Philadanco! -The Philadelphia Dance Company, also known to many as “Danco,” makes a momentous return to The Joyce for their 32nd season, and heads this month’s packed calendar. Founded in 1970 by Joan Myers Brown, Philadanco brings an evening of dance titled “Intangible” and includes Nijawwon K. Matthews’s “From Dystopia to Our Declaration,” Christopher Rudd’s “Mating Season,” Ray Mercer’s “Balance of Power,” and Tommie-Waheed Evans’s “Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth,” made in collaboration with the Philadanco dancers. The resident company of Philadelphia’s Kimmel Cultural Campus, this is their first season at The Joyce since 2018. Performances run from February 6-12. For more information visit https://www.joyce.org/performances/55/philadanco
STILL RUNNING:
Jan. 31-Feb. 4: Brazilian tap dancer and choreographer Leonardo Sandoval, bassist/composer Gregory Richardson, eight dancers and a five-piece band come together at The Joyce with a blend of tap, percussive dance, samba, house, and original live music in Music From The Sole’s evening-length work “I Didn’t Come to Stay.” For more information visit https://www.worksandprocess.org/calendar.
Jan. 31-Feb. 3: As part of the “SUITE/Space” 2023-24 season of Mabou Mines, Jermaine Rowe will present “Transitions,” exploring a community’s decision to allow a trans spirit access to the land of the dead. The work is inspired by a real incident of a trans woman in Jamaica. For more information visit https://www.maboumines.org/production/suite-space-2023-jermaine-rowe-transitions/
ALSO THIS MONTH:
Feb. 2-11: In Deal, New Jersey, Axelrod Contemporary Ballet Theater (AXCBT) presents Artistic Director Gabriel Chajnik’s “The Jungle Book,” fusing Chajnik’s contemporary ballet with the Indian classical dance of Bharatanatyam by Sudha Shekhar. For more information visit https://ci.ovationtix.com/35486/production/1160725
Feb. 4: Founder of AbunDance Academy of the Arts, Karisma Jay hosts the 2nd annual award ceremony honoring Black trailblazers in dance and this year will honor Reginald Van Lee, Assane Konte, Obediah Wright, Karen Thornton, Jamel Gaines, Chloe and Maud Arnold, Arcell Cabuag and Nicole Deweever at the Billie Holiday Theatre in Brooklyn. For more information visit https://www.abundancearts.org/abundanceawards
Feb. 6-7: The Martha Graham Dance Company’s Studio Series continues with an in-process showing of a new work for the Company by Jamar Roberts featuring a commissioned score by Rhiannon Giddens at the Martha Graham Studio Theater. The evening will include a conversation with Roberts and the dancers. The work will have its New York premiere at City Center in April 2024. For more information visit https://marthagraham.org/studioseries/
Feb. 6-17: BAAD! celebrates its 25th Anniversary year and presents the annual GET TOUGH, GET BAAD! series of films and events celebrating queer power, diversity, defiance, strength, and visibility. For more information visit https://www.baadbronx.org/
Feb. 7: At NYLA, John McWhorter joins Bill T. Jones in the conversation series Bill Chats! For more information visit https://newyorklivearts.org/event/bill-chats-featuring-john-mcwhorter/
Feb. 7-17: NYU Skirball presents the Queer New York International Arts Festival, featuring dance, theater and performance works from a diverse group of international artists from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, and Germany whose works explore a range of contemporary issues related to queer identity and more. For more information visit https://nyuskirball.org/queer-new-york-international-arts-festival/
Feb. 8-9: White Wave Dance returns with the 8th annual “SoloDuo Dance Festival” at Dixon Place, under founder and Artistic Director Young Soon Kim, and will feature 30 national dancemakers, plus international dancers from Korea, Japan and Germany. For more information visit https://www.whitewavedance.org/
Feb. 9-12: For the 52nd edition of Dance On Camera and Film at Lincoln Center, featured will be 11 programs with a total of 36 films selected from countries around the globe, including eight world premieres, five North American premieres, two U.S. premieres, and more than 10 New York premieres. For more information visit https://www.filmlinc.org/visit-us/
Feb. 10-11: At NJPAC, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will present “Year of the Green Wood Dragon, a lunar new year celebration.” For more information visit https://www.njpac.org/event/nai-ni-chen-dance-company-year-of-the-green-wood-dragon/.
Feb. 12: EMERGE125’s ongoing Artist’s Corner series features an evening of conversation with two Black female dance directors—Artistic Director Tiffany Rea-Fisher and dean and director of Juilliard Dance Alicia Graf Mack—as they discuss experiences, successes, and challenges within the field. The event will take place at The Philips Club. For more information visit https://emerge125.org/2024-events/artistscorner-february2024
Feb. 13-17: Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet presents “Remembering” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music for their annual Black History Month program, where audiences and students come together with American history told by African voices, contemporary and African dance with audio-visual elements including spoken word, music and African drumming. For more information visit https://www.creativeoutlet.org/
Feb. 16-17: Miro Magloire’s New Chamber Ballet continues its 2023-24 season with the world premiere of “Vox,” to an original score for piano and violin by Elizabeth Gartman, and Magloire’s “Wood Nymphs,” set to piano pieces by Franz Liszt at Mark Morris Dance Center. For more information visit https://www.newchamberballet.com/performances
Feb. 16-17: NYC-based Joffrey Concert Group will present “In My Art,” the culmination of the annual Creative Movers Choreographic Initiative at Ailey Citigroup Theater. The program will include premieres by artistic director Bradley Shelver, as well as Eryn Renee Young and Vernard J. Gilmore. For more information visit https://joffreyconcertgroup.ticketspice.com/inmyart
Feb. 17: Limón Dance Company returns to NJPAC debut under Artistic Director Dante Puleio, in iconic Limón works “A Choreographic Offering” and “Missa Brevis” in addition to “Migrant Mother” by Raúl Tamez. This NJPAC performance celebrates the New Jersey debut of the company’s ensemble of young and emerging dancers, Limón2. For more information visit https://www.njpac.org/event/limon-dance-company/
Feb. 18: At Hostos Center For The Arts, celebrate the Lunar New Year with Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company with traditional and contemporary Chinese dances, including “Dragon Dance,” “Lion Dance,” and “Peacock Dance.” For more information visit https://www.hostos.cuny.edu/culturearts/events/Year2024/February/Nai-Ni_Chen_Dance_Company/
Feb. 21: Ballet Hispánico will present a night of historic and new works celebrating Latine cultures at The 92nd Street Y with classic including a re-staging of Talley Beatty’s “Recuerdo de Campo Amor,” “Línea Recta” by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and “Club Havana” by Pedro Ruíz. For more information visit https://www.92ny.org/event/ballet-hispanico
Feb. 22-25: The American Dance Guild Performance Festival returns to the Ailey Citigroup Theater with “Leaps Beyond Bounds,” a four-night program celebrating the Guild’s 68th anniversary. Thirty new and historical dance works will be shown, with this year’s honors celebrating the late choreographer Joan Miller (Lifetime Achievement Award), Ron K. Brown/Evidence (Lifetime Achievement Award), and Celia Ipiotis/Eye on Dance (Distinguished Service in Dance – Lifetime Achievement Award). For more information visit https://www.americandanceguild.org/
Feb. 22-28 – Halifu Osumare’s NYC book tour of “Dancing The Afrofuture: Hula, Hip-Hop, and The Dunham Legacy” happens at various venues and will include a shared discussion with Camille A. Brown at one venue. For more information visit https://www.hosumare.com/
Feb. 24: In honor of Black History Month, Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center and Central Baptist Church present a dance-narrative piece that tells the story of the Black experience in America. For more information visit https://www.thelmahill.org/
Feb. 25: The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will present “Red Firecrackers,” the story of Nian and the origin of Chinese Lunar New Year customs at Flushing Town Hall Theater. For more information visit https://www.flushingtownhall.org/red-firecrackers.
Feb. 27-Mar. 3: Led by Artistic Director Rafael Palacios and based in Colombia, Sankofa Danzafro brings “Behind the South: Dances for Manuel” (Detrás del Sur: Danzas para Manuel) which pays tribute to Colombian writer Manuel Zapata Olivella’s “Changó, el Gran Putas” to The Joyce. For more information visit https://www.joyce.org/performances/46/behind-the-south-dances-for-manuel/sankofa-danzafroFeb.29-Mar. 2: At TRISK, Sha Creative Outlet will present “Wild Future,” “…the unknown yet powerful future that is rooted in the current moment…” a performance consists of two pieces, “\\\” (reads as Three Slashes) and “Dis-placement 誤置.” For more information visit https://www.triskelionarts.org/spring-2024/sha-creative-outlet