Topping this month’s calendar is Harlem’s own Dianne McIntyre who revives the spirit of her celebrated company Sounds in Motion, with three days of performances (April 12-14) as part of Apollo Theater’s New Works initiative, in the New York premiere of “In the Same Tongue” (2023). McIntyre’s movement and language-based work brings together dancers and musicians to explore how dance and music “speak” to each other. According to the release, the production “explores a legacy like that of 1920s Harlem salons, and the Black Arts Movement of the 60’s & 70’s with dancers, writers, musicians, students, photographers, thinkers and the who’s who of Black culture gathering to take part.” “In the Same Tongue” also includes original music by composer Diedre Murray and poetry by playwright Ntozake Shange, as well as live music and “vignettes to reveal how language creates worlds of beauty, alienation, harmony, tension, or peace.” For more information visit https://www.apollotheater.org/event/in-the-same-tongue/
ALSO THIS MONTH:
Apr. 2-7: Celebrate the iconic drummer, composer, and activist Max Roach’s 100th birthday at The Joyce Theater in an evening of works made in tribute to this legendary Jazz pioneer’s greatest works. Slated for the celebration is a new work by Ronald K. Brown for the Havana-based Malpaso Dance Company and Brown’s own EVIDENCE, A Dance Company; the streetdance storytelling of Rennie Harris Puremovement; and tap artist Ayodele Casel. For more information visit https://www.joyce.org/performances/73/a-joyce-theater-production/max-roach-100
Apr. 5-6: Raja Feather Kelly/The Feath3r Theory’s “The Absolute Future (or Death, Loneliness, and the Absolute Future of the Multiverse, or How to Cover the Sun with Mud),” is a devised theater performance about a group of friends who attempt to watch The Great American Eclipse (April 8, 2024) and miss it. Created by Kelly with original composition by Christoph Mateka, the shows happen at NYU Skirball. For more information visit https://nyuskirball.org/events/raja-feather-kelly-feath3r-theory-absolute-future/
Apr. 6: Danspace Project’s DraftWork series will host Martita Abril, Jade Manns and Glenn Potter Takata for a free, informal showing of new works in varying stages of development. Showings are followed by a reception, conversation, and Q&A between the artists and DraftWork curator, Ishmael Houston-Jones. For more information visit https://danspaceproject.org/calendar/ws2024-draftwork2/
Apr. 9-14: Celebrating its 50th anniversary, Ailey II returns to The Joyce Theater under artistic director, Francesca Harper. Slated for this season is Harper’s “Luminous”; Baye & Asa’s “John 4:20”; excerpts from Alvin Ailey classics; “Divining” by artistic director emerita Judith Jamison, and “Enemy in the Figure” by William Forsythe. For more information visit https://www.joyce.org/performances/70//ailey-ii
Apr. 10-13: At the Chocolate Factory Theater, Leslie Cuyjet will premiere “For All Your Life,” a new dance performance, film and social experiment “…that investigates the value of Black life and Black death; scrutinizing the mechanism of life insurance through the prism of the underwriting process,” notes the release. For more information visit https://chocolatefactorytheater.org/leslie-cuyjet-2024/
Apr. 11-14: For artistic director Robert Garland’s inaugural season, Dance Theatre of Harlem will offer a collection of classic and contemporary works in three performances. On the program is Garland’s “Nyman String Quartet No. 2,” George Balanchine’s “Pas de Dix,” William Forsythe’s “Blake Works IV” (The Barre Project) and Robert Bondara’s “Take Me With You,” at New York City Center. For more information visit https://www.nycitycenter.org/pdps/2023-2024/dance-theatre-of-harlem/
Apr. 12 & 19: Miro Magloire’s New Chamber Ballet returns to the Mark Morris Dance Center with a revival of Magloire’s “Secret Place.” For more information visit https://www.newchamberballet.com/performances
Apr. 18-20: Dominica Greene, a TRISK resident research artist, will weave her core research practices of duration, somatics, raving, and ancestral channeling, in this sharing. For more information visit
Apr. 19: Sloka Iyengar will present “Saṃbhūya: Understanding the Brain Through Dance: A Bharatanatyam Recital” at City College Center for the Arts as part of the CUNY Dance Initiative. The event is free. For more information visit https://citycollegecenterforthearts.org/event/sambhuya/
Apr. 19-20: For Harlem Stage’s 40th anniversary celebration, the signature series, “E-Moves,” returns with works by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company and Roderick George. Jones will premiere a short work entitled “Memory Piece” and “People Places and Things.” For more information visit https://www.harlemstage.org/events-list/2024/4/19/emoves-billtjones-arniezane
Apr. 19 -20: Dance Iquail!, the Philadelphia-based company founded and directed by Dr. Iquail Shaheed, comes to the Ailey Citigroup Theater with works Christian von Howard, Maleek Washington, and Shaheed. For more information visit https://bpt.me/6191970
Apr. 23-28: At Joyce Theater, Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca, with choreography by artistic director Martin Santangelo and Barrio, brings “Searching For Goya” which pays homage to the longstanding influence of visual artist Francisco de Goya. For more information visit https://www.joyce.org/performances/79//soledad-barrio-noche-flamenca
Apr. 23-24: As part of the curated series, “Crossroads (Crosswinds, Crosscurrents, Crossfires)” presented by Pioneers Go East Collective, Angie Pittman offers a work-in-process, with various artists. For more information visit https://pioneersgoeast.org/upcoming
Apr. 25-28: At New York City Center, Ballet Hispánico, in honor of Eduardo Vilaro’s 15th season as artistic director, will feature the world premiere of Vilaro’s “Buscando a Juan,” inspired by The Met’s exhibition of Juan de Pareja, an Afro-Hispanic painter. For more information visit https://www.nycitycenter.org/pdps/2023-2024/ballet-hispanico/
Apr. 26: Sekou McMiller & Friends comes to LaGuardia Performing Arts Center as part of the CUNY Dance Initiative with an evening of dance and live music in “Afro Latin Soul,” highlighting the jazz and African roots of salsa dance and music and exploring the connection between the Black and brown communities through ritual, sound, and movement. The event is free. For more information visit https://www.lpac.nyc/upcoming-events/afro-latin-soul
Apr. 27: Music From The Sole and Sonia Olla & Ismael Fernández, as part of the CUNY Dance Initiative, bring tap dance and live music celebrating tap’s Afro-diasporic roots, particularly its connections to Afro-Brazilian dance to the Kupferberg Center for the Arts. For more information visit https://kupferbergcenter.org/event/cdi10/
Apr. 27-28: Jazz Choreography Enterprises, Inc., presents The JCE Jazz Dance Project in works by Kenya Joy Gibson, Derick McKoy, Pat Taylor, Chris Jarosz, and Priscilla Tom, among others at The KnJ Theater at Peridance. For more information visit https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/b46ff1ba-dbbb-4d5a-8bef-1df0fac4aed9