Kaatsbaan 2026 Annual Festival to Close with EVIDENCE and Sadonna

For three Saturdays in a row, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park presents the 2026 Annual Festival at 120 Broadway, Tivoli, NY 12583. The festival begins on August 29, 2026 and continues on September 5 and September 12. Each Saturday will feature a distinct lineup and focus.

The festival will conclude with a high-energy summer send-off. Large-ensemble dance performances by EVIDENCE and MasterZ at Work open the day, and Sadonna and the Slutinos give a farewell evening concert.

The 2026 Annual Festival also marks the return of Kaatsbaan's outdoor Mountain and Meadow stages with expansive views of the Catskill Mountains and immersion in the natural beauty of the Hudson Valley. Most performances are an hour or less, are all ages, and the festival schedule permits an easeful and day-long schedule of art and nature alongside Tivoli's walkable downtown amenities. Tickets will be offered on an incentive-based, affordable structure. 

Annual Festival | Saturday, September 12

1pm Mountain Stage (outdoors): Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, Torch and Where the Light Shines Through. EVIDENCE presents Where the Light Shines Through and Torch, two choreographic works full of heart. Both are brilliant and triumphant expressions of freedom for our times, performed by Brown's highly accomplished dancers. Their exacting movements exude grace and equal parts intensity and generosity. With dancing so infectious and soul-stirring, you will be swept up out of your seat throughout the entire show.

2:30pm Mountain Stage (outdoors): Courtney Balenciaga Washington and MasterZ at Work, ALL INCLUSIVE and The 24/7 Diner. The 24/7 Diner: precise, high-energy dancing that mirrors the bustle of a big city, all-night diner and the internal landscape of those who work and gather inside. Inspired by and set to Suzanne Vega's Tom's Diner. ALL INCLUSIVE is informed by Courtney "Balenciaga" Washington's experience as a queer teenager who found refuge from teasing in dance. The work reflects how her gender transition spurred transformative emotional, creative, and physical liberation. Washington's choreography seamlessly pulls from house, hip hop, vogue, and street with tight, continuously evolving formations that serve to amplify each dancer's individual style, personality, and charm. MasterZ at Work is a dance collective of vibrant performers from different dance backgrounds, creating dances that represent resilience and foster community in under-resourced areas of Brooklyn.

6pm Mountain Stage (outdoors): Sadonna. Concert. Sadonna (Miguel Gutierrez) and the Slutinos (John Maria Gutierrez, Alvaro Gonzalez, and Santiago Venegas) provide the bow at the end of the festival, the cherry on top of a full season. Fans of Madonna's sensational pop hits will recognize the messages of strength and resilience in Sadonna's slower, bluer renditions. Though comfortingly familiar, the now sad songs rightly reveal the raw vulnerability and beating heart behind these classic hits as we sing farewell to summer.

7:15pm Firepits outside Studio Complex: Interfaith Fire Lighting

Join local spiritual leaders in closing out the festival with artists, staff, and community partners.

The more events you attend, the deeper the discounts.

- One performance ticket is $25 ($15 for students)

- All-day passes:

- A two-performance ticket bundle is $40 ($25 for students)

- A three-performance ticket bundle is $50 ($30 for students) *only available 8/29*

- Add a concert ticket to your bundle and receive a $10 discount

- Concerts are individually priced.

Kaatsbaan's Managing Director, Naomi Miller, offers that 'Kaatsbaan's signature festival, which first gathered artists and audiences during the pandemic for collective healing, continues to grow and offer new ways to come together in creativity and celebration. Working with Michèle has expanded the scope of artists we present, to everyone's benefit. Come for distinct moments of joy and transformation, stay for the power of community.' Available for free throughout the festival

Performance Lending Library

A curated selection of audio-guided physical experiences adapted for Kaatsbaan's environment, each under 30 minutes. Bring your smart phone/tablet (data streaming required), earbuds/headphones, and be led into a range of embodied performance practices with your imagination as the site of the artwork. Do at your own pace in and around Kaatsbaan:

• Bridget Fiske, Joseph Lau, Stelios Manousakis, and Stephanie Pan, A Concept Album of Architectural Choreographies: A guerrilla audio tour in semi-public spaces
• Terry Hempfling and Rachel Jendrzejewski, Backwards Walk
• GUTSOIL ARTS | Pramila Vasudevan, Mossing | Marrowing Vitality Scores

Laura Curry, Cita en Bici / Bike Date. From an earnest conversation while biking, choreographer and social practice artist Laura Curry has turned a seemingly simple research process, started in 2013 in South and North American cities, into a sisterhood of mothers, daughters, aunties, grandmas, and fem/trans individuals who are also cyclists. Share stories while on a bike ride with Laura on the Empire State Trail or your local neighborhood route. Book directly with the artist onsite during the festival or at BikeDateProject@gmail.com.

2026 Visual Arts Exhibition, Earthly Delights. Artistic works evoking planets, plants, insects, and other biological forms erupting out of the mystical Kaatsbaan landscape. These unique pieces created by nine contemporary artists working predominantly in the Hudson Valley offer an inspiring alchemy of structure, form, beauty, and soul. Artists include Laura Battle, Thea Berman, Sharon Broit, Gaston Lachaise, Ian McMahon, Virginia L. Montgomery, Portia Munson, Kris Perry, Aurora Robson, and Nadia Yaron. The exhibition is curated by Hilary Greene.

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