Miguel Gutierrez, Super Nothing, part of Live Artery 2025, at New York Live Arts
Week of Monday, Jan. 20
*Jan. 20-Feb. 2: Hayley Stahl, Music, part of Exponential Festival, at Target Margin Theater (Jan. 20-23: Free open rehearsals; Jan. 25-Feb. 2: ticketed performances)
Jan. 21-26: Malpaso Dance Company at the Joyce
Jan. 21-March 2: New York City Ballet winter season at David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center
Jan. 22-24: The Ailey School: Ailey Student Performance Group, part of Edges of Ailey, at the Whitney
Jan. 22-26: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Program II: Excerpts from New Works, part of Edges of Ailey, at the Whitney
Jan. 22-26: Ailey II: Harmonic Echo, part of Edges of Ailey, at the Whitney
Jan. 23: Melissa Almaguer Trio at Joe’s Pub
Jan. 24-26: H.T. Chen & Dancers at Ellen Stewart Theatre, La MaMa
Jan. 25: Miami City Ballet: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Pam Tanowitz, presented by Works & Process at the Guggenheim
Jan. 25-26: Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Lunar New Year: Celebrating the Year of the Snake at Kupferberg Center for the Arts
Jan. 25-26: Ellen Robbins / Dances by Very Young Choreographers at New York Live Arts
Jan. 26: Fertile Ground New Works Showcase, feat. Alessia Palanti, Celine Bassman, Chris Ferris, The Dance Ranch, Riley Haley and Sky Pasqual, and Yaroque Dance Theater, at Green Space
Screenings, Talks & Exhibitions
*Jan. 6: Ranee, Aparna, and Ashwini Ramaswamy — Ragamala Dance Company in Conversation at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
*Jan. 10-Feb. 15: THE (grand) GESTURE: Trisha Brown, Keltie Ferris, Arturo Herrera at Sikkema Jenkins (with Jan. 11 performance of Brown’s Accumulation)
*Jan. 11: Out-FRONT! Films, feat. Dominique Castelano, Jueun Kang, Kathleen Kelly + Bree Breeden, Haley Morgan Miller, Maamoun Tobbo, and Pioneers Go East Collective, part of Out-FRONT! Fest, curated by Pioneers Go East Collective, at Judson Memorial Church
*Jan. 15: GPS Chats: Solo and collective dancemaking practices in Czech Republic and Slovakia at Movement Research at 122CC
*Jan. 22: The Dance Historian Is In: Nancy Dalva on Gus Solomons jr at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Through Dec. 31: Dance to Belong: A History of Dance at 92NY, curated by Jessica Friedman and Ninotchka Bennahum with Jeanne Haffner, at Milton J. Weill Art Gallery, 92NY
*Through Jan. 6: Gillian Wearing, Dancing in Peckham at MoMA PS1
Through Jan. 26: Gabrielle Lansner, I AM NOT OK, part of The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum
Through Feb. 9: Edges of Ailey at the Whitney
*Through March 1: The Joffrey + Ballet in the U.S. at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
*Through March 24: Ceremonies Out of the Air: Ralph Lemon at MoMA PS1
p.s.
For Jean Butler’s Our Steps project, I took a look back at her evening-length work What We Hold, which had a sold-out, three-week run at the Irish Arts Center early in 2024. This show carries a lot of personal significance for me, and it was nice to reflect on it on a slower timeline than I’m used to, through conversations with people close to the work (thanks to Jean, Linda Murray, and Colin Dunne for speaking with me).
In related news (attn: Irish dance researchers!) a collection of Our Steps oral history interviews — some of which I had the honor of conducting — is now available at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. You can browse the records here and access the interviews onsite at the library.
A semi-annual reminder: I love to talk with students about dance, writing, and dance writing. If you’re planning a winter/spring syllabus or other educational programming, please reach out if you might like to have me as a guest speaker.