Marcus Jarrell Willis News

This June, Phoenix Dance Theatre will return following their sell-out 2025 production Inside Giovanni's Room, presenting a new mixed bill, Interplay, running at Sadler's Wells East.

Leeds-based Phoenix Dance Theatre will present Inside Giovanni’s Room at Sadler’s Wells East as part of a UK tour. Learn more about the upcoming performance here!

Opera North has announced its repertoire for the year. The season will kick off in September with The Secret of the Black Spider. Learn more about the full season here!

Leeds-based Phoenix Dance Theatre are premiering their new work, Inside Giovanni's Room, inspired by one of the most important novels of the 20th century, James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room, in the Quarry Theatre at Leeds Playhouse from 6-8 March ahead of a UK tour.

Sadler's Wells has announced its opening programme for Sadler's Wells East, a new powerhouse for dance. Learn more about the full season lineup here!

This spring Phoenix Dance Theatre will embark on a UK tour with a brand-new mixed programme – BELONGING: Loss. Legacy. Love. The powerfully visceral and thought-provoking triple bill explores the nuances of human experience by three exciting international dance makers. 

Phoenix Dance Theatre based in Leeds has announced the appointment of Marcus Jarrell Willis as its new artistic director. 

MorDance will celebrate its tenth anniversary performance season with two groundbreaking world premiere ballets centering themes of activism and humanity. Performances are April 28-29, 2023 at 7:30pm at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College as part of the CUNY Dance Initiative.

MorDance wil present its Spring 2023 Season with groundbreaking new ballets centering themes of activism and humanity from April 28-29, 2023 at Gerald W. Lynch Theater.

COCA, the fourth largest multidisciplinary community arts center in the U.S. and a leader in innovative arts education, announced its 2022–2023 COCApresents Season which is comprised of thought-provoking programming for multigenerational audiences. COCApresents, COCA's signature performance season, features returning favorites and innovative new work. The season runs November 4, 2022–July 23, 2023.

RUBICON DANCE COMPANY is the most exciting new dance company to come out of Wales this century!  Led by Creative Director Jamiel Laurence – former Soloist with Scottish Ballet and producer of the all-star series Ballet Nights – and CEO & Artistic Director of Rubicon Dance Kathryn Williams, the company's TRIPLE BILL is a sizzling programme of three brand new works by Jamiel Laurence, Anna Watkins, and Marcus Jarrell Willis. 

From December 6-8, the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College, SUNY, will present a dynamic program of cutting edge premieres and exquisitely re-staged masterworks showcasing the virtuosity and exceptional training of their professional level dancers.

Juilliard Dance, led by director Alicia Graf Mack, continues its season with Spring Dances, a repertory program featuring Martha Graham's The Rite of Spring, Bill T. Jones' D-Man in the Waters (Part 1); and Alejandro Cerrudo's Little mortal jump.

Juilliard Dance, under the leadership of Alicia Graf Mack, opens its season with New Dances: Edition 2018 featuring four world-premiere dances by innovative choreographers Marcus Jarrell Willis (whose dance features the first-year class); Nelly van Bommel (featuring the second-year class); Juilliard alumnus Peter Chu (featuring the third-year class); and Stefanie Batten Bland (featuring the fourth-year class). Each choreographer works with one of the classes for the semester creating the new work; all Juilliard's dancers participate in the New Dances program.

Mimi Garrard Dance Company presents MIMI GARRARD and MARCUS JARRELL WILLIS in a program of live dance and video Sunday November 11 at 7:30 PM New York Live Arts, 219 West 19th Street Tickets: $20;  $10 for seniors; $5 for students Reservations: 212.924.0077 or www.newyorklivearts.org.

Award-winning choreographer/filmmaker MIMI GARRARD returns to New York Live Arts with  'Mimi Garrard and Marcus Jarrell Willis' in a program of live dance and video, including one world and one USA premiere, Sunday November 11, 7:30 PM, at New York Live Arts, 219 West 19th Street. Willis was an eight-year member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and dancer and choreographer for Ailey II, and is currently choreographing a work for the Juilliard dancers.

Juilliard Dance announces its 2018-19 season of performances of world premieres, masterworks in repertory, and new works developed by Juilliard students. The cornerstone of the season is New Dances: Edition 2018, featuring four world-premiere dances by innovative choreographers Stefanie Batten Bland (fourth-year class), alumnus Peter Chu (third-year class), Nelly van Bommel (second-year class), and Marcus Jarrell Willis (first-year class). Performances take place December 7, 8, 10, and 11, at 7:30pm and December 9 at 3pm in Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater. In the spring semester, Juilliard Spring Dances features repertory works by acclaimed choreographers: Bill T. Jones' D-Man in the Waters (Part 1); Alejandro Cerrudo's Little Mortal Jump; and Martha Graham's The Rite of Spring. Performances take place on March 27-29, at 7:30pm and March 30, at 2pm and 7:30pm in Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater.

On the heels of a 32-city world tour, Ailey II returns to The Ailey Citigroup Theaterfrom March 14 - 25 for its annual New York season. The 12 talented young dancers will prove that they are "second to none" (Dance magazine) in dynamic works by some of the most exciting emerging choreographers, including premieres by Juel D. Lane, Renee I. McDonald, and Darrell Grand Moultrie, and returning favorites by Jae Man Joo, Bridget L. Moore, and former Ailey dancer Marcus Willis.

Curated by Juan Michael Porter II, THE SERIES 2017 presents a versatile range of artistically provocative choreographers in contrasting programs of dance.  At each performance, one or two of the 12 guest companies will share the program with Michael Mao Dance in a set of works that run the gamut from social dance to jazz to contemporary ballet to abstract pieces marked by their German Expressionistic values. The common thread running through each company featured in THE SERIES  is the use of spectacular physical virtuosity to communicate fantastic ideas, June 6-11 at the Hudson Guild Theatre, 441 West 26th Street.

Following their 25-city world tour, Ailey II returned to the Big Apple for their annual New York City season and debut at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, March 29-April 2 2017. The company performed two distinct programs, including four world premieres. Ailey II is a universally renowned group of young performers who are fantastic dancers, with amazing technique and energy. I had the privilege to attend the “All New” program, which truly showcased why they are one of the most popular dance companies in the country.