Photo of Fred Holland and Ishmael Houston-Jones by Pamela Moore Ishmael Houston-Jones/Fred Holland
Danspace Project
Feb. 27 - Mar. 1
Houston-Jones will present OO-GA-LA Reimagined (The Fred Holland and Ishmael Houston-Jones 1983 Duet Danced into the 21st Century), performed by AJ Wilmore, Stephanie Hewett, and Kris Lee.
Houston-Jones writes: "In 1983 at the Danspace Project festival Contact at 10th and 2nd which celebrated the 11th year that Steve Paxton named the form Contact Improvisation, Fred Holland and I were invited to perform a duet on the Partners Program along with Steve and Nancy Stark Smith and others. Fred and I, who considered ourselves to be the Black Punks of Contact, decided to do our C.I. duet by doing everything wrong. We rehearsed in East Village bars like the Pyramid Club on Avenue A after midnight and were given a cassette tape of sound loops from Kung Fu movies compiled by composer Mark Larson. But it was Fred who named the first ‘wrong’ item in our unpublished score when he said, ‘We are Black.’ We were one of very few people of color included in the festival or inhabiting the C.I. milieu at all. The videos of the two performances of OO-GA-LA by Cathy Weis and Lisa Nelson were largely unseen after the festival until found by Karen Nelson in the early 2000s. I've chosen to give the Wrong Contact Score to three AFAB dancers of color who are extraordinary performers, highly skilled improvisors, and innovative DJs to Queer this duet from 40 years and bring it to a new generation." Find out more here
Douglas Dunn + Dancers
Judson Memorial Church
Feb. 19-Mar. 1
The first week features BODY / SHADOW, a collaborative project with Dunn, music by Paul J. Botelho, libretto, video, and set design by Brice Brown, and visual media design by Steve Gibson. The second week brings a world premiere by Dunn with visual design by Mimi Gross, poetry by Anne Waldman, a commissioned score by Jerome Begin, played live by Begin and String Noise, and lighting design by Miriam Crowe. Find out more here
Various Artists
Arts On Site
Feb 21 - 22
Continuing to cultivate creative spaces to support artists and encourage community collaboration, weekly, this week features Era Dance Company and Suzzanne Ponomarenko Dance (2/21) and Free Mind: The Dance Company Showcase (2/22). Find out more here
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Taylor Dance East
Feb. 22
Experience the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Mr. Taylor's Scudorama (1963) and Esplanade (1975). Space is limited. Registration is required. Choose only one performance (1pm or 3pm) to attend. Guests will be ticketed on a first-come, first-served basis. Each registration is individual - one ticket per per person is available. Find out more here
Various Artists
BAAD!
Feb. 22
For the Queer Movie Movers Dance Compilation, seven choreographers will present short dance and body-oriented performance pieces set to iconic movie music, celebrating queer resilience through the power of cinematic soundtracks. The artists are: Filip Condeescu, Christopher Cortez, Peter Elizalde, Seph Figueroa, Keith Reeves, Omari Simmons, and Ariana Speight. Find out more here
Various Artists
St. Mary's Episcopal Church
Feb 22
MODArts Dance Collective (MADC) will host its free Works in Progress (WIP) Showing of the 2025 Collective Thread Residency Artists. This intimate showing will highlight each artist's creative process culminating the tenure of the six Saturday residency program. Find out more here
Anabella Lenzu
Peridance Center
Feb. 23
Lenzu will offer a book launch and reading of her book Teaching and Learning Dance Through Meaningful Gestures explores how technique is a philosophy and a theory, and how the body is an instrument for expression. Admission is free. RSVP and find out more here
Ephrat Asherie and Adesola Osakalumi
New York City Center
Feb. 24
In Studio 5, the annual Black History Month | Street Dance Edition celebration continues with Asherie and Osakalumi. Find out more here
Neta Pulvermacherher
Center for Jewish History
Feb. 24–26
Pulvermacherher brings the New York premiere of The Archive a funny a "...deeply moving investigation of her German-Jewish family history," according to the release. Find out more here
Germán Cornejo and Gisela Galeassi
The Joyce
Feb. 25-Mar. 9
Led by Buenos Aires’ tango dancers , the Joyce will present Tango After Dark “…that fuses the rich traditions of tango with a contemporary flair,” by creator and choreographer Cornejo. Find out more here
Danspace Project
Feb. 27 - Mar. 1
Houston-Jones will present OO-GA-LA Reimagined (The Fred Holland and Ishmael Houston-Jones 1983 Duet Danced into the 21st Century), performed by AJ Wilmore, Stephanie Hewett, and Kris Lee.
Houston-Jones writes: "In 1983 at the Danspace Project festival Contact at 10th and 2nd which celebrated the 11th year that Steve Paxton named the form Contact Improvisation, Fred Holland and I were invited to perform a duet on the Partners Program along with Steve and Nancy Stark Smith and others. Fred and I, who considered ourselves to be the Black Punks of Contact, decided to do our C.I. duet by doing everything wrong. We rehearsed in East Village bars like the Pyramid Club on Avenue A after midnight and were given a cassette tape of sound loops from Kung Fu movies compiled by composer Mark Larson. But it was Fred who named the first ‘wrong’ item in our unpublished score when he said, ‘We are Black.’ We were one of very few people of color included in the festival or inhabiting the C.I. milieu at all. The videos of the two performances of OO-GA-LA by Cathy Weis and Lisa Nelson were largely unseen after the festival until found by Karen Nelson in the early 2000s. I've chosen to give the Wrong Contact Score to three AFAB dancers of color who are extraordinary performers, highly skilled improvisors, and innovative DJs to Queer this duet from 40 years and bring it to a new generation." Find out more here
Douglas Dunn + Dancers
Judson Memorial Church
Feb. 19-Mar. 1
The first week features BODY / SHADOW, a collaborative project with Dunn, music by Paul J. Botelho, libretto, video, and set design by Brice Brown, and visual media design by Steve Gibson. The second week brings a world premiere by Dunn with visual design by Mimi Gross, poetry by Anne Waldman, a commissioned score by Jerome Begin, played live by Begin and String Noise, and lighting design by Miriam Crowe. Find out more here
Various Artists
Arts On Site
Feb 21 - 22
Continuing to cultivate creative spaces to support artists and encourage community collaboration, weekly, this week features Era Dance Company and Suzzanne Ponomarenko Dance (2/21) and Free Mind: The Dance Company Showcase (2/22). Find out more here
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Taylor Dance East
Feb. 22
Experience the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Mr. Taylor's Scudorama (1963) and Esplanade (1975). Space is limited. Registration is required. Choose only one performance (1pm or 3pm) to attend. Guests will be ticketed on a first-come, first-served basis. Each registration is individual - one ticket per per person is available. Find out more here
Various Artists
BAAD!
Feb. 22
For the Queer Movie Movers Dance Compilation, seven choreographers will present short dance and body-oriented performance pieces set to iconic movie music, celebrating queer resilience through the power of cinematic soundtracks. The artists are: Filip Condeescu, Christopher Cortez, Peter Elizalde, Seph Figueroa, Keith Reeves, Omari Simmons, and Ariana Speight. Find out more here
Various Artists
St. Mary's Episcopal Church
Feb 22
MODArts Dance Collective (MADC) will host its free Works in Progress (WIP) Showing of the 2025 Collective Thread Residency Artists. This intimate showing will highlight each artist's creative process culminating the tenure of the six Saturday residency program. Find out more here
Anabella Lenzu
Peridance Center
Feb. 23
Lenzu will offer a book launch and reading of her book Teaching and Learning Dance Through Meaningful Gestures explores how technique is a philosophy and a theory, and how the body is an instrument for expression. Admission is free. RSVP and find out more here
Ephrat Asherie and Adesola Osakalumi
New York City Center
Feb. 24
In Studio 5, the annual Black History Month | Street Dance Edition celebration continues with Asherie and Osakalumi. Find out more here
Neta Pulvermacherher
Center for Jewish History
Feb. 24–26
Pulvermacherher brings the New York premiere of The Archive a funny a "...deeply moving investigation of her German-Jewish family history," according to the release. Find out more here
Germán Cornejo and Gisela Galeassi
The Joyce
Feb. 25-Mar. 9
Led by Buenos Aires’ tango dancers , the Joyce will present Tango After Dark “…that fuses the rich traditions of tango with a contemporary flair,” by creator and choreographer Cornejo. Find out more here
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