WHITE WAVE Dance Announces the 25th Anniversary Season of the DUMBO Dance Festival (DDF)
Company:
WHITE WAVE Dance
WHITE WAVE Dance proudly announces the 25th Anniversary Season of the DUMBO Dance Festival (DDF), a dynamic three-day event showcasing 35 cutting-edge dance companies from New York and around the world. The festival kicks off on Friday, June 26, with a Gala Opening Night, setting the stage for an exhilarating weekend of contemporary dance.
Committed to developing dance as an important art form, WHITE WAVE scours the globe in search of the most innovative of today's dance makers, both emerging and established, and brings them to Manhattan for one extended weekend. For three nights and days, dance lovers will experience a veritable cornucopia of the best contemporary dance. DDF is committed to advancing the best of dance by providing on-stage and behind-the-scenes opportunities for 35 dance troupes from across America and around the globe, allowing audiences to experience, first-hand, the incomparable vitality of the New York dance scene.
This is a festival about opportunities, says Young Soon Kim, Artistic Director of White Wave Dance. “The DUMBO Dance Festival provides a platform for over 200 performing artists to showcase their work while offering New York audiences access to an extraordinary range of excellent and visionary choreography at an affordable price.”
GALA Opening Night: June 26 at 6:30PM
The 2026 DUMBO DANCE FESTIVAL will kick off with WHITE WAVE’s Opening Night GALA Celebration on Friday, June 26th at 6:30PM.
At our Gala, we will be honoring two remarkable individuals who have made significant contributions to WHITE WAVE DANCE and the greater dance community:
Nicky Paraiso is an actor, musician, writer, and curator. He directs programming for The Club at La MaMa and curates the La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival. He is a graduate of Oberlin College/Conservatory and NYU’s Graduate Acting Program.
Eunsil Kim, through Grace Charity Foundation Inc., her generosity and unwavering support have been instrumental in sustaining and growing our organization’s mission. We are thrilled to celebrate their lasting impact on our company and the dance world at large!
Opening remarks will be followed by five stunning contemporary dance troupes: Carolyn Dorfman Dance, Yoshiko Chuma and the School of Hard Knocks, Buglisi Dance Theatre, Jennifer Muller/The Works and WHITE WAVE DANCE.
After the performances, the audience can enjoy an open bar, food, and music to feed the soul, as well as a fabulous raffle including gourmet wine baskets, “Dinner for Two” at local DUMBO eateries, and much more!
Festival tickets: $30 in advance / $35 at door / $25 students & seniors.
GALA Tickets are $100 and $250 (VIP seating) per person; all proceeds raised will directly offset WHITE WAVE’s production costs for our 2026/27 Season.
GALA & Festival Tickets can be purchased at
White Wave Rising-Young Soon Kim Dance Company Inc - 2026 DUMBO DANCE FESTIVAL
Performance Schedule and more info at https://www.whitewavedance.org
Questions? Please contact WHITE WAVE at wwyskdc@gmail.com or call at 718-855-8822!
2026 DDF features 35 contemporary dance troupes combining over 200 artists who will present solo, chamber, and full-scale works. Dancers from across the United States, and internationally from China, Hungary, Korea and the United Kingdom will join the New York’s active dance community to offer the full range of new directions in dance in the 21st century.
In this anniversary year, the roster of companies includes:
Carolyn Dorfman Dance, yoshiko chuma and the school of hard knocks, Buglisi Dance Theatre, Jennifer Muller/The Work , Mollet Contemporary Ballet, Olivares Dance Company, Zehnder Dance, Drye/Marinaro Dance Company, Alyssa Mitchel, Angad Kalsi, Melody in Motion, Fearless Young Artists Studios, Luka Gabriel Appelbaum, BK Dance Project, Parisa Khobdeh Dance, Samaw Dance Company, Kim Namjin Physical Theater, Feathers Dance Company, Dmitri Peskov, Marez Dance Company, Abby Marchesseault Dance Collective, Marez Dance Company, Deanna Stanton Choreography, Garet&Co, Ceylon Dance Company England, Amos Pinhasi, Freespace Dance, Li Chiao-Ping Dance, Alexandra Light, Alison Cook Beatty Dance, Company | E, Carolyn Dorfman Dance, Kris Hudecz, Orphic, Olivia Wang and WHITE WAVE Dance.
In our commitment to presenting dance for all, the 25th Annual DUMBO Dance Festival is proud to announce the following events in our exciting 2026 program:
2026 DUMBO DANCE FESTIVAL Performance Schedule:
GALA Opening Night:
June 26 @ 6:30PM
Carolyn Dorfman Dance, NJ
Yoshiko Chuma and the school of hard knocks, NY
Buglisi Dance Theatre, NY
Jennifer Muller/The Works, NY
WHITE WAVE Dance, NY
Saturday, June 27 @ 4PM
Mollet Contemporary Ballet, NY
Olivares Dance Company, CA
Zehnder Dance, MA
Drye/Marinaro Dance Company, NY
Alyssa Mitchel, CA
Angad Kalsi, NY
Melody in Motion, NY
Fearless Young Artists Studios, NY
Saturday, June 27 @ 6PM
Luka Gabriel Appelbaum, NJ
BK Dance Project, NY
Parisa Khobdeh Dance, NY
Samaw Dance Company, NY
Kim Namjin Physical Theater, KOREA
Feathers Dance Company, NY
Dmitri Peskov, UT
Marez Dance Company, FL
Sunday, June 28 @ 4PM
Abby Marchesseault Dance Collective, IN
Marez Dance Company, FL
Deanna Stanton Choreography, AK
Garet&Co, CT
Ceylon Dance Company England. ENGLAND
Amos Pinhasi, NY
Freespace Dance, NJ
Li Chiao-Ping Dance, WI
GRAND FINALE:
Sunday, June 28 @ 6PM
Alexandra Light, NY
Alison Cook Beatty Dance, NY
Company | E, DC
Carolyn Dorfman Dance, NJ
Kris Hudecz, MI
Orphic, NY
Olivia Wang, NY
WHITE WAVE Dance, NY
For Artists BIO and more info, please visit www.whitewavedance.org.
ABOUT WHITE WAVE
WHITE WAVE Dance, led by visionary Artistic Director Young Soon Kim, is an internationally acclaimed contemporary dance company known for its daring innovation, emotional depth, and global reach. The company’s name reflects its identity: “WHITE” honors Korea’s national color and cultural spirit, while “WAVE” symbolizes the dynamic rise of Korean culture—Hallyu—throughout the world. For decades, Kim has been recognized as a pioneering force, bringing Korean artistry into vibrant dialogue with the international dance community.
Since its founding, WHITE WAVE has performed on major stages across the United States, Europe, and East Asia, including the National Theater of Seoul, National Theater of Taipei, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the 1988 Summer Olympics World Dance Festival, SIDance Festival, and the Asian Cultural Center for the 2019 FINA World Championship Masters’ Games. In North America, the company has appeared at BAM Fisher, La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival, Ailey Citigroup Theater, Vancouver International Dance Festival, and New York’s SummerStage. Recent highlights include acclaimed performances at the 2025 Mostra Internacional de Dança de São Paulo and the ChangMu International Dance Festival.
WHITE WAVE’s work has been featured on WWOR TV, Fox 5, PBS’s NYC ARTS, and CNN’s Inside Asia. Honors include a 2025 ITI Award nomination, the 2023 Bessies Angel Honoree Award, and a Jerome Robbins Foundation grant for Eternal NOW, now archived at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
More info at www.whitewavedance.org.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Young Soon Kim, Artistic Director of WHITE WAVE Dance, is an internationally acclaimed choreographer and the recipient of the 2023 Bessies Angel Honoree Award. Over a four decade career, she has become known for creating work that is visually striking, emotionally resonant, and grounded in her signature blend of sweeping movement, sculptural imagery, and deeply human storytelling.
Kim began her artistic journey as a performer, touring internationally with Jennifer Muller/The Works and presenting her own repertory throughout Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and Korea, including a landmark 60 day national tour. She appeared at major venues such as Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, Teatro Nazionale in Milan, Schauspielhaus in Cologne, and the Festival d’Avignon, establishing herself early on as a compelling artistic force.
In 2001, after inaugurating the WHITE WAVE John Ryan Theater in DUMBO, Kim launched a series of dance festivals that have become essential platforms for emerging and established choreographers. Her leadership as a producer and curator has made her one of New York City’s most influential advocates for contemporary dance.
“There are people who simply have a lot of energy, and the Korean-born choreographer Young Soon Kim is clearly one of them.” – Roslyn Sulcas, The New York Times
Please visit www.whitewavedance.org for more information about the OPENING NIGHT GALA and DUMBO Dance Festival.
Promo video of 2025 DUMBO Dance Festival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGHEsuxwCeY
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
WHITE WAVE’s programs are supported, in part, by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, New York State Council on the Arts, The New York Community Trust, Harkness Foundation for Dance, Mosaic Network & Fund, Grace Charity Foundation Inc., JOHN RYAN, Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation, and Individual Arts Supporters like you.
