The second program of Dance NOW! Miami’s 2025–2026 season brings together two works—one a world premiere and another first performed in 2017—connected by a common thread of politically charged history.
The world premiere, “1933,” choreographed by Hannah Baumgarten, and the other, “Bridges NOT Walls,” created by Baumgarten and Diego Salterini, co-founders and co-directors of Dance NOW! Miami, are part of the company’s Program II at the Aventura Arts and Cultural Center on Sunday, March 15.
Dance NOW! Miami dancers in “Bridges NOT Walls,” by Hannah Baumgarten and Diego Salterini. (Photo by Simon Soong, courtesy of Dance NOW! Miami)
“1933,” a cabaret-inspired work for three dancers, addresses the rise of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It was first performed last December at the Sanctuary of the Arts in Coral Gables.
Describing it as a dramatic creation, “1933” “ironically started as a playful romp… an upbeat and athletic dance piece,” says Baumgarten. “I found some fun Balkan music and started playing (around) in the studio with the dancers. But the news of comedians being censored by the government, removed from their jobs, pushed the fun right out of me,” she says, referring to the controversies of late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who was temporarily suspended from ABC, and Stephen Colbert’s show, which faces the end of its run on CBS in May.
She recalls jesters—also called court fools—popular during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. “A society that silences the jesters is on the brink of losing its freedom,” says Baumgarten. “They, from the time of kings, were meant to release political tension, but also to speak out without being condemned. And so, the story unfolded: artists taking action, using their art to speak out, of the sounds of fascism, in rallies, on the streets. In the past and perhaps even today…”
Those sounds of reality in “1933” made it a companion piece to “Bridges NOT Walls,” which has not been presented in full since 2019.
Dance NOW! Miami presents Program II at the Aventura Arts and Cultural Center on Sunday, March 15. (Photo by Simon Soong, courtesy of Dance NOW! Miami)
Salterini says that when the pair began to conceive “Bridges NOT Walls” in 2015, it was in response to the changing social climate around them.
“Conversations about racism, immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, and women’s rights were intensifying, and public discourse was becoming increasingly defined by division: the looming metaphor of the ‘wall’ as a reality of political debate.”
By the time it premiered in the company’s 2016–2017 season, Salterini says, the divisions had become even deeper.
“Entrenched in ways we could hardly have imagined, ‘Bridges NOT Walls’ emerged as a reflection of that moment and as a call for empathy, dialogue, and connection.”
As the work gained momentum, the company began to collaborate with the Ballet of Mexico City and the Classical Ballet of Quintana Roo, “sharing the stage, adding sections, and performing with both companies in both Mexico and the United States,” says Baumgarten.
A few years later, the piece resurfaced when the migration crisis reached its peak in Italy. “At that time, we were collaborating with Opus Ballet and realized that the work had a specific meaning for that moment,” she says. “We presented it in Florence to a full house, with the audience on their feet, and again in Rome in April 2019. The work was received with a sense of urgency and a hope for a future that could offer greater acceptance and compassion to those in need.”
Salterini adds that a decade later, the message is as urgent as ever.
Dance NOW! Miami dancers in “Bridges NOT Walls,” by Hannah Baumgarten and Diego Salterini. (Photo by Simon Soong, courtesy of Dance NOW! Miami)
“A reminder that art can and should continue to be a bridge when the world insists on building walls.” While the leaders of Dance NOW! Miami are not bound to promoting a specific political cause, they agree that what is happening around the world influences their work.
“It is not our explicit mission to promote a political or social agenda, but as artists—and simply as human beings living in profoundly complex times—it is impossible to separate our creative voices from the world we inhabit. We strive to create dances that transcend immediate headlines, works that can resonate across generations and cultures through universal themes,” says Salterini.
For Baumgarten, she equates art to a mirror.
“It reflects, questions, and invites awareness. In that sense, our work is not political, but human, because its purpose is connection, compassion, and understanding—timeless values that endure beyond the politics of any given moment.”
Also on Program II are two short pieces: the duo “Strings of Goodbye” (2009), by Salterini, which Baumgarten defines as “the powerful and poetic journey of a couple, dealing with the direction their relationship will take,” and the solo “OH!” (2003), by Baumgarten, which she affirms explores “the choppy moments of falling in love, remembering that first kiss that sends shivers down your spine.”
Luke Stockton and Jenny Hegarty in “Strings of Goodbye,” by Diego Salterini. (Photo by Jenny Abreu, courtesy of Dance NOW! Miami)
The program also includes “Forest Dreams,” by choreographer Tandy Beal, which Salterini describes as “a modern dance work that creates a vivid, almost sculptural landscape on stage, where the dancers move through space in wide runs and changing ‘planes,’ evoking the feeling of traversing a living, dreamlike forest environment.”
“Forest Dreams” is part of the company’s “Moving Masterpiece” series, meant to provide Florida audiences with opportunities to see masterpieces created by living choreographers such as Beal or by legendary great masters including Isadora Duncan, José Limón, Doris Humphrey, and Gerald Arpino.
From left, Justin Dinkins, Cristiane Silva, Jason Williams, and Megan Holsinger in “Forest Dreams.” (Photo by Jenny Abreu, courtesy of Dance NOW! Miami)
The program was conceived, according to Salterini, with the objective that “people leave the theater not only moved by the dance, but also more curious, reflective, and open to dialogue.”
And while there may be emotionally challenging moments throughout, Baumgarten believes there will be many moments with a positive impact.
“We promise that our audience will leave the theater uplifted, with their hearts full and brimming with optimism for the future.”
If you go:
WHAT: Dance NOW! Program II: “Bridges NOT Walls” and other works
WHEN: 7 p.m., Sunday, March 15
WHERE: Aventura Arts & Cultural Center, 3385 NE 188th St., Aventura
COST: $25.96, $37.76, $49.56 (includes fees before taxes); $20, students with a valid ID at box office.
INFORMATION: (305) 975-8489 and at dancenowmiami.org/events/bnw
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