The season of rebirth and renewal is beautifully expressed in dance. And in that spirit, it’s especially beautiful this season to see so much renewed life among dance artists, companies, and venues that have for the past few years endured the pandemic struggles and survived, or even come back stronger.
In every corner of the DMV, from Dance Place to Wolf Trap, the Kennedy Center to Hylton Performing Arts, world-class artists are making their debuts on our stages, or premiering never-before-seen works sure to excite, inspire, or push the boundaries of what we’ve come to expect.
The breath of spring touches everything — music, art, and that unyielding desire to just keep dancing forward into the light.
The Eternal Art Collective: VISCERAL — An immersive sensory experience, for ages 18+, involving contemporary dance, pole dance, singing, Lyra hoop dance, and aerial chain apparatus performance dedicated to sharing human emotion and vulnerability (3/30, Lang Theatre)
The Washington School of Ballet: Don Quixote — Dancers from the Professional Training Division present an abridged version of the family-friendly ballet, staged by Division leaders Xiomara Reyes and Rinat Imaev (4/5-7, Lang Theatre)
Furia Flamenca Dance Company: Recordando La Alhambra — D.C.’s “most sought-after flamenco dance company” are joined by string and percussion ensemble Barrio Andalusi in a performance exploring how Arab-Islamic and Spanish cultural influences were fused to produce flamenco. (4/27, Lang Theatre)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream and other works — Conservatory Division dancers perform a ballet adaptation of the Shakespeare comedy, in addition to contemporary and jazz works, presented both in full-length for all-ages audiences, and in 45-minute Petite performances created specifically for ballet fans ages 5 and under (Petite Performances for kids: 5/11, BalletNova Center; All Ages: 5/18-19, Thomas Jefferson Community Center, Arlington)
La Bayadère: Act II — The company performs Marius Petipa’s India-set romantic ballet, followed by a recital performance by the Baltimore Ballet School (5/26, Goucher College Kraushaar Auditorium)
Alex & Olmsted: Hubba Hubba — Back by popular demand, the singing-dancing duo perform their show of vignettes exploring many forms and qualities of romantic love, told using puppetry, movement, and physical comedy (Through 3/31)
VTDance: Looking Bach — The company dances an evening of “provocative movement stories,” set to musical lines of J.S. Bach (5/11-12)
Iron Crow Theatre: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie — Dance should feature prominently in Sean Elias’ staging of the Tom MacRae and Dan Gillespie Sells musical based on the queer-themed true story of an English teen with drag queen dreams (6/14-30)
Evening with an Artist Series — Principal musician Sally McLain and guests deconstruct a Boccherini composition used in artistic director Diane Coburn Bruning’s ballet Time Has Come, then invite audience participants “to create the three instruments of music in three movement groups” (4/17, The Washington Ballet Coleman Studios, 3308 Wisconsin Ave. NW)
Ramblin’ — Contemporary ballet meets live bluegrass when Tony-winners The Red Clay Ramblers join CDP for world premiere ballet Book of Stones, by guest choreographer Christian Denice, and the D.C. premiere of Bruning’s Ramblin’ Suite; then the resident string quartet sits in for two works from the company repertoire, including a sensuous tango. (6/27-29, Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW)
Elevation Celebration Gala — Young artists from CityDance Conservatory show off their talents in a performance to benefit the more than $150,000 in merit scholarships and financial aid awarded annually by the Conservatory to the nation’s most promising dance artists (5/19, Kennedy Center Terrace Theater)
THE CLARICE
Dance Theatre
University of Maryland
College Park, Md.
301-405-ARTS www.theclarice.umd.edu
TDPS Experimental Performance Series — MFA Students from the School of Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies present eclectic and provocative new works (Series #4: 3/30, Series #5: 4/6)
UMDances: Student Dance Association Concert — Student dancers present original works (4/11)
Maryland Day — UMD’s annual campus-wide open house loaded with fun, free opportunities to “explore the creativity of Terps” through performances and interactive experiences (4/27)
UMDances: Undergraduate Concert — Undergrad student choreographers offer a vibrant, celebratory program of new works (5/3-5)
Seeds of Toil: Three Stories of Asian American Resistance and Resilience — DTSBDC premieres this modern dance triptych focusing on the agricultural histories of Asian Americans, featuring live music by collaborative pianist Dana Scott (4/17, Kennedy Center Millennium Stage)
10,000 Dreams: A Celebration of Asian Choreography Gala Performance — Joining a stellar lineup of international artists spotlighting Asian and Asian American choreographers, the company presents A Tribute to Marian Anderson (6/21, Kennedy Center Opera House)
Hillwood Performances — Summertime dances on the lush, tranquil grounds of the Hillwood Estate and Gardens (7/11-13, Hillwood Estate, 4155 Linnean Ave. NW)
Amber Lucia Chabus: Sana, Sana — There’s a lot happening in this intimate, immersive work in which three performers explore a tribute to themselves through movement, spoken word, crocheting, pointing, pushing, and raving (3/29)
Connor Voss & Rebecca Patek: N Site — Voss and Patek combine documentary, dance, and medicine in a performance following their research journey at a residency aimed at helping artists express themselves in a retail environment (3/30)
Helanius J. Wilkins — Colorado-based artist Wilkins brings his social justice-based work The Conversations Series: Stitching the Geopolitical Quilt to Re-Body Belonging to D.C. for a week of discussion, instruction, and performance (4/1-7)
Liana Conyers in collaboration with Jamal Abrams: TLDR — A “magic carpet ride” that investigates intellectual play with bodies, untold stories, and altered reality (4/12)
Kate Ladenheim: COMMIT! — An interactive performance where performer-choreographer Ladenheim will repeatedly throw herself to the ground, trying, with the audience’s input, to execute the most committed fall, which we’re sure is gonna hurt in the morning (4/13)
PURPLE: A Ritual in Nine Spells — NYC-based collective Sydnie L. Mosley Dances performs an evening-length ritual choreopoem that embodies the power of deep sisterhood for social change through storytelling and movement (4/27)
Black Madonna and Miss Amerika — Artist-in-Residence Ronya-Lee Anderson presents a cinematic and interactive “investigation of socio-political happenings in conversation with the positioning of the Black female icon in the church, on the stage and in the streets” (5/4)
Bandportier: All Tomorrow’s Parties — Through abstract considerations of color theory and design, collaborating performers Daniel Miramontes, Rebecca Steinberg, MK Ford, Brit Falcon, Bree Breeden, Jessie Young, and Emilia Bruno weave charged movement frequencies into an ever-shifting elliptical landscape (5/11)
Spring Youth Showcase — Young performers representing Dance Place’s Kids on the Move students, Energizers Creative Arts Program participants, and the Dance Place Youth Company bust some moves (5/18)
DanceAfrica DC 2024 — Hosted by Griot Mama Sylvia Soumah, the 37th annual edition of the week-long celebration of the African diaspora through dance, music, and tradition (5/28)
Falcon Dance: Beauty Happens — Through sight, touch, sound, and relentless physicality, eight dancers explore a spectrum of intimacy and resilience (6/22)
Ghost Bride — Evocative scenic design, costumes, and lighting highlight the choreographer Rose Xinran Qi’s interpretation of the legend of the Ghost Bride (6/29)
Kinetic Collective: Hōmō•Dentïtes” — Contemplating the word “Homo” through movement, to understand depths of subjugation and reconciliation (7/13)
Latinx Movement Festival — The inaugural edition brings five movement artists throughout the nation and locally to share in open to the public performances on themes of binational identity, immigrant narratives, identity politics, gender, and queerness within the Latinx/e viewpoint (8/3)
Energizers Creative Arts Summer Camp Show — Dance Place’s six-week summer program for dance enthusiasts ages 5-19 culminates in this celebratory performance (8/8)
Moveius Contemporary Ballet: Visions — The troupe’s season finale performance, followed on May 10 by the Spring Soiree (5/10-12)
GMU CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Concert Hall
4373 Mason Pond Drive
Fairfax, Va.
888-945-2468 www.cfa.gmu.edu
Trinity Irish Dance Company — Chicago’s boundary-pushing, genre-defying steppers blend sheer percussive power with aerial grace, and a live musical ensemble (3/24, Concert Hall)
iWeek Dance Competition — Competition is fierce as international student clubs present dances from around the world (4/4, Concert Hall)
Martha Graham Dance Company — The legendary modern dance ensemble performs Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo, plus a new commission by former Alvin Ailey artist-choreographer Jamar Roberts, and the joyful Maple Leaf Rag, Graham’s 180th (and last) choreographic work, all preceded by the Mason Dance Company performing Graham’s Steps in the Street (4/13, Concert Hall)
Spring: Dance Innovations — A showcase of new works by Mason choreographers, performed by the Mason Dance Company (4/26-27, Harris Theatre)
Spring Studio Series — An intimate studio performance of new dances by GMU’s School of Dance (4/30, deLaski Performing Arts Bldg)
Bhangra Blowout — Celebrating the 30th anniversary of this high-energy dance competition hosted by the South Asian Society, attracting Bhangra teams from all over the country (4/13)
HYLTON PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Merchant Hall
10960 George Mason Circle
Manassas, Va.
703-993-7759 www.hyltoncenter.org
Virginia National Ballet: Led Zeppelin — The troupe dances up the stairway to heaven interpreting Zeppelin’s greatest hits, in addition to taking on Ravel’s Boléro and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (4/20)
Ordway Ballet: Whodunnit? A Murder Mystery Ballet — Here’s a fun, inventive ballet that promises to transport audiences into a world where dance and mystery collide (4/21)
Academy of Russian Ballet and Northern Virginia Ballet: Cinderella — The NVB hosts acclaimed dancers of the Academy of Russian Ballet for this family-friendly production of the fairy tale classic (5/5)
Manassas Ballet Theatre: Romeo & Juliet — MBT brings the curtain down on another season with Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy, set to live music by the Manassas Ballet Theatre Orchestra (5/17-19)
Virginia National Ballet: Spring Recital — VNB students present dance and musical performances in ballet, contemporary, jazz, tap, acro, hip hop, musical theater, voice, and piano (6/1)
Showcase Dance Studio: Sweet 16 — A showcase featuring SDS dancers ages 3-18, presenting an array of styles, including ballet, tap, jazz, pom, hip hop, lyrical, musical theater, contemporary, acro, and pointe (6/8)
Prime — New dance works inspired by visual artist Christine Ruksenas-Burton presented alongside her art exhibited at The Athenaeum gallery, with choreography by Ryan Carlough, Jane Franklin, Gabriel Mata, Robert J. Priore, Kelsey Rohr (3/28, The Athenaeum, 201 Prince St, Alexandria, Va.)
Jane Franklin Dance @ MoCA: The Big Meow! — A family-friendly performance at the Spring Market and Cherry Blossom Celebration (4/14, Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington)
Dance for Parkinson’s Disease — Dance for Parkinson’s Disease-certified instructor Lucy Bowen McCauley leads free dance classes for people with Parkinson’s (Mondays at 2:30 p.m., The REACH)
The White Feather, A Persian Ballet — The sold-out national tour of this work honoring the untold story of the Iranian National Ballet is dedicated to the ongoing fight for “Woman, Life, Freedom” (3/26, Eisenhower)
We Are Ukrainians — The Ukrainian folk choir named after Grygoriy Veryovka presents cherished songs and dances in a rich cultural experience that also commemorates the second anniversary of the war launched by Russia against Ukraine (3/28, Eisenhower)
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo Adult Master Class — Join the troupe for a lively lesson on dancing the Dying Swan (4/2, Studio F)
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo — The dancing and drag glamour are all en pointe in this program celebrating the world-renowned all-male comic ballet company’s 50th anniversary season (4/4-6, Opera House)
Dance Sanctuaries — Free, movement-based class for new to advanced movers (4/6, Select Saturdays, The REACH)
Back 2 the Circle — Brush off your best kicks and throw down in this cypher-style dance battle with prizes handed out by esteemed judges Rashaad Hasani (Soulmatic), Neverless (One Take Studios), and Shogun (Deadly Venoms Crew) (4/6)
Message in a Bottle — A new dance-theater spectacle set in a peaceful village, from five-time Olivier Award nominee Kate Prince, inspired by and set to the hits of Sting (4/9-21, Opera House)
Chronicles of Nina…What now? — Created by the collective Project ChArma, Chronicles harnesses the funk and soul of Nina Simone for an exploration of living on in the wake of death (4/12-13, Terrace Theater)
Dance for Parkinson’s Disease Introductory Workshop:Lucy Bowen McCauley — A training program facilitated by Dance for Parkinson’s ambassadors Lucy Bowen McCauley, David Leventhal, and Maria Portman Kelly (Wednesdays at 2:30 p.m., The REACH)
Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company: Seeds of Toil — DTSBDC’s 50-minute dance focuses on the agricultural histories of Asian Americans, featuring live music by pianist Dana Scott (4/17, Millennium Stage)
Todo Tango — The Pan American Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Sergio Alessandro Buslje presents its signature tango show, featuring 30 musicians, Javier Sanchez on bandoneon, and three pairs of international tango dancers (4/20, Terrace Theater)
Open Adult Master Class with Sydney Dance Company — An opportunity to take participatory classes led by artists of the SDC (4/23, Rehearsal Room 7)
Sydney Dance Company: Impermanence — Australia’s leading contemporary dance ensemble makes its Kennedy Center debut with the U.S. premiere of this haunting meditation on the transitory nature of life, featuring new music by The National’s Bryce Dessner performed live by the Australian String Quartet (4/25-27, Eisenhower)
Open Rehearsal Alonzo King LINES Ballet: Deep River — Enjoy a real peek behind the curtain as dance scholars provide commentary, via wireless headsets, about the choreography, dancers, and history of the art form as Alonzo King LINES Ballet rehearses Deep River (5/16, Eisenhower)
Alonzo King LINES Ballet: Deep River — Another renowned company makes its Kennedy Center debut, in a soulful work created in collaboration with Grammy-winning vocalist Lisa Fischer and Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran, who join the company to perform live (5/16-18, Eisenhower)
Beyond Boundaries — Acclaimed choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa curates the evening including new works by Chanel DaSilva and Houston Thomas, and a re-staging of Ochoa’s Delusional Beauty created in 2019 for The Washington Ballet (5/22-26, Kennedy Center Eisenhower)
Daybreaker — Rise and shine for the Daybreaker Team’s morning yoga class at 8 a.m. on the REACH Upper Lawn, followed by a dance party at 9 a.m., emphasizing self-expression and unity with others (6/1)
New York City Ballet: Jewels — For its 75th anniversary, New York City Ballet presents George Balanchine’s treasured three-act ballet, with Emeralds set to Fauré, Rubies set to Stravinsky, and Diamonds set to Tchaikovsky (6/4-9, Opera House)
Intermediate/Advanced Master Class with New York City Ballet — Learn from the best in this participatory class for dancers 16 years or older (6/5, Studio F)
Pasión y Fuego: The Music of Spain — The Pan American Symphony Orchestra performs music by Spain’s most prominent composers, joined by Allegra Da Vita, a mezzo-soprano from the Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Young Artist Program, who will sing Manuel de Falla’s El Amor Brujo and Siete Canciones Españolas, while Maria Juncal, a flamenco dancer, performs her percussive interpretations and graceful movements onstage (6/15, Terrace)
10,000 Dreams: A Celebration of Asian Choreography Gala Performance — Joining a stellar lineup of international artists spotlighting Asian and Asian American choreographers, the company presents A Tribute to Marian Anderson (6/18-23, Opera House)
Pathways to Performance: Exercises in Reframing the Narrative — This two-performance engagement features a newly commissioned ballet and excerpts of recently premiered works by Black choreographers, curated by Theresa Ruth Howard, founder of Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet, and leader of Pathways to Performance (7/2-3, Eisenhower)
MOVEIUS CONTEMPORARY DANCE
Dance Loft on 14
4618 14th St. NW 2nd Floor
202-621-3670 www.danceloft.org
Glacier: A Climate Change Ballet at the National Portrait Gallery — For the Portrait Gallery’s Earth Month series Forces of Nature: Voices that Shaped Environmentalism, the dancers melt like polar ice caps in this new work created by artistic director Diane Moveius, a climate policy expert (4/28, National Portrait Gallery)
Visions — The company’s season finale performance and Spring Soiree gala (5/10-12, Dance Loft)
STRATHMORE
The Music Center at Strathmore
5301 Tuckerman Lane
North Bethesda, Md.
301-581-5100 www.strathmore.org
Michela Marino Lerman and Love Movement — Tap dancer Marino Lerman leads this unique 7-piece ensemble, an uplifting hybrid of the highest levels of musicianship and hoofing (6/13, AMP at Pike & Rose)
Washington School of Ballet: Don Quixote — Professional Training Division dancers present an abridged version of the family-friendly ballet, staged by Division leaders Xiomara Reyes and Rinat Imaev (4/5-7, Atlas)
Washington School of Ballet’s SE Campus Spring Performance — An afternoon celebration of dance featuring a short story ballet, as well as performances from students of modern, jazz, contemporary, and African dance (5/4, THEARC)
Professional Training Division Spring Performance — Young dancers, on the cusp of their careers, perform works staged and choreographed by Reyes and Imaev (5/4-5, THEARC)
NW Campus Spring Performance — Upper and Lower Division dancers get to show their prowess (5/10-12, THEARC)
Professional Training Division Choreographic Workshop Showcase — New works choreographed by PTD students under the guidance of Mimmo Miccolis (5/17-18, England Studio at The Washington Ballet)
SE Campus Pre-Ballet Showcase — A performance showcase for the school’s wee student dancers (5/18)
Beyond Boundaries — Acclaimed choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa curates the evening including new works by Chanel DaSilva and Houston Thomas, and a re-staging of Ochoa’s Delusional Beauty created in 2019 for the Washington Ballet (5/22-26, Eisenhower Theater)
NW Campus Upper Division Choreographic Showcase — Upper Division students under the guidance of Damien Johnson & Da’Shown Rawl present new works (5/10-12, The Joseph C. Coleman at Cathedral Commons Studios)
SE Campus Performance Ensemble Showcase — The SE Campus Performance Ensemble hits the floor (5/4, THEARC)
Adult Program Concert — Program head Miya Hisaka will produce and direct this mix of neoclassical and contemporary works choreographed by Tamas Krizsa, Miya Hisaka, Kevin Malone, and Alvaro Palau, featuring TWSB Adult Program dancers of all levels (6/15-16, England Studio)
ARTEINMOVIMENTO Dance Company: Walking Artwork — A cool collaborative event between company dancers and local visual artists, set to challenge the visual artist to work against the norm of a two-dimensional, still surface, by, presumably, having to paint the dancers (3/22-23) Step Afrika! — High-energy percussive step dance and traditional African dance with songs and storytelling (4/26)
YMCA Dance: Dance Through the Decades — Students of the YMCA Dance family boogie-woogie through the decades (5/26)
Dance Unlimited: Annual Recital Showcase — Dance Unlimited students of all ages and skill levels show what they’ve got onstage (6/9-10)
ESP: A Trip Through the Chocolate Factory — Elower-Sicilia Productions of Dance students offer a program of passionate performances (6/15)
Pilobulus: reCreation — The self-professed rebellious dance company, known for its sculptural forms and imaginative concepts, showcases a collection of rare gems and Pilobulus classics (7/10)
For more Dance highlights throughout the year, subscribe to Metro Weekly’s free online magazine and newsletter. Visit www.metroweekly.com/subscribe.
The holidays can be overwhelming, and that goes for all the ways you can celebrate the holidays, too. So we thought we'd help out by culling through the festivities to select a few of the very best. We'll do it again next week with a whole new crop of outings to consider for getting your holly jollies on.
THE HOLIDAY SHOW -- The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington is sure to touch and titillate you with this year's 44th annual year-end extravaganza, a program designed to celebrate the holidays around the world through a mix of eclectic songs enhanced by arrangements accentuating the beautiful melodies and harmonies as performed by the full chorus of more than a hundred, by one of the organization's smaller, select ensembles, or by a few standout soloists. Among the most inspiring of the GMCW's smaller ensembles set to perform is the GenOUT Youth Chorus, a group of budding singers from around the region. Sure to give a rousing, high-kicking performance is another GMCW ensemble, the 17th Street Dance Troupe. Even jolly ol' Santa will drop by to liven the mood, especially for those who've been more nice than naughty. Saturday, Dec. 7, and Dec. 14, at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 15, at 5 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. Tickets are $25 to $75. Call 202-293-1548 or visit www.gmcw.org.
Opera may not be the nimblest of the arts, but in choosing Beethoven’s Fidelio, Francesca Zambello’s production lands right on time.
From the opera’s theme of political imprisonment to S. Katy Tucker’s haunting intro projections of prisons, actual political prisoners, and snippets of poignant Constitutional rights, its relevance is given in no uncertain terms.
Indeed, reports that a particular presidential candidate has discussed using the military to control the “enemy within” only adds to its prescience.
That said, Zambello’s potent vision isn’t quite enough to lift this production beyond more than a few inspired moments and the chance to hear conductor Robert Spano deliver the composer’s only opera (an experience Beethoven hated so much, he vowed never to attempt another one).
Imaginative and powerfully delivered, the Washington National Opera's Macbeth is the opera to drop everything and see. Verdi's gorgeously dramatic distillation of Shakespeare's tragedy is already ever-so-accessible, the dark and swooping grandeur of his score the perfect medium for the tale's high drama and mystery.
Add director Brenna Corner's elegantly innovative vision and this is classical opera for the 21st century at its best: so good it needs no compromises. If you have even the slightest interest in seeing the real deal, this is the one for you. If you are already in, this will be a treasure trove of pleasures.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
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