Dance List 20
Jan. 5-Feb. 1 (hi again!)
Dear readers,
It has been too long! Shortly after my last dispatch, I had a baby. He is now eight months old. I was planning to return to this newsletter with the start of the “fall season,” but postpartum life threw me some curveballs, and I’m just now feeling ready to get back into it. Thanks for sticking with me through this extended hiatus.
Early parenthood has been both more demanding and more joyful than I expected, transformative in ways I don’t yet know how to articulate. One thing about it is, well, I don’t go out much anymore. I’m still figuring out how to align my former life of nearly nightly dance-going — and sometimes writing into the wee hours — with this new one, in which nighttime is all about our little guy’s bedtime, and my body is basically a 24/7 food source (not sure I’ll ever wrap my mind around that very mammalian fact).
In the meantime, I find myself living vicariously through good old-fashioned dance reviews, neat new publishing projects (check out Row 3 Relays), correspondence with my fellow dance nerds, and the flashes of the ephemeral afforded by Instagram. (For all its flaws, IG really does help me feel connected to what’s happening out there.) With the rush of January festivals upon us — Live Artery, Out-FRONT!, Under the Radar, the Exponential Festival, Underground Uptown, and more — I’m expecting some especially acute FOMO, though I’m hoping to see at least a couple of things I missed the first time around (like this and this… and this and this… and this!)
Speaking of encore presentations, one that I highly recommend is Narcissister’s gloriously daring, pyrotechnic spectacle Voyage Into Infinity, which she’s reviving at NYU Skirball as part of Under the Radar, Jan. 16-18. In what now truly feels like another lifetime (the year 2010), I was a backup dancer in her show This Masquerade, an experience that left me in awe of her risk-taking and craftsmanship as a performer and maker. After the premiere of Voyage at Pioneer Works last year, we spoke for my Danceletter Convos series, and I’m lifting the paywall on that interview here for the next few weeks. (If you don’t want any spoilers, wait until after the show to read it.)
A quick order of business: Paid subscriptions are still on hold and will resume when I bring back Danceletter Convos, which (I think/hope!) will be next month. If you have any questions about your subscription, please reach out.
Also, I have a number of new subscribers — welcome! I’m not sure how you found your way here in my long absence, but I’m happy you did. If you’re like, “What did I sign up for?” or “Who is this?” you can learn more about me and Danceletter here.
This edition of Dance List starts after “the holidays” (Jan. 5) and continues through Feb. 1. The next one will be coming your way at the end of January.
Wishing you a peaceful end to the year. See you in 2026!
Siobhan
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 or suggested-donation event
I often add to Dance List as I learn of new events. The latest is on the Danceletter website. To submit an addition or a correction, reply to this email or write to me at danceletter@substack.com. (To keep the workload of this project manageable, I tend not to list student recitals or showcases, as much as I appreciate them!)
January is a super busy month because of APAP — and a time of interdisciplinary abundance that will have you asking “what even is dance?” To keep this list at a length that will fit in your inbox, I’ve opted not to include every APAP-adjacent show, and to lean toward those that strike me as “dance-y” (itself a fungible term).
When I have work/news of my own to share, you can find it at the end under p.s.
Performances
Week of Monday, Jan. 5
*Jan. 5 (also Jan. 3): Dominica Greene, openings and Suzzanne Ponomarenko, Selections From: Tapestries, part of Out-FRONT!, at Judson Memorial Church
*Jan. 6-7: Sugar Vendil, Antonym: the opposite of nostalgia and Alexa Grae, Tone Pillar, part of Out-FRONT!, at Judson Memorial Church
Jan. 6-11: Compagnie Hervé KOUBI, What The Day Owes To The Night at the Joyce
Jan. 7-10: Mario Banushi, Mami, part of Under the Radar, at NYU Skirball
Jan. 7-10: Ogemdi Ude, MAJOR, part of Live Artery, at New York Live Arts
Jan. 7-17: Jo Fong and George Orange, The Rest of Our Lives, part of Under the Radar, at La MaMa
*Jan. 8-9: Jo Warren, All Mouth and Owen Prum, Slow Silver, part of Out-FRONT!, at Judson Memorial Church
Jan. 8-10: Ishmael Houston-Jones, OO-GA-LA Reimagined, part of Live Artery, at Danspace Project
Jan. 8-10: Juliana F. May, Optimistic Voices, part of Live Artery, at the Chocolate Factory
Jan. 8-17: Shared Bill: Isa Spector and Derek Smith, part of the Exponential Festival, at the Brick Theater
Jan. 8-25: Dahlak Brathwaite, Try/Step/Trip, part of Under the Radar, at A.R.T./New York Theatres
Jan. 9: MasterZ at Work Dance Family and Parsons Dance, followed by Rotunda Dance Party: The MasterZ Ball, part of Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival, at the Guggenheim
Jan. 9-10: Tere O’Connor, Construct-A-Guy and The Lace, part of Live Artery, at New York Live Arts
Jan. 9-11: Kyoko Takenaka, i’m here & i love you, part of the Exponential Festival, at JACK
Jan. 9 and 12: Kimberly Bartosik, bLUr, part of Live Artery, at L’Alliance New York
Jan. 10: Chrybaby Cozie and New Jersey Ballet, part of Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival, at the Guggenheim
Jan. 10-11: AAPI Dance Festival, presented by Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company and Asian American Arts Alliance, at Ailey Citigroup Theater
*Jan. 10-11: Ian Andrew Askew, SLAMDANCE punk lessons and Johnnie Cruise Mercer, Mercies of a Butterfly, part of Out-FRONT!, at Judson Memorial Church
Jan. 10-11: Jesse Factor, The MetaMarthasis, presented by Kelly Strayhorn Theater, at Red Eye NY
Jan. 10-11: Heidi Latsky Dance, Who Am I Now? at 92NY
Jan. 10-12: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, Collage Revisited and Story/, part of Live Artery, at New York Live Arts
Jan. 11: JoyBoy da Clown / Joy Marie-Thompson, Farewell My Fool at Arts on Site
Jan. 11: Corentin JPM Leven, Birds Of Ill Omen, part of Out-FRONT!, at Judson Memorial Church
Jan. 11: Adesola Osakalumi and Omari Wiles, part of Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival, at the Guggenheim
Jan. 11-12: Ruth Childs, fantasia, part of Live Artery, presented with L’Alliance New York, at New York Live Arts
Jan. 11-12: Kashia Kancey, The Closties Variety Hour, part of Live Artery, at Triskelion Arts
Jan. 11-13: Wally Cardona and Molly Lieber, TIMES FOUR / David Gordon: 1975/2025, part of Live Artery, at 541 Broadway
Jan. 11-13: Pam Tanowitz, Pastoral at Rose Theater, Lincoln Center
Jan. 12: Baye & Asa and Sun Kim Dance Theatre, followed by Rotunda Dance Party: Sekou McMiller & Friends, part of Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival, at the Guggenheim
Week of Monday, Jan. 12
*Jan. 12: Movement Research at the Judson Church, feat. NAKA Dance Theater, Jody Oberfeler Projects, and Symara Sarai, at Judson Memorial Church
Jan. 13: Johnny Loves Johann (violinist Johnny Gandelsman with choreographers John Heginbotham, Caili Quan, Jamar Roberts, and Melissa Toogood) and BOCA TUYA, part of Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival, at the Guggenheim
Jan. 13-14: Hadar Ahuvia, Two Works - Two Nights at Kestrels
Jan. 13-18: Cherish Menzo and Camilo Mejía Cortés,
DARKMATTER, part of Under the Radar, at Performance Space New YorkJan. 14-15 and 21-22: Aeon Andreas, FAGGOTICA, part of the Exponential Festival, at Brooklyn Art Haus
Jan. 14-17: Lisa Fagan and Lena Engelstein, Friday Night Rat Catchers, part of Live Artery and Under the Radar, at New York Live Arts
Jan. 14-25: Daniil Simkin/Studio Simkin, Sons of Echo, with works by Lucinda Childs, Drew Jacoby, Tiler Peck, and Anne Plamondon, at the Joyce
Jan. 15-16: Susannah Yugler, THIRD GENERATION at Pageant
Jan. 15-17: Miranda Brown and Noa Rui-Piin Weiss, ¿¡¡simon negs≈≈>:(:{{** (work-in-progress), on a bill with Maria Cama, Maria Reads a Book: Higher Eyes on Aricama, part of Exponential Festival, at JACK
Jan. 16-18: Autumn Knight, NOTHING: more, part of Under the Radar, at the Chocolate Factory
Jan. 16-18: Narcissister, Voyage Into Infinity, part of Under the Radar, at NYU Skirball
Jan. 17: The Georgian National Ballet Sukhishvili at Carnegie Hall
Jan. 18: Cam Gradel, faaan and Suzannah Dessau, Us Girls at Arts on Site
Through Jan. 13: Wally Cardona and Molly Lieber, TIMES FOUR / David Gordon: 1975/2025, part of Live Artery, at 541 Broadway
Through Jan. 13: Pam Tanowitz, Pastoral at Rose Theater, Lincoln Center
Through Jan. 17: Jo Fong and George Orange, The Rest of Our Lives at La MaMa
Through Jan. 17: Shared Bill: Isa Spector and Derek Smith, part of the Exponential Festival, at the Brick Theater
Through Jan. 25: Dahlak Brathwaite, Try/Step/Trip, part of Under the Radar, at A.R.T./New York Theatres
Week of Monday, Jan. 19
Jan. 20-March 1: New York City Ballet spring season at David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center
Jan. 21-25: Alex Rodabaugh, RUIN, part of the Exponential Festival, at Open Arts Studio
Jan. 22-23: Joel Watson, BO DIDDLEY WUZZA STEEL DRIVIN MAN!! at Pageant
Jan. 23-24: Tiran Willemse: Untitled (Nostalgia: Act 3) at Danspace Project
Through Jan. 22: Aeon Andreas, FAGGOTICA, part of the Exponential Festival, at Brooklyn Art Haus
Through Jan. 25: Dahlak Brathwaite, Try/Step/Trip, part of Under the Radar, at A.R.T./New York Theatres
Through Jan. 25: Daniil Simkin/Studio Simkin, Sons of Echo, with works by Lucinda Childs, Drew Jacoby, Tiler Peck, and Anne Plamondon, at the Joyce
Week of Monday, Jan. 26
*Jan. 26: Movement Research at the Judson Church, feat. Ellen Söderhult, Jelena Alempijević, Jian Yi, and Margareta Firinger, at Judson Memorial Church
Jan. 27-Feb. 8: Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca, Irrationalities at the Joyce
Jan. 29-31: Akane Little, MOMMA!, part of the Exponential Festival, at Brick Aux
Jan. 29-Feb. 1: Weena Pauly and Katie Workum, One Door Closes and Another Door Closes; REMOUNT! at Kestrels
Jan. 30-Feb. 1: H.T. Chen & Dancers, Teahouse Performances at La MaMa
Feb. 1: Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Lunar New Year: Celebrating the Year of the Horse at Kupferberg Center for the Performing Arts, Queens College
Through March 1: New York City Ballet spring season at David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center
Screenings, Talks & Exhibitions
*Jan. 10: Out-FRONT! Fest 2026 Film Series, moderated by Remi Harris, with works by Carrie Hawks, Eleonora Privitera, Cari Ann Shim Sham*, Stephen Shynes, Nyala Moon, and Irishia Romaine, at Judson Memorial Church
Jan. 16-17: Everything You Have Is Yours, directed by Tatyana Tenenbaum, produced by Brighid Greene, inspired by the work and story of Hadar Ahuvia, at Kestrels
*Jan. 20: GPS Chats: Dancemaking and Horizontal Hierarchies in Croatia & Serbia, feat. Margareta Firinger and Jelena Alempijević, presented by Movement Research, at MR Courtyard Studio, 122CC
Jan. 24: A Conversation with Dance Critic Marina Harss, hosted by Culturebot, at Pluto’s Loft
*Jan. 30: The Jerome Robbins Dance Division Annual Symposium: Six Artists & Scholars on Bill T. Jones, with presentations by Robert Coe, McClain Groff, Raja Feather Kelly, Alicia "Jubilee" Moore, Carlo Antonio Villanueva, and uwazi zamani, at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (and online
Through Feb. 22: Urban Stomp: Dreams & Defiance on the Dance Floor at the Museum of the City of New York
p.s.
I went back to teaching in September, and for the final day of my course Dance Criticism, I tried an experiment in collective writing: “exquisite corpse” dance reviews, inspired by the surrealist drawing game and written in response to Tere O’Connor’s BLEED (the lovely recording at OntheBoards.tv). They were a delight to read, and surprisingly coherent. I’ve been trying out a lot more handwritten exercises in class — an antidote to AI seeping into everything — and this one’s a keeper.
