One could say Washington is a city always on the move. Featuring a wide variety of styles — from flamenco to modern to tap to ballet — the city’s dance season virtually bursts at the leotard seams (if such seams existed). Of course, the diamond in our crown is the Washington Ballet which, for the first time, will present “Project Global,” an international festival celebrating the joys of Latin dance. And if that’s not enough, GALA is presenting its eleventh year of fiery flamenco moves. Of course, come December there will be Nutcrackers galore (including a hip-hop version at Strathmore), while the season boasts a few notable anniversaries, including Dance Place’s 35th and Twyla Tharp’s 50th.

AMERICAN DANCE INSTITUTE

1501 East Jefferson Street
Rockville, MD
301-984-3003
americandance.org

• Urban Bush Women — Walkin’ with Trane, a series of works based on the life of jazz legend John Coletrane (9/25-26)
• Chris Schlichting — Stripe Tease, a collaboration with rock/pop guitarist Jeremy Ylvisaker and Minnesota-based visual artist Jennifer Davis (10/2-3)
• Christopher K. Morgan & Artists: 5th Anniversary Concert — A special evening looking back at some of the company’s most beloved works, as well as a sneak preview of Morgan’s upcoming world premiere solo work, Pohaku (10/9-10)
• Big Dance Theater — World premiere of Short Form, which creates imagery out of short literary works including short stories, poems and even text messages (11/6-8)
• Palissimo — Custodians of Beauty by choreographer Pavel Zuštiak (11/20-21)

ATLAS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

1333 H Street NE
202-399-7993
atlasarts.org

• Furia Flamenca Dance Company — An intimate evening of flamenco “tablao” style in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month (10/4)
• Oasis Dance Company — The Enchanted Forest is this local LGBT-oriented company’s fifth annual Alston-Gillard Awards and benefit show for Joseph’s House (10/11)
• Mirenka Cechova — Acclaimed dancer and choreographer stages The Voice of Anne Frank, featuring movement, music and spoken text (11/7) ^ Step Afrika! Magical Musical Holiday Step Show — D.C.’s internationally known stepping company presents its annual interactive celebration of the holidays, with furry friends from the animal kingdom and DJ Frosty the Snowman (12/11-22)
• Joy of Motion Dance Center: Fall Youth Company Concert (12/12)

BARNS AT WOLF TRAP

1635 Trap Road
Vienna, VA
877-WOLFTRAP
wolftrap.org

Read Next

25 Gay Films Everyone Should See

• Folk Dances of India — Wolf Trap presents classical and folk dancers and musicians in collaboration with the Indian Dance Educators Association (10/17)

CITYDANCE

CityDance Studio Theater at Strathmore
5301 Tuckerman Lane
Bethesda, MD
301-581-5204
citydance.net

• Chandini Darby — The Stories That Bind Us is a work drawing from this dancer/choreographer and CityDance faculty member’s Beauty for Ashes Project, which seeks to inspire, through dance and performance art, more people to share their own personal stories (10/7, Kennedy Center Millennium Stage)
• Robert J. Priore — Speak-Easy features Amikaeyla Gaston singing live covers of standards by Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne and Etta James, all while a multi-ethnic cast of dancers explore the difficulties that LGBT and interracial couples face in finding love and maintaining relationships (10/9-10, Kennedy Center Millennium Stage)
• Asanga Domask — An evening of Sri Lankan dance (11/7, CityDance Studio Theater at Strathmore)

CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

University of Maryland
College Park, MD
301-405-ARTS
claricesmithcenter.umd.edu

• Huang Yi & KUKA — Huang Yi’s intimate choreographic creations with an industrial robot called KUKA reveal a deep connectedness to the technological world, both physically tender and emotionally resonant (9/25-26)
• Taurus Broadhurst Dance — Broadhurst’s work is grounded in traditional West African dance and fuses movement from modern, house, and hip-hop to convey diverse, contemporary stories that embody the griot tradition through movement (10/2)
• Camille A. Brown & Dancers — BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play and New Second Line (10/23)
• Margot Greenlee — Medicine by the Book explores the relationship between movement, imagination and the body’s capacity to heal (11/4)
• UMD Faculty Dance Concert — Moving Perspectives includes works by Alvin Mayes, Sara Pearson and Patrik Widrig, and guest choreographer Samantha Speis (11/12-14)

DAKSHINA/DANIEL PHOENIX SINGH DANCE COMPANY

Various locations
202-656-5679
dakshina.org

Read Next

Gay Holocaust Survivor Compares Trump to Hitler on TikTok

• 12th Annual Fall Festival of South Asian Arts — Dancers and musicians from India and U.S., including Mallika Sarabhai, Rama Vaidyanathan, Prof C.V. Chandrasekhar and Chitra Chandrasekhar (10/30-11/1, Atlas)

DANCE PLACE

3225 8th Street NE
Washington, DC
202-269-1600
danceplace.org

• Thrive 35! Dance Place’s 35th Anniversary Gala — Scheduled to perform: Baakari Wilder, Duende Quartet, DJ Glowstik, Elevate Arts (9/19)
• Rebollar Dance — Sacred Profane, an evening-length premiere celebrating women (10/3-4)
• DC Casineros & Ernesto “Gato” Gatell y su Banda — A series of modern dance and Cuban popular dance pieces in tribute to Cuban guitarist Ernesto Tamayo. Following the performances, Gatell, one of the most beloved Cuban singers alive today, will perform Son, Mambo and Guaracha music to get the audience up and moving (10/10-11)
• Alight Dance Theater — Featuring two world premieres, Sacred Geographies by Angella Foster and Dixie Fried by Wayles Haynes (10/17-18)
• Bowen McCauley Dance: 2 Decades — The award-winning company, founded by Lucy Bowen McCauley, celebrates 20 years of performing at Dance Place (10/24-25)
• Metro Tap Roots — A festival of tap, including classes, workshops and performances (11/6-7)
• Jane Franklin Dance — To Talk of Many Things draws inspiration from the witty, macabre nonsense poetry of Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass (11/14-15)
• Devi Dance Theatre, Somapa Thai Dance Company & Santi Budaya Indonesian Performing Arts — Three companies combine forces to present Sita Gentle Warrior, combining dance, acting and martial arts to articulate the voices of women silenced by tradition (11/21-22)
• Chris Aiken & Angie Hauser (12/5)

GALA’S FUEGO FLAMENCO XI

3333 14th Street NW
Washington, DC
202-234-7174
galatheatre.org

Read Next

The Renovated Folger Shakespeare Library is a D.C. Showpiece

• Flamenco Aparicio Dance Company — Flamenco Men II is another rare spotlight on the men who provide the foundation for Spain’s most famous style of dance, created by festival curator Edwin Aparicio and performed by his company alongside cantaores and guitarists (11/6-8)
• Karen Lugo and Company — Frequencies, a collaboration with Madrid’s Fundacion Conservatorio Casa Patas, is performed by this Mexican choreographer and her dancers, with accompaniment by talented cantaores and musicians (11/12-15)
• Flamenco en Familia — Members of the Spanish Dance Society and other local flamenco artists will offer free, interactive demonstrations with castanets, fans and zapateo for children and the entire family (11/14)

JOE’S MOVEMENT EMPORIUM

3309 Bunker Hill Road
Mount Rainier, MD
301-699-1819

joesmovement.org

• J.A.M. THE REVUE — Choreographed by Jeremy A. McShan, J.A.M. 5th Element starts by paying tribute to some of music’s greatest legends from the ’70s and ’80s, moves to the songs of Broadway, and ends with a finale honoring the artists that have created some of today’s greatest pop hits (9/18-19)
• NOOTANA — Journey, an innovative show mixing sounds and rhythms of Indian classical music and dance with styles and art forms around the world (10/10)

KENNEDY CENTER

2700 F Street NW
Washington, DC
202-467-4600
kennedy-center.org

• Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company — Fluency in Four (9/19-20, Terrace Theater)
• Hubbard Street 2 — Mariko’s Magical Mix: A Dance Adventure combines movement with the shadow puppets of Manual Cinema (10/2-11, Family Theater)
• Utsav: Celebrating India’s Maestros of Music and Dance — Over three days and five uniquely different performances, India’s top classical artists in music and dance will bring the beauty, depth, and diversity of traditional Indian music and dance to the Kennedy Center (10/2-4, Terrace)
• Ronald K. Brown/Evidence — A night of jazz and dance featuring the music of Jason Moran and The Bandwagon (10/28-30, Eisenhower Theater)
• The Suzanne Farrell Ballet — The company adds two works, Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht Ballet and Emeralds from Jewels, along with pas de deux from ballets by Balanchine and Béjart to mark the 450th year of Shakespeare’s death (10/30-11/1, Opera House)
• Twyla Tharp — An evening of new work by the Tony Award–winning choreographer and Kennedy Center Honoree Twyla Tharp, celebrating her 50 years in the arts (11/11-14, Eisenhower)
• The Joffrey Ballet’s The Nutcracker — Robert Joffrey’s awe-inspiring staging of the perennial classic boasts larger-than-life Victorian America scenery and costumes set to Tchaikovsky’s entrancing score (11/25-29, Opera House)
• The National Ballet of Canada — Presenting Christopher Wheeldon’s U.S. premiere of his take on Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale (1/19-1/24/16)
• American Ballet Theatre — The D.C. premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s new staging of The Sleeping Beauty (1/27-1/31/16)
• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater — The company makes its annual Kennedy Center pilgrimage with seven performances (2/2-7, Opera House)

STRATHMORE

5301 Tuckerman Lane
Bethesda, Md.
301-581-5100
strathmore.org

• Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández — The culture of Mexico comes to life onstage as this internationally acclaimed troupe uses gorgeous costumes and intricate choreography to delight audiences (9/29)
• Compañia Flamenca José Porcel — This internationally acclaimed company perform “classic flamenco as it was danced and performed by the great masters” in Flamenco Fire (10/23)
• Krasnoyarsk National Dance Company of Siberia — This astonishing 50-member dance company whirls, twirls, leaps, bounds, claps, taps, and storms across the stage in a joyful display of the many cultures that make up Siberia, from Cossack bravado to peasant traditional dances (10/25)
• The Hip Hop Nutcracker — A dozen all-star dancers, an on-stage DJ and an electric violinist reimagine Tchaikovsky’s classic score through hip-hop choreography (12/3)
• Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker — Russian dancers, playful puppets and the unmatched splendor of hand crafted sets and costumes for this holiday favorite (12/21-22)

VELOCITYDC DANCE FESTIVAL

Harman Hall
610 F Street NW
202-547-1122
velocitydc.org

• A special partnership with Dance Metro DC, the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities, Washington Performing Arts and host organization the Shakespeare Theatre Company, this festival returns for its seventh year of presenting world-class dance of various styles — from ballet to hip hop and tap to flamenco — all of it stemming from the city’s best-known ensembles, undiscovered gems, and everyone in between (10/15-17)

THE WASHINGTON BALLET

Various locations
202-362-3606
washingtonballet.org

• Latin Heat — The inaugural launch of “Project Global,” the Washington Ballet’s international festival. Performances include Bitter Sugar by Mauro de Candia, Sombrerísimo by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, La Ofrenda (The Offering) pas de deux, La Llorona by Edwaard Liang, Don Quixote, Act III pas de deux by Marius Petipa and 5 Tangos by Hans van Manen, one of Europe’s eminent choreographers (10/14-18, Eisenhower)
• The Nutcracker — Every year, Washington Ballet artistic director Septime Webre offers his own twist on the family favorite, setting it in D.C. with George Washington as the titular figure and King George III as the Rat King (11/28-29, THEARC Theater; 12/3-27, Warner Theatre)
• Director’s Cut — Short daring works from Septime Weber, William Forsythe and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa that redefine the boundaries of classical ballet (2/24-28, Eisenhower)

WASHINGTON PERFORMING ARTS

Harman Hall
610 F St NW
Washington, DC 20004
202-833-9800
washingtonperformingarts.org

• Dance Theatre of Harlem — CityDance is a co-presenter of this annual series of performances by the historic ensemble, guided by founding member and former dancer Virginia Johnson, this year featuring the D.C. premiere of Coming Together, a collaboration between European choreographer Nacho Duato and American composer Frederic Rzewski (10/9-10, Harman Hall)
• Velocity Dance Festival — See listing above (10/15-17, Harman Hall)

More Fall Arts 2015

• Film
• Television
• Stage
• Pop Music
• Classical
• Museums
• Above & Beyond