7 Shows Worth Catching Before Summer Comes to a Close
Eclectic festivals, outdoor offerings, a Broadway transfer, a rare London tour—and more than a handful of brand-new works pulling from an intriguing array of source material. Here’s what we’re looking forward to as summer winds to an end.
Sparkling at 60
LONDON The Australian Ballet embarks on its first international tour since before the pandemic, bringing George Balanchine’s Jewels to the Royal Opera House Aug. 2–5. The company’s return to the venue after a 35-year absence is part of its 60th-anniversary celebrations, and will close with a one-night anniversary gala on Aug. 6 featuring works from choreographers ranging from Rudolf Nureyev and Yuri Possokhov to Pam Tanowitz and Alice Topp. australianballet.com.au.
A School Dance, a DeLorean, and Doc Brown
NEW YORK CITY After winning the Olivier Award for Best New Musical, Back to the Future flies from the West End to Broadway. The adaptation of the 1985 film follows the adventures of Marty McFly (Broadway’s Almost Famous breakout star Casey Likes) as he accidentally goes back to 1955 in a DeLorean that can travel through time and the hijinks that ensue as he tries to save the inventor, Doc Brown (Tony winner Roger Bart), make sure his parents fall in love, and return to the future. On the Town director John Rando is at the helm, with choreography by Chris Bailey. Opening night is slated for Aug. 3. backtothefuturemusical.com.
Fresh Air
NEW YORK CITY Battery Dance Festival presents more than two dozen artists and companies in live and livestreamed performances at Rockefeller Park. Among the offerings during this year’s iteration of New York City’s longest-running free public dance festival are the premieres of Jerron Herman’s Lax, billed as “a punk concert in a sleep store”; Trainor Dance Inc.’s Under Pressure, set to a remix of Freddie Mercury and David Bowie’s a capella version of the titular song; and a new solo from Curaçao’s Reuel Rogers, Power. U.S. and local debuts abound, while a special Turn of the Century Dance Pioneers evening features works by Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shawn as well as Lori Bellilove’s Duncan-inspired Tribute to Ukraine and Jody Sperling’s climate-engaged, Loïe Fuller–styled solo, American Elm. Aug. 12–18. batterydance.org.
Beach Birds in Their Natural Habitat
NEW YORK CITY What if Merce Cunningham’s 1991 Beach Birds were performed on an actual beach? Patricia Lent and Rashaun Mitchell stage the naturalistic work, one of Cunningham’s early experiments with LifeForms software as a choreographic tool, for this year’s iteration of Beach Sessions Dance Series, which returns to Rockaway Beach for a day of free performances on Aug. 26. In addition, choreographer Sarah Michelson, who began making dances in New York City in the early ‘90s, will premiere a choreographic response to the work, contemplating her personal connection to Beach Birds, Cunningham, and his legacy. beachsessionsdanceseries.com.
Living Water
HUDSON, NY Dancemakers Jodi Melnick and Maya Lee-Parritz join forces in Água Viva, a duet inspired by the novel of the same name by Ukrainian-born Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector. Published in English translation under the title The Stream of Life, the novel has an unconventional structure, a fluid, directionless monologue that eschews plot and named characters. Melnick and Lee-Parritz expand upon its musings on virtuosity, sexuality, and the spectacular in their new work, premiering Aug. 26–27 at Hudson Hall. hudsonhall.org.
Late Summer Gatherings in San Francisco
ODC Theater plays host to two festivals this month.
State of Play
Guest curated by Maurya Kerr and Leyya Mona Tawil, ODC’s signature summer festival returns with, in the curators’ words, “dance that sits and stares back at you.” International collective Tableau Stations premieres the evening-length Home Waves, about affordable housing and featuring residents of the local Mercy Housing development alongside creators Isak Immanuel, Marina Fukushima, and Surjit Nongmeikapam. Ajani Brannum’s the wasp project, a solo inspired by an African American folktale, also premieres. Kensaku Shinohara, Marissa Brown/Lone King Projects, and Yanira Castro/a canary torsi present evening-lengths; Baye & Asa, DANDY (David Rue and Randy Ford), and Jerron Herman shorter works; and Audrey Johnson, gizeh muñiz vengel, and pateldanceworks offer works in progress. Aug. 3–13. odc.dance.
FACT/SF Summer Dance Festival
Eight premieres are promised over the two weekends of this festival, kicking off with FACT/SF and Shaun Keylock Company sharing a double bill, Aug. 18–20, part of the former’s Peer Organized Reciprocal Touring program. Local choreographers Emily Hansel and Mia J. Chong, Brianna Torres, and Héctor Jaime join the mix alongside visiting dancemakers Alfonso Cervera and Taylor Donofrio for the second weekend of performances, Aug. 25–27. factsf.org.