The 92nd Street Y, New York announces Women Move the World: The Harkness Mainstage Series 2025/26 Season
Company:
92NY
The 92nd Street Y, New York announces Women Move the World, the Harkness Mainstage Series 2025/26 season, the first time the organization has presented a year dedicated entirely to works curated, created and choreographed by women. The season – with more creators still to come – features work from well-known companies, newer and emerging artists, a variety of festivals, and an all-women cohort of artists in residence. Performances are in the historic Kaufmann Concert Hall and in Buttenwieser Hall at the Arnhold Center; tickets are on sale today and available here [URL TK].
Women Move the World: The Harkness Mainstage Series 2025/26 Season
Choreographers & Companies
LaTasha Barnes ● YY Dance Company ● Dormeshia ● Michelle Dorrance ● GALLIM ● Heidi Latsky ● Hélène Simoneau Danse ● Jodi Melnick and Sara Mearns ● Rachna Nivas ● Aszure Barton
Festivals
What Flows Beneath Us: A Festival of India’s Classical Arts
Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival
Future Dance Festival
Tickets On Sale Today
https://www.92ny.org/culture-arts/school-of-the-arts/dance/performances
The season opens with LaTasha Barnes and an all-female swing band, inviting everyone to become part of the season as they lead a swing dance party, and closes with acclaimed choreographer Aszure Barton bringing renowned dance artists and companies from different parts of the world in their 92NY debuts. YY Dance Company premieres Elsewhere, the final installment of a triptych that also includes Somewhere and Nowhere; celebrated choreographer/dancer Jodi Melnick joins New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns for their first-ever performance in historic Kaufmann Concert Hall in works that draw inspiration from such groundbreaking female choreographers as Doris Humphrey, Hanya Holm, Sara Rudner, and Trisha Brown; and Andrea Miller’s GALLIM, Hélène Simoneau Danse, and Heidi Latsky bring thoughtful works to this unique season.
The 2025/26 season also includes three vastly different festivals. The Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival – which memorably tapped into the connections between such rhythmic forms as flamenco, hip-hop, swing, Kathak, Appalachian clogging and tap in its inaugural outing last season – returns for a sophomore series of performances and workshops showcasing the impact of women in rhythmic dance. The festival’s second edition welcomes Dormeshia’s “Ladies in the Shoe” as a presenter along with Works & Process at Guggenheim New York. The Future Dance Festival returns for a fifth season as a talent incubator, with this season’s applications open exclusively to women and female identifying artists. And following her performance last season, Rachna Nivas returns to curate 92NY’s first-ever festival of India’s classical arts, a full-day summit that includes Michelle Dorrance.
Artists in residence are Naomi Funaki, Dual Rivet (Chelsea Ainsworth/Jess Smith) and Keerati Jinakunwiphat.
“Something unprecedented is happening on our stage this season — and it feels both long overdue and exactly on time,” comments Alison Manning, Co-Executive Director, Harkness Dance Center. “For what we believe is the first time in history, our season is fully devoted to works created, curated, and choreographed by women and female-identifying artists.”
“We made this choice with purpose, and this season is personal for us — rooted in care, conviction, and a belief that who tells the story matters.” Manning continues. “In a moment when the rights, voices, and bodies of women are under renewed threat — in our country and across the world — we are claiming space. The stage becomes our platform, our protest, our offering. We lift up the creators who have always shaped dance but haven’t always been centered in it. Women Move the World is not just a season. It’s a statement.”
HARKNESS MAINSTAGE SERIES 2025/26 SEASON
SWING OUT LOUD: WOMEN MOVE THE WORLD
Swing Dance Party with LaTasha Barnes and additional artists
Arnhold Dance Studio & Buttenwieser Hall
Sat, Sep 13, 7 pm – Lindy Hop open session
Sat, Sep 13, 8 pm – Swing Dance Party
Bessie Award winner LaTasha Barnes opens the season with a swing dance party, featuring an all-woman swing band and surprise performances by guest artists. The night begins with a dance class and unfolds into a community social dance party for an evening that is a lesson, a tribute and a celebration.
YY DANCE COMPANY
Elsewhere – World Premiere
Buttenwieser Hall
Fri & Sat, Oct 17 & 18, 7 pm
Renowned Chinese-American choreographer and the creator of the original FoCo movement vocabulary Yue Yin returns to 92NY with her company YYDC for the world premiere of Elsewhere, the final chapter in an ambitious trilogy that explores the mystery of our existence and of the world we all share. Blending Chinese, Mongolian and Tibetan dance with contemporary movement, Yin's work reflects her own education and professional journey, and immigration experience from China to the United States. Elsewhere features an original score by French-Vietnamese composer and longtime artistic collaborator Alexandre Dai Castaing.
HÉLÉNE SIMONEAU DANSE
Late Bloomer – World Premiere
Buttenwieser Hall
Fri & Sat, Nov 14 & 15, 7 pm
In this stunning world premiere, French-Canadian choreographer Hélène Simoneau delves into the complexities of power, timing, experience, and choice in how one navigates belonging and human connection. Late Bloomer examines how we show up for each other, the responsibility of the bystander, and the profound consequences of being cast aside.
In collaboration with award-winning composer Angélica Negrón, dramaturg Melanie George, costume designer Quinn Czejkowski, and lighting designer David Ferri, Simoneau and her ensemble of dancers explore the subtle forces that shape group dynamics, asking: How is belonging connected to survival? What separates true belonging from merely fitting in?
HEIDI LATSKY DANCE
Who Am I Now?
Buttenwieser Hall
Sat, Jan 10, 7 pm
Sun, Jan 11, 1 pm
Heidi Latsky changed the world by making space for every body. A pioneering voice in contemporary dance, Latsky has spent her life confronting assumptions — about beauty, ability, movement, and value. In Who Am I Now?, she turns that lens inward. This special presentation, part talk and part performance, blends film, conversation, and excerpts of new work to offer a rare, intimate encounter with this most influential artist.
Latsky’s journey — through dance, activism and, most recently, recovery from brain surgery — becomes a meditation on identity and resilience. As she reclaims her own body, she invites us to rethink ours.
Through decades of work with disabled performers and a radical redefinition of who gets to be seen, Latsky has reshaped dance — and, in doing so, expanded our collective idea of freedom. Like the great women who helped reimagine justice and visibility in this country, her art has become a form of resistance.
WHAT FLOWS BENEATH US
A Festival of India’s Classical Arts in Cross-Cultural Dialogue
Curated by Rachna Nivas
Sat, Feb 21, 9 am
Kathak artist, educator, arts activist, and 92NY Artist in Residence Rachna Nivas curates a day-long celebration of Indian classical dance and music — a rich, living tradition, in conversation with other genres, being carried forward by women artists shaping its future.
Beginning at 9 am, the day unfolds in community, with morning and afternoon performances by leading musicians and dancers, traditional food, and space for gathering across generations. It all leads to the New York premiere of SPEAK — a collaboration between Kathak virtuoso Rachna Nivas, Fulbright scholar Rukhmani Mehta, MacArthur Fellow Michelle Dorrance, and tap legend Dormeshia — in a rhythmic conversation between Kathak and American tap.
SPEAK – New York Premiere
Featuring Rachna Nivas, Michelle Dorrance, Dormeshia, Rukhmani Mehta, and additional guests
Sat, Feb 21, 7 pm
SPEAK, a Leela Dance Collective work, brings together these rhythmic worlds in a performance that’s both deeply rooted and fiercely contemporary. Featuring an all-women Indian classical and jazz ensemble, this work honors the legacies of artists like Pandit Chitresh Das and Dr. Jimmy Slyde while offering a vision of what’s possible when artists meet across form, culture, and experience.
UPTOWN RHYTHM DANCE FESTIVAL
Co-Presented by 92NY, Works & Process at Guggenheim New York, and “Ladies in the Shoe” Tap Conference
Featuring the “Ladies in the Shoe” Tap Conference, Conceived & Directed by Dormeshia
92NY Performances Co-curated by Michelle Dorrance and Alison Manning
Various venues
Mon, Mar 2 – Sun, Mar 8
The Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival returns — seven days full of extraordinary performances, discussions and classes that celebrate the power, artistry, and cultural impact of women in rhythmic dance.
With programs curated and co-curated by trailblazers Dormeshia and Michelle Dorrance and co-presented with Works & Process at Guggenheim New York, and Dormeshia’s “Ladies in the Shoe” Tap Conference, this year’s festival builds on the success of the inaugural festival, highlighting a dynamic lineup of female and female-identifying artists across tap, hip hop, flamenco, Kathak, street dance, Irish step, Appalachian flatfooting, and more. These forms share roots in resistance and community — and the women leading them today are infusing their traditions with bold, new energy.
Each evening features performances by celebrated artists and rising stars, with live music woven throughout. This year, the festival includes the “Ladies in the Shoe” Tap Conference, conceived and directed by Dormeshia. The conference includes live performances, workshops, and discussions with some of today’s most influential female tap dancers, celebrating the rhythm, resilience, and remarkable contributions of women in tap.
Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival - Performances & Event Schedule
Uptown Rhythm Opening Night at Works & Process at the Guggenheim
Mon, Mar 2, 7 pm
Uptown Rhythm Performances
Co-curated by Alison Manning & Michelle Dorrance
Tue, Mar 3 & Wed, Mar 4, 7 pm
Buttenwieser Hall at 92NY
Ladies in the Shoe Tap Conference - Performances
Conceived & Directed by Dormeshia
Thu, Mar 5 & Fri, Mar 6, 7 pm
Buttenwieser Hall at 92NY
Ladies in the Shoe Tap Conference — Classes and Discussions
Sat, Mar 7 & Sun, Mar 8
Details and locations forthcoming
Uptown Rhythm Closing Night at Works & Process at the Guggenheim
Sun, Mar 8, 7 pm
JODI MELNICK AND SARA MEARNS
Superbloom (Dancing Into Choreographic Forms) – World Premiere
Kaufmann Concert Hall
In Person - Fri & Sat, Mar 27 & 28, 7 pm
Choreographer Jodi Melnick and New York City Ballet principal Sara Mearns return to 92NY for an evening of shimmering, glistening dance that overlaps and disrupts the past and present. At the heart of Superbloom (Dancing Into Choreographic Forms) is a world premiere that reaches into the dance made at 92NY.
Melnick, a visionary of postmodern movement, and Mearns, whose artistry brings new dimension to the works, reimagine the archives of foundational voices in modern dance — such as Anna Sokolow and Doris Humphrey — and groundbreaking female choreographers who have shaped her own dancing life, including Sara Rudner, Trisha Brown, and many other illustrious female artists.
Melnick experiments with her own work, the phenomena of movement, transmission, and memory, weaving together her experiences with these iconic women and her decade-long dancing relationship with Mearns (additional performers tba) creating a captivating new assemblage.
FUTURE DANCE FESTIVAL
Streaming - Thu, Apr 16 – Thu, Apr 23
In Person - Fri & Sat, Apr 17 & 18, 7 pm
Buttenwieser Hall
Before they were legends, artists like Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, and José Limón found a home at 92NY. Today, the Future Dance Festival continues that legacy — spotlighting the next generation of trailblazers in choreography and dance filmmaking.
Now in its fifth year, the festival is establishing itself as a significant incubator of new talent and new work in the dance world — offering a dynamic platform for discovery, experimentation, and connection. This year, as part of the Women Move the World season, applications are limited to women and female identifying artists — making space for bold, new voices to step into the spotlight.
Curated by a panel of female and female-identifying industry leaders, the Future Dance Festival connects emerging choreographers and filmmakers with today’s artistic decision-makers. It’s a festival rooted in purpose: to invest in dance’s future by championing its most promising creators — and offering audiences a front-row seat to the future of the form.
GALLIM
BLUSH
Buttenwieser Hall
Thu & Fri, Apr 30 & May 1, 7 pm
Andrea Miller, one of today’s most celebrated choreographers, returns to one of her earliest pieces: Miller’s acclaimed work BLUSH.
BLUSH takes a single, involuntary gesture — the moment of a blush — and expands it into a flood of physical and emotional transformation. Set in a boxing ring-like arena and driven by a score that moves from Chopin to Arvo Pärt to Kap Bambino, BLUSH is dense with raw energy and intimacy. It is a portrait of human vulnerability in motion — a piece that builds to something almost mythic in scale.
Since its 2009 premiere, BLUSH has thrilled audiences around the world, earning praise for its daring physicality and Miller’s unmistakable choreographic voice. Her dancers, known for their intensity and precision, embody the extremes of exertion and release — bringing every moment to the surface.
AN EVENING WITH ASZURE BARTON
New York Premiere
Kaufmann Concert Hall
Thu, May 21, 7 pm
Aszure Barton is among the most original and sought-after choreographers of her generation — a singular voice whose work has moved audiences around the world, from Nederlands Dans Theater to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. We are honored to close our Women of the World 2025/26 Harkness Mainstage Series with a landmark event that celebrates her holistic vision.
As director of Aszure Barton & Artists | AB&A — a multidisciplinary dance hub founded in New York in the early 2000s — Aszure has expanded beyond the conventional choreographer-company structure by reshaping what it means to build a body of work, “a mobile home for trusted humans,” as she says. Since its inception, she’s been generating dance language with her most-trusted AB&A crew while simultaneously creating commissions worldwide — all through a rigorous, collaborative process that simultaneously respects and dismantles classical and contemporary forms. AB&A serves as both a watering hole and connecting thread for this choreographer and her collaborators.
This 92NY celebration shares her interconnected web of community with ours by bringing together AB&A artists from across the globe, including dancers from Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart, and others. In a single evening, audience members will witness a breadth of Aszure’s artistic voice through artists who have inspired her process over the years. This intimate gathering highlights her path as a prolific choreographer, celebrating where the work has been and will go while uplifting her love of music and longtime collaborators.
About the Harkness Dance Center
The Harkness Dance Center was founded at 92NY in May 1935, with Doris Humphrey as the first director. Right from the start, the center focused on the power of art to promote self-expression, creativity and societal engagement. The original faculty, including Martha Graham, Charles Weidman, Hanya Holm and Anna Sokolow, both performed and taught classes in modern dance techniques to 92NY members, expanding the art’s reach to non-professionals.
For more than 90 years, the Harkness Dance Center has been a hub for a global community of dancers who gathered here to dance through the rhythm of their times, exploring fundamental questions of identity, society and humanity — and in doing so, created iconic works of American modern dance. Katherine Dunham, Pearl Primus, José Limón, Paul Taylor, Merce Cunningham, and Alvin Ailey are just a few of the legendary artists who created and premiered work on 92NY’s stage.
Today, the Harkness Dance Center connects artists, audiences and students of dance like nowhere else in New York city. World-class dancers and choreographers in our Performances season lead classes and workshops for students. Our School of Dance is recognized as the premiere destination for holistic dance instruction in New York City. The artist-in-residence program puts audiences at the leading edge of new ideas in movement and the Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) leads the way in dance education by providing training and support so educators can experiment, create, learn and innovate.
