Dance Performance | 5 Iconic NYC Dance Companies

Five of NYC's most iconic dance companies--Ballet Hispanico, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem--share the spotlight and an outdoor stage with dancers and pieces from across the companies.

Participants:

One for All, World Premiere Lincoln Center Commission by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, featuring dancers from each of the five companies, is set to Manteca by Funky Lowlives/Dizzy Gillespie.

Ballet Hispanico - Con Brazos Abiertos by Michelle Manzanales
Michelle Manzanales explores with humility, nostalgia and humor the iconic Mexican symbols that she was reluctant to embrace as a Mexican-American child growing up in Texas. Intertwining folkloric details with a distinctly contemporary voice in dance, set to music that ranges from Julio Iglesias to rock en Espanol, Con Brazos Abiertos is a fun and frank look at a life caught between two cultures.

New York City Ballet - Red Angels by Ulysses Dove
A dynamically charged, abstract work, Red Angels highlights the power and athleticism of its four dancers through bold choreography, intense lighting, and a riveting score for electric violin. Created for New York City Ballet's Diamond Project in 1994, Red Angels was the first work created for NYCB by the late choreographer Ulysses Dove. An abstract work for four dancers, Red Angels is set to Richard Einhorn's "Maxwell's Demon", a solo for electric violin performed by innovative American violinist Mary Rowell.

American Ballet Theatre - Children's Songs Dance by Jessica Lang
A work for seven dancers, Children's Songs Dance by Jessica Lang takes its name from the music. Set to selections from Children's Songs by the late American jazz composer Chick Corea, the ballet was created on ABT Studio Company in January 2020 during a residency at The Pocantico Center in Tarrytown, New York. According to Lang, Children's Songs Dance "draws its inspiration from the transition in life between being a child and becoming an adult, with the goal of never losing the spirit of play."

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater - Love Stories finale by Robert Battle
Choreography: Robert Battle
Music: Stevie Wonder
Love Stories was Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison's dynamic collaboration with hip-hop pioneer Rennie Harris and Robert Battle. Inspired by the African concept of "Sankofa," which teaches that "we don't know where we are going unless we know where we have been," this extraordinary ballet celebrates the heritage of African-American dance and the rich legacy of Alvin Ailey. In the ballet's joyful third section choreographed by Robert Battle, which is presented as a standalone piece, the choreographer portrays a luminous future built on the lessons and legacy of the past, with a forceful push forward.

Dance Theatre of Harlem - Return by Robert Garland
Dance Theatre of Harlem's Resident Choreographer Robert Garland deploys his signature "post-modern urban neoclassicism" to magnify the soulful exuberance of the music of James Brown and Aretha Franklin thereby creating a ballet that is pure joy to behold.