92NY Harkness Dance Center Unveils 2026-27 Season Featuring World Premieres, Festivals and International Artists

The 92nd Street Y, New York has announced Home: Departure and Return, the Harkness Mainstage Series 2026-27 season, unfolding at the threshold between home and elsewhere, tradition and change, belonging and becoming. This season's artists push at the borders of identity, culture and tradition, asking what it means to leave home, return to it or build it again. Drawing on dance forms shaped by migration and exchange, they reimagine inherited traditions with urgency and energy. Performances will take place in Kaufmann Concert Hall, Buttenwieser Hall at the Arnhold Center and throughout newly transformed spaces within the 92NY building. Select programs will also be available to stream following their performances.

The season opens with Ballet Hispánico New York performing excerpts from Eduardo Vilaro's Buscando a Juan (Looking for Juan), Marianela Boán's Reactor Antígona (Antigone Reactor) and Pedro Ruiz's Guajira, alongside the world premiere of a documentary directed by Nel Shelby. The season concludes with the inaugural Dance on Film Festival, featuring screenings and artists working at the intersection of movement and cinema.

Other highlights include premieres from Johnnie Cruise Mercer, Christopher Williams and FLOCK; the return of Doug Varone and Dancers for its 40th anniversary celebration; American Repertory Ballet's 92NY debut; a new collaboration between Ephrat Asherie Dance and Mo Willems; Trisha Brown Dance Company's immersive takeover of multiple 92NY spaces; and the 92NY debut of Bridgman | Packer Dance.

"Their work explores how identity, culture, and tradition are carried across geographies and generations, and how home can be preserved, reimagined, or rebuilt when the ground beneath us keeps shifting," said Alison Manning, Co-Executive Director of 92NY Harkness Dance Center.

Return to Cuba

The season opens with Return to Cuba, featuring the world premiere of a documentary directed by Nel Shelby and a live performance by Ballet Hispánico New York. The film documents Bessie Award winner Pedro Ruiz's creative collaboration with Malpaso Dance Company in Havana after visa barriers prevented the company's planned New York appearance. Ballet Hispánico will perform works by Eduardo Vilaro, Marianela Boán and Pedro Ruiz in celebration of Cuban and Cuban American artistry.

Performance Information

Venue: Kaufmann Concert Hall
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: From $45; $20 students

Streaming: September 20-24, 2026
Price: $20

Johnnie Cruise Mercer: The Good News Suite

Former Harkness Artist in Residence Johnnie Cruise Mercer returns with The Good News Suite, drawing inspiration from his upbringing in the Black Baptist church. The program features the premiere of The Unforced Rhythms of Grace, a new ensemble work for Black movement and vocal artists, as well as a new version of his solo work Mercies of a Butterfly. Each performance will include guest artists from New York's Black dance community.

Performance Information

Venue: Buttenwieser Hall
Dates: Friday, October 16 & Saturday, October 17, 2026
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: From $45; $20 students

Christopher Williams

Bessie Award winner and Guggenheim Fellow Christopher Williams presents a double bill featuring the world premiere of Spectre de la Rose and the New York premiere of La Rhétorique des Dieux. The evening continues Williams' acclaimed Queering the Canon: Reimagining the Ballets Russes series, reinterpreting historic works through a contemporary lens.

Performance Information

Venue: Buttenwieser Hall
Dates: Thursday, October 29 & Friday, October 30, 2026
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: From $45; $20 students

Bridgman | Packer Dance

Making its 92NY debut, Bridgman | Packer Dance will present Ghost Factory, a multimedia work blending live performance and film. Inspired by the abandoned factories of Johnson City, New York, the production explores memory, place and the traces left behind. The engagement also includes Places with Hidden Stories, an installation extending throughout the 92NY building.

Performance Information

Venue: Buttenwieser Hall
Dates: Friday, November 20 & Saturday, November 21, 2026
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: From $45; $20 students

Doug Varone and Dancers

Doug Varone and Dancers returns to celebrate its 40th anniversary. The program marks a homecoming for the longtime Harkness Dance Center resident company and will feature works spanning the ensemble's four-decade history.

Performance Information

Venue: Buttenwieser Hall
Dates: Friday, December 4 & Saturday, December 5, 2026
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: From $45; $20 students

FLOCK

German co-choreographers Alice Klock and Florian Lochner return to 92NY with the U.S. premiere of The Designer. Inspired by the Tarot's Major Arcana, the work follows a fashion designer whose creations come to life in a theatrical exploration of beauty, obsession and identity.

Performance Information

Venue: Buttenwieser Hall
Date: Saturday, January 9, 2027 — 7:00 p.m.
Date: Sunday, January 10, 2027 — 2:00 p.m.
Tickets: From $45; $20 students

American Repertory Ballet

American Repertory Ballet makes its 92NY debut with a program featuring works by Lar Lubovitch and Ethan Stiefel, alongside a commission from former Harkness Artist in Residence Yue Yin. Curated by Artistic Director Samantha Dunster, the evening highlights a new generation of ballet artists and choreographers.

Performance Information

Venue: Buttenwieser Hall
Dates: Thursday, February 4 & Friday, February 5, 2027
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: From $45; $20 students

Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival

The Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival returns with a world premiere from Harkness Artist in Residence Naomi Funaki, followed by two evenings of Art Bath programming co-curated by Caleb Teicher. Across seven days, rhythm serves as a common language connecting dance, music, poetry and visual art.

Performance Information

Venue: Buttenwieser Hall
Tuesday, March 2, 2027 — 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 3, 2027 — 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 4, 2027 — 7:00 p.m.
Friday, March 5, 2027 — 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: From $45; $20 students

Future Dance Festival

Now in its sixth season, the Future Dance Festival continues to champion emerging choreographers and dance filmmakers. The festival opens with an in-person film screening before two nights of live performances.

Performance Information

Venue: Buttenwieser Hall

Thursday, April 8, 2027
Film Screening — 7:00 p.m.

Friday, April 9, 2027
Showing A — 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 10, 2027
Showing B — 7:00 p.m.

Tickets: From $45; $20 artists/students

Livestream Schedule

Film Program: April 8-12, 2027
Showing A: April 9-13, 2027
Showing B: April 10-14, 2027
Livestream Tickets: $20

Ephrat Asherie Dance

Bessie Award-winning choreographer Ephrat "Bounce" Asherie premieres It's Just a Smatter of Time, a collaboration with acclaimed author and illustrator Mo Willems and Grammy Award-winning ensemble Third Coast Percussion. The work blends visual art, rhythm and movement in a family-friendly theatrical experience.

Performance Information

Venue: Kaufmann Concert Hall
Date: Saturday, May 1, 2027
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: From $45; $20 students

Streaming: May 2-6, 2027
Price: $20

Trisha Brown Dance Company

Trisha Brown Dance Company presents an immersive evening spanning multiple spaces throughout 92NY. The event includes installations, video, gallery performances and concert hall presentations of Line Up, Water Motor and Working Title, offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience the breadth of Brown's groundbreaking artistic legacy.

Performance Information

Venue: Kaufmann Concert Hall and throughout 92NY
Date: Thursday, May 27, 2027
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: From $45; $20 students

Streaming: May 28-June 1, 2027
Price: $20

Dance on Film Festival

The season concludes with the inaugural Dance on Film Festival, featuring works by Sagí Amir Gros, FLOCK and filmmaker Tobin Del Cuore. The festival celebrates dance beyond the stage through documentaries, short films and interdisciplinary collaborations.

Program

3:00 p.m.
Silent Force
Them
Your Silence is Loud
Films by Sagí Amir Gros

5:00 p.m.
Holy Grail
Filmmaker: Malcolm Wesley
Featuring FLOCK

7:00 p.m.
Through Memory
A new documentary by Tobin Del Cuore featuring choreographer Aszure Barton and the Limón Dance Company.

Performance Information

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