Paul Taylor Dance Company’s 2026 Lincoln Center Season
Company:
Paul Taylor Dance Company
PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY RETURNS TO LINCOLN CENTER
NOVEMBER 3-22, 2026, WITH PREMIERES BY LAUREN LOVETTE, ROBERT BATTLE AND PAM TANOWITZ, TWO COMPANY PREMIERES AND
CLASSICS BY PAUL TAYLOR
Three-Week Engagement Includes Works by Resident Choreographers
Lovette and Battle, a New York Premiere by Tanowitz, Company Premieres of Battle’s No Longer Silent and Alwin Nikolais’ Tensile Involvement and the Return of Battle’s Under the Rhythm
Orchestra of St. Luke’s Performs Live Led by Music Director David LaMarche
New York, NY – The Paul Taylor Dance Company, the only Company to bring modern dance to Lincoln Center each Season since 2012, will return to the David H. Koch Theater for three weeks, November 3-22, 2026. The repertoire features classics by Paul Taylor that display his extraordinary range, from romantic to humorous and from poignant to controversial. The Season also includes world premieres by Resident Choreographers Lauren Lovette and Robert Battle; Pam Tanowitz's work will have its New York premiere, alongside the return of Battle’s Under the Rhythm (2025). Longtime music partner Orchestra of St. Luke’s will perform live, led by Taylor Music Director David LaMarche and Principal Guest Conductor Tara Simoncic. Tickets to the Season are on sale June 10 at noon, with prices starting at $19, at www.boxoffice.dance.
“This Season’s Lincoln Center engagement brings together dances that speak to resilience, humanity, and the full range of emotional experience—works that offer beauty, humor, catharsis, and moments of profound reflection,” said Artistic Director Michael Novak. “Paul Taylor’s dances continue to illuminate what it means to be human in all its complexity, and that spirit carries through the new works and Company premieres this Season. Bringing together Resident Choreographers Lauren Lovette and Robert Battle, as well as Pam Tanowitz and dance innovator Alwin Nikolais, the repertory moves across an expansive musical landscape, from Schubert to experimental indie rock and contemporary orchestral scores. I hope audiences leave feeling moved, energized and reminded of the power of dance to connect us to one another.”
Continuing Artistic Director Michael Novak’s commitment to developing new work and championing today’s most compelling dance makers, the Season features two world premieres and one New York premiere. Resident Choreographer Lauren Lovette brings the music of American-Dutch experimental indie rock band The Books to life with costumes and sets by Mark Eric and lighting by Brandon Stirling Baker. Resident Choreographer Robert Battle choreographs to composer John Mackey’s “Bells on the Garment of Silence” with stage design and costumes by artist Anne Patterson. Pam Tanowitz returns for her second commission for the Taylor Company with Messengers, Maidens and the End of Something Else, featuring designs by visual artist Sarah Crowner, costumes by Harriet Jung and Reid Bartelme, and lighting by Brandon Stirling Baker, set to Schubert’s Death and the Maiden.
The Season features two striking Company premieres. Robert Battle’s No Longer Silent (2007) is choreographed to a long-forgotten score by Austro-Czech Jewish composer Erwin Schulhoff, who was banned in Nazi Germany and composed the work between 1922 and 1925. Schulhoff’s music will be heard at the David H. Koch Theater for the first time. Also featured is Alwin Nikolais’ groundbreaking Tensile Involvement (1953), a mesmerizing fusion of movement, lighting, and stage design in which dancers create a luminous “cat’s cradle” across the stage.
Paul Taylor’s masterworks anchor the repertoire, from timeless audience favorites Esplanade and Brandenburgs to works returning to Lincoln Center for the first time in more than a decade, including Arabesque, …Byzantium, Spindrift, and 3 Epitaphs. Other Season highlights include Airs, Cloven Kingdom, Last Look, and Piazzolla Caldera.
The Season will also include the Paul Taylor Dance Company Gala on Wednesday, November 4 at 6:30 p.m., honoring three extraordinary champions of the organization: legendary lighting designer Jennifer Tipton and celebrated set and costume designer Santo Loquasto, whose creative collaborations have helped shape the visual world of Paul Taylor’s dances for decades; and James Roe, President and Executive Director of Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Company’s longtime musical partner. The evening will feature a special performance including a world premiere, Alwin Nikolais’s Tensile Involvement and Paul Taylor’s Brandenburgs, followed by a celebratory dinner and dancing with the Taylor dancers. Gala and performance-only tickets are available. For additional information, please visit https://paultaylordance.org/gala.
Expanding Access
The Season continues PTDC’s commitment to welcoming audiences through a range of initiatives:
John and Jody Arnhold Tier 3 Dance Education & Audience Education Initiative – Celebrating its 11th year, this impactful program has welcomed more than 30,000 New York City public-school students, families and teachers to the Koch Theater. In partnership with the Taylor Center for Dance Education, the initiative continues to provide free tickets, including a dedicated daytime performance on November 18, designed to support school field trips and student attendance, while introducing thousands of young people each year to the transformative power of modern dance at Lincoln Center.
$20 Under 40 – Audience members ages 40 and under may purchase $20 tickets with online registration at www.paultaylordance.org/20under40.
Student Rush Tickets – Students with a valid ID may purchase up to two full-price tickets for only $10 each at the box office on the day of the performance, subject to availability.
Family Express (November 14 and 21) – Two family-friendly matinees featuring 75-minute programs for audiences of all ages. Attendees are invited to take a complimentary class at the Taylor Center for Dance Education. https://paultaylordance.org/center-dance-education/
Polaris Project – Now in its fifth Lincoln Center Season, the Polaris Project expands access to modern dance through partnerships with schools, universities and nonprofit organizations, offering performances, workshops, educational programs, post-show discussions, and free or affordable tickets. Since its founding in 2022, the initiative has welcomed thousands of participants from more than 140 partner organizations to the Koch Theater, creating meaningful opportunities for audiences of all ages to experience live dance — often for the very first time.
2026 Season Calendar
All performances at the David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center.
All choreography by Paul Taylor unless otherwise noted.
Tuesday, November 3, 7 p.m.
Airs
Piazzolla Caldera
No Longer Silent (Battle)***
Wednesday, November 4, 6:30 p.m. — Gala Performance
Honoring Jennifer Tipton, Santo Loquasto and James Roe
World Premiere (TBD)
Tensile Involvement (Nikolais)***
Brandenburgs
Thursday, November 5, 7 p.m.
World Premiere (TBD)
3 Epitaphs
Tensile Involvement (Nikolais)
Piazzolla Caldera
Friday, November 6, 8 p.m.
Airs
World Premiere (Battle)*
Esplanade
Sunday, November 8, 3 p.m.
Brandenburgs
Messengers, Maidens and the End of Something Else (Tanowitz)**
No Longer Silent (Battle)***
Tuesday, November 10, 7 p.m.
Arabesque
…Byzantium
Esplanade
Wednesday, November 11, 7 p.m.
Spindrift
Last Look
Brandenburgs
Thursday, November 12, 7 p.m.
Arabesque
World Premiere (Lovette)*
Piazzolla Caldera
Friday, November 13, 8 p.m.
Under the Rhythm (Battle)
Last Look
Brandenburgs
Saturday, November 14, 2 p.m. – Family Express
Cloven Kingdom
Tensile Involvement (Nikolais)***
Under the Rhythm (Battle)
Saturday, November 14, 8 p.m.
Airs
…Byzantium
No Longer Silent (Battle)***
Sunday, November 15, 3 p.m.
Spindrift
3 Epitaphs
Tensile Involvement (Nikolais)***
Piazzolla Caldera
Tuesday, November 17, 7 p.m.
Under the Rhythm (Battle)
World Premiere (Lovette)**
Cloven Kingdom
Wednesday, November 18, 7 p.m.
Arabesque
Last Look
Esplanade
Thursday, November 19, 7 p.m.
Spindrift
World Premiere (Battle)
Piazzolla Caldera
Friday, November 20, 8 p.m.
Arabesque
Messengers, Maidens and the End of Something Else (Tanowitz)**
No Longer Silent (Battle)***
Saturday, November 21, 2 p.m. – Family Express
Cloven Kingdom
Tensile Involvement (Nikolais)***
Under the Rhythm (Battle)
Saturday, November 21, 8 p.m.
Airs
3 Epitaphs
Tensile Involvement (Nikolais)***
Esplanade
Sunday, November 22, 3 p.m.
…Byzantium
World Premiere (Battle)*
Brandenburgs
*World Premiere
**New York Premiere
***Company Premiere
For more information and full Season details, visit paultaylordance.org.
Share Your Audience Review. Your Words Are Valuable to Dance.
Are you going to see this show, or have you seen it? Share "your" review here on The Dance Enthusiast. Your words are valuable. They help artists, educate audiences, and support the dance field in general. There is no need to be a professional critic. Just click through to our Audience Review Section and you will have the option to write free-form, or answer our helpful Enthusiast Review Questionnaire, or if you feel creative, even write a haiku review. So join the conversation.
