20th FALL FOR DANCE Festival Programming Revealed

NEW YORK CITY CENTER announced complete programming for the 20th Fall for Dance Festival, September 27 – October 8, 2023. Celebrating 20 years as an essential part of New York’s fall dance season, the Festival opens City Center’s 80th season at the center of the arts with a showcase of local and international dance companies and artists in an array of styles, presented in five unique programs. In keeping with City Center’s founding mission of accessibility, all tickets for Fall for Dance are $20. Tickets for the 20th Fall for Dance Festival go on sale on Sunday, September 10 at 11am.

“In 2004, former City Center President & CEO Arlene Shuler launched a festival that would bring the best in dance to a broader New York audience for the price of a movie ticket,” said Stanford Makishi, VP & Artistic Director, Dance Programs. “This beloved fall tradition has welcomed more than 420,000 fans since then, and is now a fixture on the New York dance scene. In this landmark year, we’re thrilled to offer five genre- and continent-spanning programs, and two World Premiere City Center Commissions by Ephrat Asherie and Michelle Dorrance, and Adesola Osakalumi. The Festival also features a number of debuts: Côté Danse, Sergio Bernal Dance Company, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Germain Louvet and Hugo Marchand from Paris Opera Ballet, and works by Maurice Béjart and Bobbi Jean Smith.” 

As part of the milestone celebration, free pre-show dance lessons will be held in the Grand Tier lobby one hour before the second performance of each program, offering ticketholders (for that performance) an opportunity to meet and mingle, and learn a few steps from artists. An Opening Night Party will kick off the Festival and City Center’s 80th Season starting at 7pm on Wednesday, September 27, in the through-block atrium on 55th Street and 6 1/2 Avenue. Free for attendees to the opening performance, DjBlast will spin hits from 2004 (the first year of the Festival) and discounted food and beverage options will be offered by Sweet Hospitality.

20th Fall for Dance Festival

Program 1 (Sep 27 & 28) welcomes Canada’s leading contemporary dance company Ballet BC back to the Festival, last seen in 2017, with Crystal Pite’s tour de force dance-theater hybrid The Statement. Acclaimed tap artist Caleb Teicher is joined by composer and musician Conrad Tao for their virtuosic take on the Gershwin classic “Rhapsody in Blue.” The program also features Gibney Company performing Sonya Tayeh’s Oh Courage!, an ode to resilience, truth, and self-reflection, with live music by The Bengsons.

In Program 2 (Sep 29 & 30), Toronto’s Côté Danse makes their New York City debut with the US premiere of Artistic Director Guillame Côté’s X (Dix), set to music by electronic band Son Lux. New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Sara Mearns returns for the New York premiere of Bobbi Jene Smith’s MASS, set to music by Pulitzer Prize winning composer Caroline Shaw. Mearns is joined by bass-baritone Davóne Tines, who The Los Angeles Times heralds as “one of the most powerful voices of our time.” This interdisciplinary performance is co-presented with Damian Woetzel’s Vail Dance Festival which commissioned the work for their 2022 season. Program 2 also includes the US debut of Madrid’s Sergio Bernal Dance Company, bringing their virtuosic blend of classical ballet and flamenco.

The Houston Ballet returns to City Center for Program 3 (Oct 3 & 4) with Stanton Welch’s Clear, one of the company’s signature works showcasing their strength, precision, and musicality. Following is a World Premiere New York City Center Commission: a reconstruction by Adesola Osakalumi of three sections from the historic Jam on the Groove, reviving the work that created the template for hip-hop dance on the concert stage and featuring some of the genre’s most dynamic artists alongside established legends. Hawaiian hula halau Kaleoolakaikahikinaokalā closes out the evening with Hawaiki (The Homeland).

In Program 4 (Oct 5 & 6), Limón Dance Company performs Suite from a Choreographic Offering, Limón’s homage to his mentor Doris Humphrey. Birmingham Royal Ballet makes their Fall for Dance debut with the US premiere of Juliano Nunes’ Interlinked: a beautifully abstract piece for 15 dancers explores ideas of grace, beauty and harmony in ways that push the usual boundaries of classical dance. Program 4 also features a World Premiere New York City Center Commission from renowned b-girl Ephrat Asherie and tap superstar Michelle Dorrance.

Odissi master Bijayini Satpathy returns to Fall for Dance to make her debut as a solo performer in Program 5 (Oct 7 & 8) with the US premiere of SITĀHARAN, gracefully telling the story of the abduction of Sita from the Sanskrit epic the Ramayana. Germain Louvet and Hugo Marchand of the Paris Opera Ballet perform Maurice Béjart’s Songs of a Wayfarer, the pas de deux about a man’s encounter with destiny famously created for Paolo Bortoluzzi and Rudolf Nureyev. Brazil’s Grupo Corpo closes out the Festival with Gira, a powerful piece inspired by the Afro-Brazilian rituals of Umbanda.

Fall for Dance Festival tickets go on sale Sunday, September 10 at 11am, with all tickets $20. Tickets can be purchased online at NYCityCenter.org, by calling 212.581.1212, or in person at the City Center Box Office. New York City Center is located at 131 W 55th St between Sixth and Seventh avenues.

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