After more than eighteen months of shutdowns caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, venues around the country are slowly beginning to reopen or adapt by building outdoor performance spaces with limited seating. To celebrate this reemergence, five applauded New York City based dance companies are joining forces for the inaugural BAAND Together Dance Festival as part of Restart Stages at Lincoln Center. August 17-21, 2021, at 7:30 PM (EDT) Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Hispánico, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and New York City Ballet will share the same stage in Damrosch Park on a newly constructed outdoor performing arts center constructed to champion the city’s cultural and economic revival. This new performance stage is located on the Lincoln Center campus and the BAAND Together Dance Festival is made possible by CHANEL and is a project of the Arnhold Dance Innovation Fund.
Each of the five performances will include a different mixed bill curated collaboratively by the artistic directors of each of the organizations. A joint statement was released by Artistic Director Robert Battle (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater), Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie (American Ballet Theatre), Artistic Director & CEO Eduardo Vilaro (Ballet Hispánico), Artistic Director Virginia Johnson (Dance Theatre of Harlem), and Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford, Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan (New York City Ballet). It reads:
“Through the challenges of this past year, we made a commitment to meet weekly to function as a structure and a support for one another, our companies, and our community. This festival is a direct result of hours and hours of conversations, over months that informed our decision-making processes, individually and collectively, permitted our continued growth during the difficult times, and deepened our commitment to our field and our city. This festival is a celebration of the glory of our art and the power of unity.”
Restart Stages is a program of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation-Lincoln Center Agora Initiative with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). SNF is an organization that activates outdoor space “through artistic and community initiatives that speak to our current moment and reimagines cultural engagement in public space for a new era.”
American Ballet Theatre – Hee Seo and Cory Stearns – Photo by Patrick Fraser
Performance Schedule (subject to change):
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Lazarus by Rennie Harris (excerpt)
New York City Ballet – Ces noms que nous portons by Kyle Abraham
Dance Theatre of Harlem – Harlem on My Mind by Darrell Grand Moultrie (excerpt)
American Ballet Theatre – Let Me Sing Forevermore by Jessica Lang
Ballet Hispánico – 18+1 by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Photo by Andrew Eccles
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
New York City Ballet – In Creases by Justin Peck
Dance Theatre of Harlem – New Bach by Robert Garland
American Ballet Theatre – Songs of Bukovina by Alexei Ratmansky (excerpts)
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Revelations by Alvin Ailey (excerpt)
Thursday, August 19, 2021
Dance Theatre of Harlem – New Bach by Robert Garland
Ballet Hispánico – Línea Recta by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
American Ballet Theatre – Songs of Bukovina by Alexei Ratmansky (excerpts)
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Revelations by Alvin Ailey (excerpt)
Ballet Hispánico in Anabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Tiburones” – Photo by Paula Lobo
Friday, August 20, 2021
Ballet Hispánico – Tiburones by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
New York City Ballet – In the Night by Jerome Robbins
Dance Theatre of Harlem – Change by Dianne McIntyre
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Lazarus by Rennie Harris (excerpt)
Saturday, August 21, 2021
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Lazarus by Rennie Harris (excerpt)
New York City Ballet – Ces noms que nous portons by Kyle Abraham
Dance Theatre of Harlem – Harlem on My Mind by Darrell Grand Moultrie (excerpt)
American Ballet Theatre – Let Me Sing Forevermore by Jessica Lang
Ballet Hispánico – 18+1 by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano
Dance Theatre of Harlem – Christopher Charles McDaniel and Crystal Serrano in “Harlem On My Mind” by Darrell Grand Moultrie – Photo by Rachel Neville
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WHAT: BAAND Together Dance Festival as part of Restart Stages at Lincoln Center.
WHO: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Hispánico, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and New York City Ballet sharing the same stage.
WHEN: Tuesday – Saturday, August 17-21, 2021, at 7:30pm EDT.
WHERE: Damrosch Park on the Lincoln Center campus.
TICKETS: Free assigned seats for each evening will be made available through the TodayTix Lottery, the Official Ticketing Partner of Restart Stages. The TodayTix Lottery will open for entries two weeks before the performance and close three days prior to the performance at 12:59 p.m. EDT. For more information visit TodayTix.com or download the TodayTix app. For those without access to the app, please call Lincoln Center Guest Services at 212-875-5456 to reserve.*
This performance will also be open to general admission. Beginning 10 minutes before the show, non-ticketed guests will be invited to claim any available seats.
* No purchase is necessary to enter the TodayTix Lottery and reserve free tickets for these August performances. The prize value of tickets is $0. The odds of winning tickets depend on the number of eligible entries received. The TodayTix Lottery is open to residents of the 50 United States and D.C., age 18 or over. Complete official rules, prize description, and giveaway entry information will be available on the TodayTix website at TodayTix.com.
For more information about BAAND Together Dance Festival, click HERE.
For more information please visit the Lincoln Center website HERE. Follow Lincoln Center on Facebook, Twitter @LincolnCenter, and Instagram @LincolnCenter.
Written and compiled by Jeff Slayton from press release by Michelle Tabnick Public Relations.
Featured image: Ballet Hispánico’s Shelby Colona, Dandara Veiga, and Lenai Wilkerson in Gustavo Ramírez Sansano’s 18+1 – Photo by Christopher Duggan
