Works by Kashia Kancey, Gianna Burright and More Set for Baryshnikov Arts Center Fall 2026 Season

Baryshnikov Arts Center has revealed its Fall 2026 season, featuring performances by BAC Residency Alumni, three world premieres, and a live podcast launch celebrating LGBTQ+ history and performance.

The season opens September 24–26 with I Believed It Too, a dance-theatre work by Miami-born choreographer and performer Kashia Kancey. The piece explores labor, desire, performance, and self-destruction through a boisterous, sweaty, and glamorous concert centered on a performer trapped inside a destructive false reality.

On October 19, BAC presents Making Gay History with The Gorgeous Nothings, a one-night-only theatrical event celebrating the launch of the latest season of the award-winning Making Gay History podcast. Created in partnership with Life Jacket Theatre Company, the evening explores the hidden queer history that inspired The Gorgeous Nothings—the new off-Broadway musical developed during a BAC Residency and premiering at PAC NYC in 2027. Inspired by true events, the musical uncovers the story of the “Fag Ward,” a secret wing of a 1930s New York City penitentiary where inmates were imprisoned for homosexuality, and the underground community and annual Christmas performances they created within it. The evening will include live excerpts from the podcast and musical performances by the cast.

The season continues November 12–13 with the world premiere of As if everything was perfect, commissioned by BAC and directed and choreographed by Gianna Burright. Combining surreal imagery, humor, and sharp physicality, the work examines women’s internalized responsibility and the tension between compassion and guilt.

From November 19–21, BAC and the Merce Cunningham Trust continue their ongoing collaboration with In Conversation with Merce: New RainForest(s). Conceived by choreographers Claude “CJ” Johnson, Chalvar Monteiro, Chaery Moon, and filmmaker Alex Munro, the program revisits Cunningham’s landmark work RainForest through newly commissioned choreography and video design.

The season concludes December 11–12 with the world premiere of Toad Mountain, commissioned by BAC and choreographed by Jie-Hung Connie Shiau. Inspired by Taiwanese folklore, the work investigates memory, grief, self-preservation, and the hidden emotional spaces people carry within themselves.

Several projects in the season were developed in part during BAC Residencies, underscoring the organization’s ongoing commitment to supporting artists throughout the creative process.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

I Believed It Too

Dance
September 24–26 at 7 PM
Choreographer/Director: Kashia Kancey

Making Gay History with The Gorgeous Nothings

Live Podcast Launch
October 19 at 7 PM
Featuring Broadway performers and special guests

As if everything was perfect

Dance—World Premiere Commissioned by BAC
November 12–13 at 7 PM
Choreographer/Director: Gianna Burright

In Conversation with Merce: New RainForest(s)

Dance—World Premiere
November 19–21 at 7 PM

Toad Mountain

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