The Dance Performances That Have Gone Online

March 15, 2020

As COVID-19 shut down schools and businesses across the world, just about every upcoming dance performance was canceled. Dancers who spent weeks (and sometimes months or years) rehearsing were suddenly unable share their work with live audiences.


But our field is nothing if not creative. Many have quickly adapted and found ways to put their work online instead. Some companies are offering one-time livestreams, while others are putting up videos created over Zoom or posting rehearsal clips that were captured before we all started social distancing.

It’s an inspiring show of how resilient our field is—and it gives us an opportunity to experience the beauty of dance right when many of us need it most.

Dance Magazine
asked dancers and companies to send us links to anything that’s gone virtual due to canceled performances. We heard from people around the world, from major companies to independent makers, and collected the clips and livestreams here.

Update: Although we are no longer adding new online dance content to this page, you can check out our
Friday Film Break
series to see the latest dance films we’re loving most.

Watch: CandyBomber Commissions

Multidisciplinary artist Kate Duhamel, who directs CandyBomber in San Francisco, offered the artists she’s worked with on her two latest projects $500 each to create new short works from home. They could use one of two prompts: “Inspired by the real CandyBomber story,” or “My imagination flying the coop – #flythecoopthroughcreativity.” The resulting 13 projects are being released one at a time every week.

Watch: Gibney Company

Gibney Company is currently sharing Micaela Taylor‘s 2019 EYESOW. Taylor was the inaugural recipient of the Gibney Company/Springboard EMERGE Choreographic Award, which aims to help young artists develop into creative leaders.

Watch: Reggie ‘Regg Roc’ Gray and the D.R.E.A.M. Ring dancers

Manhattan’s newest dance venue, The Shed, invited Reggie ‘Regg Roc’ Gray and the D.R.E.A.M. Ring dancers to record a virtual performance called Revelation of Proverbs. Inspired by the desire to rediscover self in this moment of isolation and confinement, the dancers filmed themselves in their homes performing their own styles of Flexn to a mix of original music.

Watch: Whim W’Him

For its new all-digital membership program, IN-with-WHIM, Seattle’s Whim W’Him is offering a season of original dance films, including:

Memberships ($10/month) go on sale the first week of June.

Watch: Birmingham Royal Ballet

After the success of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Alone | Together, released on International Dance Day, the same creative team collaborated on a second short film, Or Else We Are Lost. It features company dancers Céline Gittens and Max Maslen expressing the frustration of confinement and the need to dance.

Watch: Qacung Yufrican and dancers across Alaska

Qacung Yufrican (aka Stephen Blanchett) recently sent out the song, “Tarvarnauramken (The Blessing)” to dancers across Alaska who recorded themselves dancing to it. Yufrican is the dancer in red.

Watch: ACE Dance Concept

In light of the pandemic, ACE Dance Concept has launched a new digital platform called ACE Space. On offer are original short films, footage from immersive events and a host of extras.

Stream: Argentine Tango

Andres Bravo and Sarita Apel
, Argentine Tango USA Champions 2019, have started a monthly, donation-based online tango performance called “3 Esquinas Online Tango Show” on Zoom.

Watch: Royal Winnipeg Ballet

To show their appreciation for the incredible outpouring of community support, the dancers of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet recreated Mark Godden’s Angels in the Architecture.

Watch: En Caja

En Caja is a dance film directed and edited by Enrique Villacreses & Kyla Thomas, both graduates from New World School of the Arts College Dance Division.

Watch: National Dance Institute

To kick off the National Dance Institute’s virtual gala on May 12, more than 50 NDI students performed from their homes to recreate the classic NDI choreography to “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

Watch: A&A Ballet

Three dancers from A&A Ballet in Chicago—Trinity Santoro, Grace Curry, and Megan Wefel—performed a love letter to their city on the streets just outside Grant Park, in this short film directed by Ken Goldstein.

Watch: University of California, Santa Barbara

Seven senior dance majors from the University of California, Santa Barbara improvised while social distancing, and professor Monique Meunier compiled their work together.

Watch: Chevalier Ballet

New York’s Chevalier Ballet was meant to perform in the UK in April, dancing to music of the Beatles performed live by tribute band Across the Pond and String Quartet Taconic Music. Although the company hopes to return next April, for now, it’s shared footage on YouTube.

Watch: MICHIYAYA Dance

MICHIYAYA Dance, a femme-centric contemporary dance theater company in New York City, is offering its work /wē/ for streaming. Co-artistic director Mitsuko Verdery describes the work as “a collective study on gender identity through a femme lens that rids the binary, embraces the inner self and builds without walls.”

Watch: RAWdance

Through its new initiative #RAWdanceGoesDigital, RAWdance is sharing short dances, wellness exercises, excerpts from past performances and fully-produced dance films.

Watch: Juilliard

Although the rest of the semester has gone online, the Juilliard community is keeping busy. The school’s president Damian Woetzel dreamed up “Bolero Juilliard,” featuring dance, drama and music students and some high-profile alumni. The project was directed and choreographed by Larry Keigwin, with assistance from his longtime collaborator Nicole Wolcott.

Watch: New York Kathak Festival

The New York Kathak Festival had to cancel its flagship event in April. Instead, they brought together 12 artists from the U.S., Canada, Singapore, Trinidad & Tobago and the United Kingdom for an online livestream.

Watch: Wonderbound

Denver-based contemporary ballet company Wonderbound has created two libraries of videos: Project Wonder, a series of short dance films, and Dance Along!, a collection of instructional dance lessons. Both are updated weekly, and the videos are also shared on Wonderbound’s Vimeo page. Altogether, the company has uploaded 96 videos since they began socially isolating, and plans to continue adding more.

Watch: Robert Moses’ Kin

After its March performances were canceled, Robert Moses’ Kin teamed up with the San Francisco Unified School District to help students and families in need. Anyone who donates to the company’s For Our Students, For Our Schools initiative—which raises money to deploy the technology required for remote learning and to provide meals—receives a password to watch an original RMK dance film.

Stream: Dance Place

Washington, DC’s Dance Place has launched a Virtual Presenting Series, streamed live on its website and Facebook. Companies that were meant to be presented by the venue during this time will screen pre-recorded footage and take part in live Q&As with Dance Place executive artistic director Christopher Morgan.

Watch: Dutch National Ballet

The Dutch National Ballet launched a new online platform that streams both classes and performances like Alexei Ratmansky’s Don Quixote.

Stream: Martha Graham Dance Company

The Martha Graham Dance Company is screening a selection from its digital archives every Wednesday and Saturday at 2:30 pm Eastern. Check out the company’s YouTube channel to watch the rare footage—including some of Graham herself.

Stream: New York Live Arts

New York Live Arts is releasing three full-length productions from its video archives every week. Videos will be available only until the next three are released. Those who are able can donate here.

Watch: MN Dance Company

MN Dance Company from Slovenia put its latest work on YouTube since all upcoming performances in Ljubljana, the Netherlands and Hungary were canceled or postponed due to COVID-19.

Watch: Sarasota Ballet

Sarasota Ballet had to cancel the rest of its season—they should have been performing Sir Frederick Ashton’s Romeo & Juliet next weekend, and a triple bill with Jerome Robbin’s In the Night, Ashton’s Dante Sonata and David Bintley’s The Spider’s Feast at the end of April. Thankfully, the dancers will still be paid their full salaries until the end of their contracts. The company shared this video of extended clips.

Watch: Abron Arts Center performances

Abron Arts Center in New York City is temporarily closed. So they’ve made all their documented performances public on their Vimeo page. Watch full works from top experimental artists like NIC Kay, Juliana F. May and Jonathan Gonzalez.

Watch: Stuttgart Ballet

Almost the entire Stuttgart Ballet went into quarantine on March 14, when, after a tour to the German city of Friedrichshafen, five dancers and a staff member came down with COVID-19. (Fortunately, everyone is recovered or on their way to recovery.) Until the dancers can perform again, Stuttgart Ballet has launched Stuttgart Ballet@Home, a virtual video-on-demand program offering recordings of full ballets. You can watch on the company’s website or YouTube.

Watch: Hoyoung Im rehearsing his Waldeinsamkeit

Here is work-in-progress choreography of Waldeinsamkeit, which was supposed to be presented in Berlin on March 29. Music and choreography are both by artist Hoyoung Im.

Stream: Sadler’s Wells

While its doors are closed, London venue Sadler’s Wells is releasing a full-length dance performance on its Facebook page every week.

Watch: Bret Easterling’s BRECHT 

Bret Easterling’s evening-length solo BRECHT was scheduled for March 13–15 at L.A. Dance Project. When the run was canceled on March 12, LADP decided to stream an excerpt live on Facebook and Periscope.

Watch: Carolina Ballet

Carolina Ballet will be uploading past works to its website every Tuesday and Friday.

Watch & Stream: Teddy Tedholm’s 95 POEMS Summer and Fall 

This is the last rehearsal of the second half of 95 POEMS Summer and Fall by Teddy Tedholm. In addition to sharing this clip, Tedholm has also put together livestreams of artists performing in their bedrooms.

Watch: Diana Schuemann’s Inside Out

This film, choreographed by Diana Schuemann, with video and design by mixed media artist Jessica Moritz, was supposed to be screened at several film festivals this spring, starting with one in Rio de Janeiro.

Watch & Stream: Arch Ballet

Arch Ballet was scheduled to dance a new rendition of choreographer Sheena Annalise’s Surreal in a sold-out shared program at New York Live Arts on Saturday, March 14, benefitting the American Suicide Prevention Foundation. It was canceled on Friday, March 13. Instead, the company posted rehearsal footage, and shared a virtual season on Instagram Live.

Watch: Boston Ballet

Boston Ballet’s Carmen program was canceled hours before the curtain was set to rise on opening night. The company has posted a playlist of extended clips of the ballets that they were supposed to perform: Helen Pickett’s Tsukiyo and Petal, Jorma Elo’s Carmen and George Balanchine’s Serenade.

Watch: The Giving Tree


This is the first rehearsal for Nijawwon Matthews’ choreography for The Giving Tree series, danced by Jourdan Epstein and Terk Waters. One hundred percent of proceeds from the canceled run was supposed to go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Anyone who would like to donate to St. Jude’s can do so here.

Watch: Hamburg Ballet

This trailer shows clips of Saint Matthew Passion by John Neumeier. Performances were scheduled for April 9 and 10 at the Hamburg State Opera. Hamburg Ballet was also forced to cancel a program of two Balanchine ballets April 17–24, and the Beethoven Project by Neumeier on April 30.

Watch: Pennsylvania Ballet rehearsing Jacob Taylor’s debut for Shut Up And Dance

Pennsylvania Ballet’s Shut Up & Dance benefit was scheduled for March 28. Choreographer Jacob Taylor shared two clips from an early rehearsal.

Watch: Mount Holyoke College’s Capstone Concert

The seniors in Mount Holyoke’s dance department scrambled to put their thesis projects onstage in 20 hours when they found out the school was closing on March 10.

Watch: Kit Modus in Night Air

Atlanta’s Kit Modus pieced together clips of rehearsal for Instagram after its performance of Night Air was canceled.

Watch: PGK Dance

PGK Dance’s Holding Tight program has been rescheduled to the fall. In the meantime, they created a 30-minute video available on demand for anyone willing to donate $5, or any ticket holders who donated their tickets back to the company. The video features footage of the final rehearsal, interviews and fun commentary from the artists and a photo gallery. Anyone who donates will also receive a PGK sticker. And those who donate $25 or more also receive a PGK shirt.

Watch: The New York Studio of Irish Step Dance

The New York Studio of Irish Step Dance had multiple shows canceled this spring. So they compiled a video of clips and photos from rehearsals and past performances.

Watch: Sonia Plumb Dance Company in The Dance of da Vinci 2.0

Sonya Plumb Dance Company’s Dance of da Vinci 2.0 was scheduled for March 20-22. The 75-minute work by choreographer Sonya Plumb, with projections by Bryan Swormstedt and original music by Michael Wall (SoundFORMovement) will eventually be filmed in its entirety and shared on YouTube. For now, the company posted an excerpt called Vitruvian Man/Woman with dancers Myles Langston and Marlayna Locklear.

Watch: Oklahoma City Ballet

Oklahoma City Ballet’s Future Voices: A Choreographic Showcase was set to take place March 12-15. Only the opening night happened, but the company captured video to share. Here is Amanda Herd-Popejoy’s State of Being. The company also shared Sam Jones’These Three Remain (Excerpt) on Facebook.

Watch: Aaron Smith’s For the Sake of

Aaron Smith, a junior dance major at Florida State University, had choreographed his largest ensemble work to date for ACDA southeast and FSU’s annual Days of Dance. It will no longer be performed, but he recorded an earlier showing for professors.

Watch: Francisco Graciano’s Two

Former Paul Taylor dancer Francisco Graciano, currently an MFA student at Florida State University, created Two on dancers Elizabeth Zuccaro and Jeremy Guyton. It was supposed to make its premiere on FSU’s Days of Dance Concert on April 24, but the school has been closed.

Watch: Marisa Fernandez’s Unleash

Marisa Fernandez, a senior BFA candidate at Florida State University, was preparing to perform her solo Unleash at the ACDA southeast conference on March 18. Due to the event’s sudden cancellation, she did not get the chance to.

Watch: Aigars Larionovs’ XY21

Aigars Larionovs was meant to perform his solo work XY21 at the A.I.R. Dance Conference in Miami. The piece features original musical by Logan Castro. Larionovs recorded the full work earlier this year at the Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theater in Tallahassee, FL, and has shared it on YouTube.

Watch: Triple Threat Performing Arts Company

Students in the Triple Threat Performing Arts Company in Brooklyn had planned to perform co-director Kim Senisi’s The Giving Tree at the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater in April, before it got canceled. Fortunately, they’d had an earlier chance to dance the piece and shared footage on YouTube.

Watch: Legacy Entertainment Group

Legacy Entertainment Group had four fly-on cruise ship shows canceled, in addition to a week-long tour and a July festival. So they sent their performers a challenge, and compiled the results for a Facebook video.

Watch: «Heiße Liebe» – despite isolation

This film, directed by Naemi Latzer and choreographed by Lisa Magnan, was meant to be screened in public, but due to COVID-19, it was only released online.

Watch: Die Wolke Art Group

Die Wolke Art Group, a non-profit for the performing arts and technology based in Thessaloniki, Greece, has put three full-length contemporary dance works and two short dance films online. Two are interactive pieces that use sensors on the dancers’ bodies to affect the music and visuals. All are available on Vimeo on Demand, and Die Wolke mailing list subscribers will receive access to coupons to watch for free.

Watch: Red Clay Dance Company

Chicago’s Red Clay Dance Company was scheduled to premiere three works on April 3 and 4, and host their after-show fundraiser Paint the Town Red. Instead, the company has launched an online video series on Facebook and Instagram, which includes footage from rehearsals and previous performances, as well as a short film. The fundraiser took place on Instagram Live.

Watch: Deeply Rooted Dance Theater

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater co-founder Kevin Iega Jeff’s Goshen was meant to premiere at Chicago’s Broadway Playhouse May 22-31. The project would bring together the dancers and choreographers of DRDT with Grammy-winning gospel artist Donald Lawrence, The Tri-City Singers, rapper Sir The Baptist and poet J. Ivy for an examination of race and equity through the lens of biblical narrative. It’s now postponed, but in the meantime DRDT has shared the trailer.

Watch: Marlyn Attie’s CRUSH

Panamanian dancer and choreographer Marlyn Attie was scheduled to present her work CRUSH at a national arts and entrepreneurship festival called TRAMA. Instead, she’s shared a video of Teatro Nacional de Panamá performing the work.