The 23rd Fall for Dance Festival brings another stunning lineup of the best in dance from around the world to New York City, including artists from Australia, Germany, Spain, and other places. Of course, there are also many talented New Yorkers dancing in the productions as well.

The Fall for Dance Festival offers five different programs, each with three dances per showing. 15 different companies are featured with 11 premieres. Fall for Dance continues through October 3, with 10 days of performances.

Spectacularly, all the seats in the theater are $30, making this program affordable and accessible to those who love dance and those who have never seen a dance performance before. Even from the balcony and mezzanine, one can have a perfect view of the stage.

This year includes two City Center commissions: the Drama Desk-winning Pony Cam (Burnout Paradise), offers a retrospective look at the history of the Festival; and former New York City Ballet Principal and Tony nominee Robbie Fairchild creates a new work inspired by the origin story of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, co-commissioned with Guild Hall.

This writer had the opportunity to see Program 1, which offered a visual and sonic array of different dances. In the act of undoing, the first show, had its New York premiere, utilizing words on the stage that became a chant and cacophony. Some viewers seemed confused by the lack of narrative or visual cohesion, but Fall for Dance clearly knows how to dance with its audience. The second show, L’Air D’Esprit, offered a much more classical ballet narrative with two beautiful dancers, high leg extensions, lifts, and tulle. The audience clapped a lot more for this performance. Finally, Martha Graham Dance Company closed Program 1 out with Cortege, a surreal and active group number choreographed by Brooklyn-based Baye & Asa (Sam Assemany and Amadi Washington). An homage to Martha Graham’s 1967 classic Cortege of Eagles, which depicts the crumbling of the Trojan Empire, this version of Cortege places the power (and the blame) for the cycle of violence on people themselves. The audience resonated with a riotous amount of claps.

The only complaint this writer had was the short 1 hour and 30 minutes (with intermission) run time. Be sure to check if the performance has an optional free dance lesson prior to the show, as this writer was sadly not aware and missed the lesson.

Tickets for Fall for Dance can be purchased at https://www.nycitycenter.org/events/2026-2027-fall-for-dance-festival

Photos Courtesy of Nicollette Barsamian

 

PROGRAM 1 │ SEP 22 & 23 at 7:30PM

A.I.M BY KYLE ABRAHAM
US
In the act of undoing
Choreography Jermaine Spivey
NY Premiere

SKYLAR BRANDT & ARAN BELL
US
L’Air D’Esprit
Choreography Gerald Arpino

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY
US
Cortege
Choreography Baye & Asa

 

PROGRAM 2 │ SEP 24 & 25 at 7:30PM

PHILADANCO! THE PHILADELPHIA DANCE COMPANY
US
HEIRBORNE (my mama ain’t never touched the sky, but she gave me wings)
Choreography Juel D. Lane
NY Premiere

ROBBIE FAIRCHILD’S PLAYERS
US
Lord Chamberlain’s Men
Choreography Robbie Fairchild
New York City Center Co-commission with
Guild Hall
World Premiere Preview

BOSTON BALLET
US
Vertical Road (Reimagined) 2023
Choreography Akram Khan
NY Premiere

 

PROGRAM 3 │ SEP 26 at 7:30PM & 27 at 2PM

JUAN TOMÁS DE LA MOLÍA
Spain
Bulería de la Molía
Choreography Juan Tomás de la Molía

LIOR TAVORI DANCE COMPANY
Israel
Crust
Choreography Lior Tavori
US Premiere

THE ROYAL BALLET
UK
Paganini – The First Virtuoso 
Choreography Loughlan Prior
US Premiere

 

PROGRAM 4 │ SEP 30 & OCT 1 at 7:30PM

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET
US
Faun
Choreography Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui

FRIEDEMANN VOGEL
Courtesy of The Stuttgart Ballet
Germany
ECHO:SOG
Choreography Friedemann Vogel & Thomas Lempertz
World Premiere

GAUTHIER DANCE // DANCE COMPANY THEATERHAUS STUTTGART
Germany
Any way the wind blows
Choreography Hofesh Shechter
US Premiere

 

PROGRAM 5 │ OCT 2 & 3 at 7:30PM

PONY CAM
Australia
kinda like that
Choreography Pony Cam
New York City Center Commission
World Premiere

MIAMI CITY BALLET
US
Roses from the South: Three Waltzes for Toby
Choreography Alexei Ratmansky
NY Premiere

THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET
Australia
Seven Days
Choreography Stephanie Lake
US Premiere