Five of NYC’s most iconic dance companies—Ballet Hispánico, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem—return for the second BAAND Together Dance Festival, sharing the spotlight and an outdoor stage as a part of Summer for the City, Lincoln Center’s new program that activates the entire campus under one banner offering hundreds of free live shows this summer season.
From August 9–13, audiences will see repertory favorites as well as a new World Premiere by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa each night. One for All, commissioned by Lincoln Center and featuring dancers from each of the five companies, is set to Manteca by Funky Lowlives/Dizzy Gillespie. Each unique and exciting evening of programming has been curated collaboratively by the artistic directors of the five companies. In the afternoons, each organization will also bring its unique teaching style to the Lincoln Center campus with daily education workshops, appropriate for all ages! The Festival is made possible by CHANEL, whose engagement with dance was forged over a century ago by its founder, Gabrielle Chanel.
Statement from the artistic directors of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (Artistic Director Robert Battle), American Ballet Theatre (Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie), Ballet Hispánico (Artistic Director & CEO Eduardo Vilaro), Dance Theatre of Harlem (Artistic Director Virginia Johnson), and New York City Ballet (Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford, Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan):
Last year’s BAAND Together Dance Festival was a resounding success, proof that New York audiences are excited for their beloved dance companies to return to the stage. This year we will go beyond performing side by side and do so together, as a unified dance family, through an exciting new work by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. This new work is a testament to our commitment for building new avenues of cultural innovation, dialogue, and accessibility for our incredible city.
Performance Schedule (subject to change):
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
One for All, World Premiere Lincoln Center Commission by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Cry by Alvin Ailey
Ballet Hispánico – Con Brazos Abiertos by Michelle Manzanales
Dance Theatre of Harlem – When Love by Helen Pickett
American Ballet Theatre – Children’s Songs Dance by Jessica Lang
New York City Ballet – Red Angels by Ulysses Dove
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
One for All, World Premiere Lincoln Center Commission by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Ballet Hispánico – Con Brazos Abiertos by Michelle Manzanales
New York City Ballet – Red Angels by Ulysses Dove
American Ballet Theatre – Children’s Songs Dance by Jessica Lang
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Love Stories finale by Robert Battle
Dance Theatre of Harlem – Return by Robert Garland
Thursday, August 11, 2022
One for All, World Premiere Lincoln Center Commission by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Ballet Hispánico – Club Havana by Pedro Ruiz
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and American Ballet Theatre – Pas de Duke by Alvin Ailey (Jacquelin Harris, Ailey, and Herman Cornejo, ABT)
New York City Ballet – Red Angels by Ulysses Dove
Dance Theatre of Harlem – When Love by Helen Pickett
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Love Stories finale by Robert Battle
Friday, August 12, 2022
One for All, World Premiere Lincoln Center Commission by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Dance Theatre of Harlem – Return by Robert Garland
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Cry by Alvin Ailey
New York City Ballet – Allegro Brillante by George Balanchine
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and American Ballet Theatre – Pas de Duke by Alvin Ailey (Jacquelin Harris, Ailey, and Herman Cornejo, ABT)
Ballet Hispánico – Club Havana by Pedro Ruiz
Saturday, August 13, 2022
American Ballet Theatre – Children’s Songs Dance by Jessica Lang
Ballet Hispánico – Club Havana by Pedro Ruiz
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Cry by Alvin Ailey
Dance Theatre of Harlem – When Love by Helen Pickett
New York City Ballet – Allegro Brillante by George Balanchine
One for All, World Premiere Lincoln Center Commission by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Entry to all Summer for the City performances and events at Damrosch Park, The Oasis on Josie Robertson Plaza, the David Rubenstein Atrium, The Deck, Hearst Plaza, and The Speakeasy on Jaffe Drive will be available for free via General Admission—first-come, first-served. In addition to General Admission, we’re offering a free Advance Reservation option for select Summer for the City events held at Damrosch Park, “The Oasis,” and Hearst Plaza. With Advance Reservation, guests can get priority access to events by booking ahead of time. Event admission is only guaranteed until 10 minutes before showtime. Tickets for performances in Alice Tully Hall and the Rose Theater will be available on a Choose-What-You-Pay basis. More at SummerForTheCity.org.
Photos are available here. Additional details may be found here.
Presented as part of Festival of New York, Summer for the City builds on the success of Lincoln Center’s 2021 Restart Stages, which created an outdoor performing arts center so that the arts could continue during the pandemic. That initiative attracted an audience of more than 250,000 in person, nearly a quarter of whom were visiting Lincoln Center for the first time.
Summer for the City will animate every corner of the outdoor campus across 10 stages, as well as some of the indoor venues, with more than 300 artistic and civic activations.
Appointed in August 2021, this will be Shanta Thake’s first full season at Lincoln Center. Her new approach moves towards a seasonal model, unifying activities under a single curatorial idea, and deepens artistic and civic connections in order to expand reach. These tenets will guide LCPA’s programming year-round in the new David Geffen Hall and across campus. Additional programs will be announced in the coming months.
Summer for the City has been curated to help deepen Lincoln Center’s service to particular communities, including the Latinx/e, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI), Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQIA+ communities—along with expanding offerings for families with concerts, workshops, Storytimes, and Family Dance Days. The season also offers a multitude of events that celebrate and center Deaf and disabled identity, including Deaf Broadway’s Sweeney Todd, ILL-Abilities, Inside/Out presented by Ping Chong, and an Evening of Access Magic, featuring a Silent Disco, as well as adapted dance classes throughout the summer, and incorporating live captioning, Music: Not Impossible wearable technology for Deaf and hard-of-hearing audience members during select performances, and ASL-interpretation and sensory-friendly elements throughout the season’s offerings. The campus will also host dozens of pop-up performances, wellness events, graduations, voter engagement and polling, blood drives, and more as part of the summer season.
Images courtesy of Chanel / Dan Jackson
