Ballet Hispanico’s first Artistic Director, Tina Ramirez, began as a dance instructor, teaching inner-city children throughout the 1960s. In recognition of these efforts, the New York State Arts Council subsequently awarded her a grant in 1970 to found a dance company comprised of young people. Thus began the first incarnation of Ballet Hispanico. Though its performers are no longer quite so young nor the works quite so traditional, Ballet Hispanico …more…

Bill T. Jones and his late partner, Arnie Zane (1948–1988), challenged audiences with powerful duets dealing with issues of identity and offering social commentary. After 11 years of collaboration they founded the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and made their international debut in 1983 at BAM.

The company’s work often draws from important textual sources such as Flannery O’Connor’s short …more…

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet is perhaps one of the most exciting ballet companies in the country, with an eclectic repertory and some magnificently trained dancers. Founded in 2003 by Wal-Mart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie, CLCB has its roots in ballet, while its trunk and branches extend towards a more contemporary approach to movement and space. Athletic, eclectic, audacious, daring, and sophisticated, CLCB dancers impeccably interpret new choreographic work from a …more…

The dynamic Complexions Contemporary Ballet was founded in 1994 by Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, two titans of contemporary dance bent on transcending the limits of the art.

Rhoden, called “one of the most sought out choreographers of the day” by the New York Times, takes contemporary ballet to a new level through the highly articulated bodies of his dancers. He has created over 80 pieces for Complexions, done commissions …more…

For over thirty years, DanceBrazil has thrilled audiences across the Unites States and throughout the world with its dazzling artistry, which is inspired by the cultural tapestry of Brazil. Whether in the streets or on stage in the most prestigious theaters, the dancers and musicians of DanceBrazil never fail to enthrall audiences with the company’s unique fusion of Afro-Brazilian movement, contemporary dance and Capoeira, …more…

Mark Dendy formed his first company, Mark Dendy Dance and Theater, in 1983; they performed until 2000, when he disbanded the company to pursue a career in stage choreography. After meeting with sustained success both on and off-Broadway, he returned to the modern dance scene with Dendy Dancetheater; the new company debuted at the American Dance Festival in 2008.

Since then, the company has performed all over the country, attracting …more…

Japanese born performers Eiko and Koma studied with one of the great artists of the avant-garde theatre movement in Japan, Kazuo Ohno. They started their company in 1972 before moving to New York in 1976, where they created their first classic work, White Dance. Stark and theatrical, their work provokes a visceral emotion triggered by their intense immersion in what it means to be alive. Our common history, …more…

Evidence is the brainchild of Artistic Director Ronald K. Brown, who created the company in 1985 to relay the disparate stories and united traditions found in the African experience. Brown founded the company with the aim of encouraging young dancers to engage in the art form, appealing to audiences through his fusion of traditional African dance and modern choreography. ...more...

John Jasperse’s Bessie award-winning contemporary dance company has been called “thoughtful” and “pensive”, and, indeed, the company provokes audiences to connect to these qualities in themselves. Jasperse’s choreography is governed by a corporal language that undulates and connects, revealing both a physical and mental unfolding that is all of a purpose. With his exploratory and questioning mind, his work is philosophical, theatrical, and sometimes humorous, always revealing the thinking …more…

Artistic Director Weare founded her eponymous company in 2005 to showcase her extraordinary contemporary choreography. The company quickly gained recognition in 2007 by winning first prize in NY’s prestigious The AWARD Show; it’s since gone on to receive numerous other accolades and fellowships.

Through intense work in the studio, Weare and her dancers create pieces that reflect the choreographer’s perspective on relationship and its complexity. The dancers’ unified training …more…

Larry Keigwin and Nicole Wolcott founded Keigwin + Company in 2003, and in this short period of time the company has grown its repertoire as well as its reputation. Theatrical, witty, and never afraid to cross the boundaries, K+Co. consistently engages audiences with its down-to-earth images and cohesive movement structures. With his large-scale beach-themed Bolero, Keigwin shows his penchant for not taking the classics too seriously. In a different …more…

The Lar Lubovitch Dance Company was created in 1968 and has maintained its renown as one of the most important modern dance companies of today. Named “one of the ten best choreographers in the world” by the New York Times, Lubovitch has created over 100 works for his N.Y. based company, which has been called a “national treasure” by Variety magazine. ...more...

Dance, acrobatics, and theater form the backbone of this innovative all-female company from Brooklyn who push their physical limits as they consistently search for greater athletic expression. LAVA was founded in 2000 by Artistic Director Sarah East Johnson; the name refers to that substance’s dynamic and powerful effect on the earth. As both a destructive and generative force, Johnson explains that in the same way that it represents two opposing …more…

The Trocks, an all-male company, have been performing both the male and female roles in a bevy of classical ballet and modern dance favorites since their founding in 1974. Complete with Russian names, the Trocks stay faithful to the style and sensibility of each piece even as they affectionately exaggerate the exigencies of the art.

Whether they are sylphs, swans, water sprites, or princesses, the Trocks do justice to dancing en …more…

Born in Mexico, Jose Limon moved to the U.S. in his youth, where he studied dance and developed his gifts as both a performer and a choreographer. He founded his company in 1946 with his mentor, the great Doris Humphrey, whom he made Artistic Director. Using principles derived from everyday life, Limon created a corporal language based on natural movement, gravity, and the use of breath, imbuing his choreography with an intelligence and grace that has made every piece a classic. ...more...