Review: A Joyful Closing Night for the 2025 FALL FOR DANCE FESTIVAL

The curtain came down on New York City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival on September 27 with a standing ovation as Program 5 closed the annual showcase. 

An evening of uplifting humor and emotion across three gorgeously choreographed and performed works reminded audiences of why dance is such a powerful vessel for joy and connection.

The program opened with Three for Hans, a neoclassical triptych choreographed by Hans van Manen and performed by the Stuttgart Ballet. Van Manen, whose career spans six decades, has a signature style that blends poetry, wit, and emotional intensity with ballet. The company’s interpretation of three of his works—Two Pieces for HET, Trois Gnossiennes, and Solo—showcased the choreographer’s versatility.

Two Pieces for HET, with music from Erkki-Sven Tüür and Arvo Pärt, featured two dancers circling each other with sharp eroticism, while the second work, Trois Gnossiennes, offered a pas de deux of contrasting peace and fluidity. In this piece, two dancers moved to Erik Satie’s piano melodies.

Then came Solo, soliciting the evening’s first bursts of laughter from the audience. Set to Johann Sebastian Bach’s Partita No. 1 in B Minor, three men passed solos back and forth like batons in a relay race. The audience seemed to enjoy seeing ballet -- typically a structured, classical form -- handled with so much camp and flair. The way this work oscillated between elegance and mischief was a fitting tribute to van Manen’s innovative career. Three for Hans travels next to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on October 8–12.

The Fall for Dance Festival’s second work, …and, or… , was choreographed by I-Ling Liu and performed by Dance on Fluid. This piece served as a departure from the evening’s earlier works in that it stripped away music altogether. In the absence of a score, a duet consisting of dancers Jyun-Yi Lin and Wei-Ting Hung relied once again on human connection. This time, connection was found in the varying volumes and states of breath, the sound of feet on the floor, and the rhythm of touch and release in what often felt like a sibling squabble set to choreography.

The performers teased and lifted each other, sometimes showing tenderness, and at other times, competitiveness. Laughter was heard through the theater at moments of humor, while the strength and technicality of some daring lifts drew gasps. Without music to guide the tone, crowd responses became part of the score as audience members’ own breath, laughter and rustling filled the space. The effect was a celebration of the intimacy and beauty of live performance, with moments of community found even in the simplest exchanges of weight and energy.

The evening’s final piece — Grace, choreographed by Ronald K. Brown and performed by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater — was described as “a modern classic that shakes the soul,” and it delivered. Originally premiered in 1999, the piece was later reimagined and brought back to the stage in 2024.

Dancers moved almost through each other at first against a black curtain parted to reveal a glowing blue backdrop, rarely making eye contact with one another or the audience. Each dancer seemed to be on an individual journey as they physically moved through space together, yet seemingly in an emotional state of isolation. 

The music continued to build to its final moments, and so did the choreography’s unifying spirit as all of the dancers finally appeared on stage dressed in white and facing the audience. This image landed powerfully. Dancers began filling the spaces that once existed between them with embraces and partnership before walking off into the parted curtain one by one. It’s easy to be moved by the imagery and sense of spirituality in this piece, and the audience's enthusiastic standing ovation was a clear sign that it resonated.

By the time confetti rained down during the bows, the 2025 Fall for Dance Festival had ended in celebration. Program 5 proved that human connection through dance comes in many forms. It can be the elegant shared line of a ballet duet, the exchange of laughter during a choreographed, silent struggle, or the collective emotional release of a spiritual finale. All of those forms came together beautifully at New York City Center and sent the audience into the night with lifted spirits.

Photos: Danica Paulos (Alvin Ailey), Roman Novitsky (Stuttgart Ballet)