“Pastoral” at Bard SummerScape
July 27-29
As part of the Bard SummerScape festival, Bard College welcomes the world premiere of Fisher Center LAB Choreographer in Residence Pam Tanowitz’s “Pastoral.” Created in partnership with composer Caroline Shaw and Brooklyn-based painter and visual artist Sarah Crowner, “Pastoral” uses Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F Major as a literal jumping-off point, seeing the dancers, original music, and visuals riffing on and expanding upon Beethoven’s bucolic theme to create a new work said to “evoke pastoral landscapes in magnificent jewel colors.”
“The Woods” at New York Stage and Film
July 26-27
Along with the other prime presentations during New York Stage and Film’s summer itinerary at Marist College is Brooklyn composer Ellis Ludwig-Leone’s “The Woods” (July 26-27). An immersive concert experience that includes a live score by musicians from Ludwig-Leone’s indie rock collective San Fermin and dancers of the production company BalletCollective (led by choreographer and director Troy Schumacher), “The Woods” features sets by the Emmy Award-winning designer Jason Ardizzone-West (“Redwood”). Ludwig-Leone and Schumacher are long-time creative partners, working on 2013’s revered ballet “The Impulse Wants Company” and the likewise lauded 2023 musical “The Night Falls.”
Music from the Sole at Caramoor
July 17
Appearing at Caramoor in Katonah is New York dance company Music from the Sole, which is led by Brazilian tap dancer and choreographer Leonardo Sandoval and composer and bassist Gregory Richardson. Here, the company will perform “I Didn’t Come to Stay,” a work commissioned for the Guggenheim in 2020 that brings together Afro-Brazilian, jazz, soul, house, rock, and Afro-Cuban music by a live band as it explores the universal and timely themes of immigration and family. The performance will take place at Caramoor’s outdoor covered Venetian Theater, which features lower-priced lawn seating.
Kaatsbaan Annual Festival
August 30-September 27
Kaatsbaan Cultural Park’s 2025 Annual Festival runs from Labor Day weekend through the month of September and includes performances and exhibitions by artists innovating in such fields as music, film, archiving, storytelling, and dance. Events in the latter medium include a new work in the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company’s “Curriculum” series (August 30-31), Nichole Canuso and Branching Paths’ “Lunar Retreat” (September 6-7), Ayodele Casel’s “Freedom… In Progress” and new works (September 19-20), and Kayla Farrish’s “Docile” and “A Beast That Came Apart Mid-Air” (September 20-21).
RAWdance Concept Series
June 27-28
Since 2019, the San Francisco-born RAWdance company has been staging its summer Concept salon series at the Kingston Stockade’s historic brick Senate Garage building. Concept corrals curated choreographers to share new works in an intimate, living room-like setting complete with popcorn and other refreshments for those in attendance. Emceed by RAWdance’s artistic codirectors, Wendy Rein and Ryan T. Smith, the June symposium has pieces by Adam Weinert, InkBoat, Carlye Eckert, Ouro and Boros Dance, and Meg Fry/De Facto Dance. “RAWdance champions the power of movement as an indispensable source of connection and a visceral medium to illuminate the issues of our time,” say the organizers.
PS21 Dance Performances
July 11-August 9
Within its larger, multi-disciplinary lineup, the ongoing summer-season attractions at the outdoor PS21 contemporary performance center in Chatham are a trio of recommended dance events. They include the BlackBox Ensemble dance troupe with choreographer Kyle Marshall’s 1974 “Femenine,” which is set to composer Julius Eastman’s work of the same name (July 11-12); the Obie Award-winning “CATCH,” organized by Andrew Dinwiddie, Caleb Hammons, Jeff Larson, and Matt Romein (July 26); and the Paul Taylor Dance Company for a three-night stand that includes “Cascade,” “3 Eps,” “Tablet,” and “Vespers” (August 7-9).
Jacob’s Pillow
June 25-August 24
One of the certified birthplaces of American modern dance, Jacob’s Pillow was established in 1931 by pioneering choreographer Ted Shawn. For summer 2025, its international roster will host more than 40 companies across its nine weeks of festival. The rebuilt Doris Duke Theatre, said to be the dance world’s most technologically advanced venue, will open during the festival’s third week. Highlights include the final on-site performances of the Steven Petronio Company after a 40-year run (July 23-27); “Here” by interactive electronics artist Andrew Schneider (July 16-20); “The Answer is Land” by Norway’s Elle Sofe Company (July 23-27); and “Touch of Red” by Shamel Pitts’s Tribe company (August 6-10).
This article appears in June 2025.
