JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH WYNTON MARSALIS and More Set for Seattle Theatre Group 2026/27 Performing Arts Series

Seattle Theatre Group (STG) has announced its 2026/27 Performing Arts Series, Seattle's most exciting collection of live performing arts—jazz, dance, global music, and theatre—all in one lineup. The season features 15 different performances from world class artists, including an STG commissioned new work from longtime collaborators Perfume Genius and Kate Wallich.

This season audiences will experience the talent of unforgettable artists in STG's iconic and beloved venues. The series features Indian music icon Niladri Kumaar; genre-defying performer Taylor Mac in concert; Japanese butoh group Sankai Jukuperforming “KOSA”; high-energy holiday cheer from Hip Hop Nutcracker; Tony award-winning choreographer and director Sonya Tayeh's new dance work set to the music of Sinéad O'Connor; composer, singer and visual artist Cécile McLorin Salvant; Nordic Pop from Seattle based musician and producer Erin Jorgensen; Kidd Pivot's “Assembly Hall”; Stanley Clarke and Hiromi along with PUBLIQuartet play the music of Chick Corea; an evening of jazz from Brad Mehldau Trio; Perfume Genius and choreographer Kate Wallich return to the stage with a new collaboration, marking their second work to be commissioned by STG and a follow up to 2018's “The Sun Still Burns Here”; and return engagements from Manuel Cinema, Yamato Drummers of Japan, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, and Dance Theatre of Harlem, who are reviving their signature work “Firebird.”

“Our Performing Arts Series creates space for Pacific Northwest audiences to connect with the greatness of legacy artists and discover the innovation of new talent,” said Jack McLarnan, STG's Associate Director of Performing Arts Programs. “STG is proud to offer this collection of programming and bring internationally celebrated artists to our stages year after year. We'll always be committed to enriching the community through diverse arts experiences.”

Tickets to all shows go on sale at 10:00 AM on Thursday, July 16, and can be purchased online at www.stgpresents.org or in person at the Paramount Theatre Box Office at 911 Pine St.

THE 2026/27 PERFORMING ARTS SERIES

NILADRI KUMAAR – THE SPACE BETWEEN THE NOTES

Sunday, October 4, 2026

The Moore

Sitar Maestro Niladri Kumaar is hailed as a maverick musician and composer, a celebrated ambassador, and an Indian Music Icon. One of the most compelling and innovative stars, he is a serious exponent of Indian Classical Music, considered India's pride and one of the most sought-after Indian musicians of today's generation. He frequently collaborated with the late Zakir Hussain. Their sitar-tabla duo was one of the most popular and prominent collaborations. Space Between the Notes is an extraordinary recording of a live concert of these two maestros in Mumbai, India —releasing later this year — as their only recorded performance together. Honoring the musical tradition, they come from and that brought them together, Niladri Kumaar continues to expand the reach of Indian Music and brings a specially curated 2026–2027 tour, with his Sitar, Zitar, and an ensemble of Indian and American musicians. Niladri Kumaar weaves together his magical melodies in his much-loved unique style with centuries-old tradition and creative innovation. The tour also honors the special musical bond between the two masters through portions of their album recording presented in the tour. Niladri Kumaar's Space Between the Notes tour is a musical journey — rooted in tradition, and sure to deeply resonate with the hearts of the listeners. 

DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM PERFORMING “FIREBIRD”

Friday & Saturday, Oct 30-31, 2026

The Paramount

Dance Theatre of Harlem is a leading dance institution of unparalleled global acclaim, encompassing a world-class company, a professional studio school, a leading arts education program-Dancing Through Barriers, and community engagement activities. Each component of Dance Theatre of Harlem carries deep commitment towards enriching the lives of young people and adults around the world through the arts. Founded in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook, Dance Theatre of Harlem was considered “one of ballet's most exciting undertakings” (The New York Times, 1971). Shortly after the assassination of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mitchell was inspired to start a school that would offer children—especially those in Harlem, the community in which he was born—the opportunity to learn about dance and the allied arts. Now in its sixth decade, Dance Theatre of Harlem has grown into a multicultural dance institution with an extraordinary legacy of providing opportunities for creative expression and artistic excellence that continues to set standards in the performing arts. 

Taylor Mac IN CONCERT - TENDER HEART REVOLUTION

Sunday, November 8, 2026 

The Moore 

Performance artist, writer, director, actor, and singer Taylor Mac is back with a brand-new concert! One of the great artists of our time, Mac creates fearlessly experimental works that build community through the making of theater. Routinely breaking performance conventions, Mac invites audiences to consider questions of gender, identity, queerness, and performance itself. Mac's joyful, charismatic, and vulnerable performance style disarms the audience, turning passive spectators into active collaborators.

SANKAI JUKU – “KOSA”

Tuesday, November 17, 2026

The Moore

For more than five decades, Sankai Juku has stood at the forefront of butoh, creating works of extraordinary visual beauty, meditative power, and emotional resonance. Founded in Tokyo by legendary choreographer Ushio Amagatsu, the company has captivated audiences in more than 700 cities worldwide with its singular approach to movement and theatrical imagery. In KOSA – Between Two Mirrors, Amagatsu invites audiences into a space suspended between reflection and reality. Through meticulously crafted movement, striking stage compositions, and an evocative score, seven dancers traverse a landscape of transformation, memory, and human connection. Premiered in 2022, the work unfolds as a poetic meditation on the fleeting nature of existence and the invisible forces that bind us across time and space.

HIP HOP NUTCRACKER

Friday & Saturday, December 11-12, 2026

The Moore

A holiday mash-up for the whole family, The Hip Hop Nutcracker returns for another spectacular tour. Directed and choreographed by Tony and Olivier Award-nominated Jennifer Weber, this contemporary dance spectacle is a re-mixed and re-imagined version of the classic, smashing hip-hop dance and Tchaikovsky's timeless music together into a heart-stirring and inspirational holiday event.The Hip Hop Nutcracker is brought to life by a powerhouse cast of a dozen all-star dancers, a DJ, a violinist, and MC Kurtis Blow, one of hip hop's founding fathers, who opens the show with a short set. Just like the original, in The Hip Hop Nutcracker, Maria-Clara and the Nutcracker Prince go on a dream adventure battling a gang of mice, visiting the land of sweets and learning the lessons of the holiday season. Innovative digital graffiti and visuals transform the landscape of E.T.A. Hoffmann's beloved story from traditional 19th Century Germany to the vibrant, diverse sights and sounds of contemporary New York City.

“THE SURGE: AN ODE TO SINEAD O'CONNOR” BY Sonya Tayeh

Tuesday, January 26, 2027

The 5th Avenue

Tony award-winning choreographer and director Sonya Tayeh brings her singular vision to a new dance work set to the music of Sinéad O'Connor. Fierce, unflinching and tender, The Surge: An Ode to Sinéad O'Connor is a meditation on voice, protest and the courage to live a life that defies the norm. The Surge is performed by a company of ten women – ten dance artists cutting right through the notion of age as something to fear. These women total more than five hundred years of collective wisdom – affirming the passing of time as a privilege that carries beauty and experience with it. O'Connor's voice vibrates and guides us through the work, through both her music and narration from her memoir Rememberings. Sinéad, with her depth of emotion and restless faith, is the tether that weaves and connects audiences and dancers in this evening of mesmerizing dance. The Surge is conceived, choreographed and directed by Sonya Tayeh – a creative visionary whose work relating to the body in motion explores many different worlds. An internationally celebrated artist, she is the dance backbone behind numerous stage and screen projects, most notably Moulin Rouge, The Musical!, for which she won the Tony Award for outstanding choreography. Her work powerfully weaves together different styles – creating onstage worlds celebrated for her chameleon-like choreography and ability to adapt her storytelling to any scale. With The Surge, Tayeh draws on Sinéad O'Connor's uncompromising voice and spirit to create a bold new dance work.

CECILE MCLORIN SALVANT 

Tuesday, February 2, 2027

The 5th Avenue

Cécile McLorin Salvant is a composer, singer, and visual artist. The Late Jessye Norman described Salvant as “a unique voice supported by an intelligence and full-fledged musicality, which light up every note she sings.” Salvant has developed a passion for storytelling and finding the connections between vaudeville, blues, folk traditions from around the world, theater, jazz, and baroque music. Salvant is an eclectic curator, unearthing rarely recorded, forgotten songs with strong narratives, interesting power dynamics, unexpected twists, and humor. Salvant won the Thelonius Monk competition in 2010. She has received Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album for three consecutive albums, “The Window,” “Dreams and Daggers,” and “For One To Love,” and was nominated for the award in 2014 for her album “WomanChild.” In 2020, Salvant received the MacArthur fellowship and the Doris Duke Artist Award. “Ghost Song” , Salvant's debut for Nonesuch Records, was released in March 2022 to critical acclaim, and has gone on to receive two Grammy Nominations. Salvant's latest work, Ogresse, is a musical fable in the form of a cantata that blends genres (folk, baroque, jazz, country). Salvant wrote the story, lyrics, and music. It is arranged by Darcy James Argue for a thirteen-piece orchestra of multi-instrumentalists. Ogresse, both a biomythography and an homage to the Erzulie (as painted by Gerard Fortune) and Sara Baartman, explores fetishism, hunger, diaspora, cycles of appropriation, lies, othering, and ecology. It is in development to become an animated feature-length film, which Salvant will direct.

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH Wynton Marsalis

Monday, February 15, 2027

The Paramount

This performance is part of Wynton Marsalis' final season as Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center and Music Director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Founded in 1988, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis tours the world performing a vast repertoire of music, from historic and rare compositions to commissioned works. The group's compositions and arrangements include works by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, Thelonious Monk, Mary Lou Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, and Charles Mingus, as well as new music from the group's unrivalled collection of world-renowned composers and arrangers.

NORDIC POP BY ERIN JORGENSEN

February 21, 2027

The Neptune

Part concert, part dance party: Nordic Pop is an unstoppable evening of magical music from the North. An all-star ensemble of local musicians from the Seattle pop, classical, and experimental music scenes channel the music of Lykke Li, Aurora, Björk, Sigur Rós, Laufey, and more. This evening is the perfect fit for families of all kinds and all ages (5+ recommended). Dressing up is encouraged! Dance away the February darkness with us.

KIDD PIVOT – “ASSEMBLY HALL”

Friday, March 5, 2027

The Paramount

A group of medieval re-enactors have come together for an Annual General Meeting in their local community hall. As the Board of Directors, they oversee an event called "Quest Fest" that has fallen on hard times: membership is dwindling, debt is mounting, and the hall is falling apart. Unless something drastic happens, the Directors of this venerable order will be facing dissolution. As the meeting progresses, the line between real and re-enactment begins to blur, ancient forces are awoken, and it soon becomes clear that there is something much more at stake here than a mock-medieval tournament. From the team that brought you the ground-breaking, award-winning productions of Betroffenheit and Revisor, comes Kidd Pivot's latest offering: a dance theatre hybrid that promises the company's signature wit and invention. Fueling Kidd Pivot's work is a fascination with story and the role of language as an animating force.

Stanley Clarke & HIROMI CELEBRATE Chick Corea

With PUBLIQuartet

Thursday, March 11, 2027

The 5th Avenue

Stanley Clarke & Hiromi along with PUBLIQuartet Celebrate the Music of Chick Corea & Beyond. NEA Jazz Master and four-time Grammy Award-winning bassist Stanley Clarke teams up with frequent collaborator Hiromi — “one of jazz piano's most brazenly virtuosic players” (The New York Times) — to pay tribute to their friend, the visionary pianist and composer Chick Corea. From straight-ahead to avant-garde, bebop to fusion, Corea helped shape the sound of modern jazz. Joined by the innovative string ensemble PUBLIQuartet, Clarke and Hiromi perform Corea's works, alongside original pieces inspired by his boundless creativity.

BRAD MEHLDAU TRIO

Sunday, April 11, 2027

The Neptune

One of the most lyrical and intimate voices of contemporary jazz piano, Brad Mehldau has forged a unique path, which embodies the essence of jazz exploration, classical romanticism and pop allure. From critical acclaim as a bandleader to major international exposure in collaborations with Pat Metheny, Renee Fleming, and Joshua Redman, Mehldau continues to garner numerous awards and admiration from both jazz purists and music enthusiasts alike. His forays into melding musical idioms, in both trio and solo settings, has seen brilliant re-workings of songs by contemporary songwriters like The Beatles, Cole Porter, Radiohead, Paul Simon, Gershwin and Nick Drake; alongside the ever-evolving breadth of his own significant catalogue of original compositions. With his self-proclaimed affection for popular music and classical training, “Mehldau is the most influential jazz pianist of the last 20 years” (The New York Times). 

YAMATO – THE DRUMMERS OF JAPAN

Saturday, April 3, 2027

The Moore

倭-YAMATO is a Japanese Taiko drumming group based in Asuka-mura Nara Prefecture which is well known by Japanese people as the hometown of Japan. YAMATO's Taiko work cannot be fully described by the word “performance”. They have performed in theaters, schools, all types of events, and even held workshops and Taiko lessons. They are spending a half year on a Japan tour and a half year for the world tour. Their motto is “We go everywhere when somebody needs YAMATO! And bringing energy to the people living in the world!”. They bring joy to the world. On stage, they are standing with more than 40 Taiko drums and all of them are having different characters. For example, their largest drum called “Odaiko”, produced from a huge tree over 400 years old, is approximately two meters in diameter and weighs 500 kg. All other Taiko drums are different sizes and have different sounds. The members of the group have trained their bodies to the limit to beat these massive Taiko drums.

PERFUME GENIUS & KATE WALLICH – “THE LESSON”

Presented in partnership with On The Boards 

Co-commissioned by Seattle Theatre Group and Northrop Auditorium

Friday, April 9, 2027

The 5th Avenue

Perfume Genius (Mike Hadreas) and choreographer Kate Wallich return to the stage with a new collaboration. This is their second work to be commissioned by STG and is a follow up to 2018's “The Sun Still Burns Here,” which also resulted in a critically acclaimed album of the same name. Combining Perfume Genius' experimental pop with Wallich's choreographic lens, The Lesson is a raw, uncompromising performance work inspired by The Piano Teacher, the notorious novel by Elfriede Jelinek, famously adapted by Michael Haneke. The Lesson examines what happens when desire has nowhere to go, and what we're rehearsing when we practice “good behavior”. The work moves through repression, longing, authority, and submission in unstable scenes where roles shift, and the unsaid becomes manically physical. Longtime admirers know that Perfume Genius (Mike Hadreas) has spoken about his love of The Piano Teacher. Its intense, clinical bleakness and its capacity to be both unsettlingly comic and tragic, qualities that echo through the landscape of The Lesson. Following their acclaimed 2019 performance collaboration The Sun Still Burns Here, Hadreas reunites with Wallich alongside his husband and musical partner Alan Wyffels and longtime collaborator Tate Justus. 

MANUAL CINEMA – FORTHCOMING NEW WORK, CURRENTLY UNTITLED

Saturday, April 17, 2027

The Moore

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