BATTERY DANCE FESTIVAL to Return for 45th Annual Edition

Battery Dance is set to present the 45th Annual BATTERY DANCE FESTIVAL from August 10 through 16, 2026. The festival, established in 1982 as the Downtown Dance Festival, is New York City's longest-running free public dance festival and returns each summer to Wagner Park in Lower Manhattan for a week of nightly performances and community workshops.

This August, Battery Dance returns to the waterfront at Wagner Park, transforming the space into a hub of movement, music, and cultural celebration in partnership with Battery Park City Authority. The festival begins on August 10 with community workshops led by selected local dance groups, inviting New Yorkers of all ages to connect directly with artists through shared movement and cultural exchange. On Tuesday, August 11, 2026, performances officially begin as the festival celebrates its legacy as New York City's longest-running free public dance festival.

The 45th Annual Battery Dance Festival marks a milestone moment, honoring 50 years of Battery Dance and the visionary leadership of founder and Artistic Director Jonathan Hollander. This edition showcases a multicultural lineup of artists featuring movement traditions from across the globe, uniting genres, cultures, and creative perspectives.

Returning to Wagner Park, the festival unfolds over a full week of programming. Each evening offers two hours of performances, including the interactive segment Everybody Dance Now, where audiences are invited to move, connect, and celebrate together.

With a distinct theme each night, the festival remains rooted in its core mission: to present an eclectic spectrum of dance to New York audiences, expand access to the arts for all, and uplift emerging New York-based companies. The free, citywide celebration features performances, hands-on workshops at Battery Dance Studios, and immersive experiences designed to engage audiences of all ages.

Presented in partnership with Battery Park City Authority.

Battery Dance Festival Outdoor Free Community Workshops at Wagner Park — Monday, August 10

On August 10, the festival launches with a series of free community dance workshops led by selected local dance groups participating in this year's festival, welcoming New Yorkers of all ages and experience levels to move, learn, and connect through dance. Designed for beginners, each 45-minute workshop will introduce participants to a different dance style and cultural tradition. Workshops begin at 4:00pm.

4:00pm – 4:45pm: Ashley Liang Dance Company

5:00pm – 5:45pm: Battery Dance

6:00pm – 6:45pm: Ina Medhanet

7:00pm – 7:45pm: Allpayana Danza Tradicional Ecuatoriana

Battery Dance Festival Performance Schedule at Wagner Park — Tuesday, August 11 – Sunday, August 16 at 7pm

Tuesday, August 11: Battery Dance: then by Rosalind Newman (USA- NYC Premiere); Soles of Duende: excerpt of The Kitchen by Amanda Castro, Arielle Rosales, Brinda Guha (USA- World Premiere); Jessee Leigh Robinson: For Whom The Bell Tolls by Jessee Leigh Robinson (USA- originally premiered in 2026); BODYSONNET: Say I Am You by Moscelyne ParkeHarrison (USA- originally premiered in 2022); konverjdans: We Tell Ourselves Stories (USA- originally premiered in 2022); Movimento em Foco: Voices that Echo Within Us by Lucas Mendes (Brazil – US Premiere)

Wednesday, August 12: Battery Dance: Heloha, a newly commissioned work by former New York City Ballet principal dancer Jock Soto (USA - World Premiere); Cía Elías Aguirre: Flowerheads by Elías Aguirre (Spain- US Premiere); Movimiento em Foco: Voices that Echo Within Us by Lucas Mendes (Brazil – US Premiere); Maria-Luiza Dimulescu & Camelia Neagoe: Maybe by 2301, We Won't Need Another Feminist Show by Maria-Luiza Dimulescu & Camelia Neagoe (Romania, US Premiere); CRDANCE: excerpt of Alta Marea by Caterina Rago (USA - originally premiered in 2024)

Thursday, August 13: Erik Debono/A Point 5 Co: Dots & Nets by Erik Debono; Cía Elías Aguirre: Flowerheads by Elías Aguirre (Spain- US Debut); Seyong Kim: The Moon reflected in East Sea by Seyong Kim; Maria-Luiza Dimulescu & Camelia Neagoe: Maybe by 2301, We Won't Need Another Feminist Show by Maria-Luiza Dimulescu & Camelia Neagoe (Romania, US Debut); Miguel Miranda: Se Va by Miguel Miranda (USA, originally premiered in 2024); Mailantia Dance Company: Mutual by Yun-Chi Lai (Taiwan, US Premiere)

Friday, August 14: NANM, A Robenson Mathurin Dance Company: Legacy in Rhythm by Robenson Mathurin (US – NY Premiere); DPRdance: Scat Cats by Dougie Robbins (USA - originally premiered in 2018); Allpayana Ecuadorian Traditional Dance: Otavalo Wedding by Christian Perez (US – NY Premiere); Ashley Liang Dance Company: Silk Road by Ashley Liang (USA - originally premiered in 2021); Mailantia Dance Company: Mutual by Yun-Chi Lai (Taiwan, US Premiere); Ina Medhanet: Egungun - The Journey is the Medicine by Ina Kwayana (USA- originally premiered in 2024)

Saturday, August 15: The Battery Dance Festival continues its tradition with a vibrant tribute to the beauty and depth of Indian dance, honoring the spirit of Indian Independence Day. Sindhoor Natya – Navarasa: Excerpts from ENCOUNTER by Aparna Sindhoor and Anil Natyaveda (US– NYC Premiere); Tanveer Alam: Zikr by Tanveer Alam (Canada – US Premiere); Nava Dance Theatre: Rogue Gestures/Foreign Bodies by Nadhi Thekkek (US – NY Premiere); Mesma Belsaré: SIREN by Mesma Belsaré (US – NY Premiere); Jeevika Bhat: Clothesline by Jeevika Bhat (US - originally premiered in 2025)

Sunday, August 16: Maxine Steinman & Dancers: A Measure of Quarantine by Maxine Steinman (USA - originally premiered in 2024); Half a Century: Between Us by Melanie Futorian (USA – World Premiere); Julia Weber: Ballade by Julia Weber (USA - originally premiered in 2025); Thomas/Ortiz Dance: Disclaimer by Ted Thomas and Frances Ortiz (USA - originally premiered in 2025); Nat Wilson: Someone Has to Leave First by Nat Wilson in collaboration with Grace Whitworth (USA - originally premiered in 2025); Jon Lehrer Dance Company: Murmur by Jon Lehrer (USA - originally premiered in 2012); Battery Dance: newly commissioned work by Sidra Bell (USA – World Premiere)

Program subject to change.

Festival Artists

Allpayana Ecuadorian Traditional Dance

Allpayana, meaning 'black earth' in the Kichwa language, was founded on January 11, 2024, in New York City under the artistic direction of Christian Perez and Gabriela Pizarro. The company is dedicated to preserving and celebrating the living cultural memory of Ecuadorian communities through the performance and sharing of traditional customs and practices that reflect the country's rich identity and diversity. Allpayana Ecuadorian Traditional Dance strives to embody the stories, traditions, and lived experiences of the communities it represents. Its work is deeply rooted in the spirit of Ecuador's festivities, honoring the rhythms, rituals, and cultural expressions that continue to shape and sustain these vibrant traditions.

Ashley Liang Dance Company

A dance organization dedicated to advancing both Chinese dance traditions and Western modern dance. The company promotes multicultural artistic exchange while building meaningful bridges for international cultural and creative collaboration. Its original choreographic works draw from a diverse range of styles, including Chinese dance, ballet, and modern dance, reflecting a dynamic fusion of cultural influences and contemporary expression.

Founder Ashley Liang, and president of Ashley Dance Center, holds a Master's degree in Dance Education from New York University. She has been recognized with numerous honors, including Excellent Dance Choreographer, Distinguished Dancer, and Excellent Dance Educator. These awards were presented by notable leaders such as Grace Meng, Eric Adams, Brad Lander, John Liu, Sandra Ung, and Andy Lin. www.ashleyliangdance.com

Battery Dance

Founded by Jonathan Hollander in 1976 in lower Manhattan, Battery Dance now serves as one of America's leading cultural ambassadors, connecting the world through dance. With its exceptional team of dancers who also serve as teaching artists and choreographers, the company pursues artistic excellence and social relevance, creating vibrant new works, performing on the world's stages, presenting dance in public spaces, serving the field of dance with low-cost studios in its home in Tribeca and teaching people of all ages with special attention to the disadvantaged and areas of conflict. Battery Dance is committed to enhancing the cultural vibrancy of its home community in New York City, extending programming throughout the U.S., and building bridges worldwide through international cultural exchange with programs in 75 countries to date. www.batterydance.org

BODYSONNET

Founded in 2019, BODYSONNET is a company based in New York committed to making responsive site work on an international scale. Led by Co-Founders Moscelyne ParkeHarrison (Artistic Director), Mio Ishikawa (Associate Artistic Director), and Sean Lammer (Creative Consultant), BODYSONNET initiates projects that center dance to yield works that are highly physical and unique to the communities with which they engage. The work demonstrates the intersection of movement with many mediums and enacts zero-waste consciousness through collaboration with local artists and institutions. www.bodysonnet.org

Cía Elías Aguirre

The Elías Aguirre Company, based in Madrid, stands out for its extensive trajectory and a unique scenic perspective rooted in the exploration of 'invisible nature.' It blends techniques from contemporary dance, urban dance, and physical theater to create captivating and deeply immersive performance experiences. Founder and director Elías Aguirre is a multidisciplinary artist with a distinguished career across various creative fields, recognized as a choreographer, dancer, photographer, and visual and plastic artist. He trained in dance at the Royal Professional Conservatory of Dance in Madrid and holds a degree in Fine Arts from the Complutense University of Madrid, as well as a Master's in Performing Arts from King Juan Carlos University. His education also includes studies in Graphic Design (TAI), Stage Photography (with Fernando Marcos), and Nature Documentary Filmmaking (with Luis Miguel Domínguez), complemented by training in urban dance, butoh, and clown. www.eliasaguirre.es

CRDANCE

CRDANCE was founded in 2007 by Caterina Rago as a company dedicated to respecting and continuing to contribute to the history of modern dance. Rago, a native of San Lucido, Italy, joined the Martha Graham Dance Company in 2009 after completing its Professional Training Program, and has received commissions from Steffi Nossen Dance Foundation, Accademia Nazionale di Danza, Alvin Ailey/Fordham, and PeridanceCapezio Dance Center. Rago has recently restaged Martha Graham's 1935 work, Panorama for Accademia Nazionale Di Danza at Rome's Soirees Dans and Karole Armitage's American Dream for the Ravello Festival, and has received recent commissions from Alvin Ailey/Fordham University and Marymount Manhattan College. www.instagram.com/caterina_rago_crdance/

DPRdance

DPRdance is a theater jazz company, rooted in Jack Cole technique with an emphasis on storytelling. The company has created and presented work at the LPAC, off Broadway at Ta-Da, Dixon Place, the MMAC, with Rhythmically speaking in Minneapolis, and at Nazareth University. www.instagram.com/dpr.dance/

Erik Debono / A Point 5 Co

A Point 5 Co's director, Erik Debono, was born in San Francisco and trained with Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and London Contemporary Dance School. Upon earning his BFA at Adelphi University, he performed works of Lar Lubovitch, Frank Augustyn, Earl Mosley, Manuel Vignoulle, and Orion Duckstein. His performance career continued with Life & Trust NYC, the Metropolitan Opera, Parsons Dance, dissonances, Post Ballet, and SFDanceWorks. Debono is also an independent recording artist and producer, and has musically supported Yue Yin, AXIS Dance Company, and Alexander Anderson. www.instagram.com/Apoint5co/?hl=en

Half Century Dance

Melanie Futorian is the founder of Half Century Dance, a company that features dancers over the age of 50 and celebrates the power of mature artistry while challenging perceptions of aging in dance. The company explores new ways of moving, demonstrating that emotional depth and expressive nuance only grow richer with experience. Its performers bring remarkable professional backgrounds, having appeared on Broadway, toured nationally, and performed with renowned companies such as Béjart Ballet, Bat-Dor Dance Company, and Alwin Nikolais. www.melaniefutorian.com/half-century-dance

Ina Medhanet

Ina Kwayana is a first-generation American of Caribbean and African ancestry, born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. With a technical foundation in street dance styles—including house, hip hop, waacking, and locking—as well as modern, contemporary, and ballet, her work is grounded in the physical embodiment of Black care and the ways it lives and moves through the body. Her artistic practice centers on rhythm, groove, and freedom as tools for repair, protest, renewal, and release. Through this lens, she uplifts the depth and resonance of the African diaspora while posing an essential question: where does the unknown arrive and escape within the body? Ina recently assisted Juel D. Lane on a new work for PHILADANCO! and served as Assistant Choreographer for the world premiere of Co-Founders, a hip hop musical in San Francisco. She has performed works by Shayla-Vie Jenkins, Kyle Clark and Dinita Clark, Sidra Bell, and Juel D. Lane. www.instagram.com/inamedhanet

Jeevika Bhat

Jeevika Bhat is a Manhattan-based dancer and choreographer who explores the confluence of her cultures through a Contemporary/Indian-American medium. Her background is in Odissi, an East Indian classical dance form known for its nuanced storytelling and graceful fluidity, which she studies under the guidance of Guru Jyoti Rout

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