See five of NYC’s most iconic dance companies—Ballet Hispánico, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem—together on one stage as the BAAND Together Dance Festival returns to Damrosch Park for five midsummer nights!

PROGRAM FOR ALL FIVE NIGHTS

Ballet Hispánico – Línea Recta by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Creative and Casting Information
From one of today’s most sought-after choreographers comes a powerful and resonant work exploring an intriguing flamenco dance aspect: the conspicuous absence of physical partnering. While maintaining the integrity and hallmark passion of the genre, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa imagines an original and explosive movement language premised upon the theme of partnership and performed to flamenco guitar by Eric Vaarzon Morel. Línea Recta was commissioned in part by The Apollo Theater and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.

American Ballet Theatre – Other Dances by Jerome Robbins
Creative and Casting Information
Other Dances was created by Jerome Robbins specifically to showcase the legendary technique and artistry of Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov, who premiered the pas de deux in 1976, and it has since been performed by leading dancers in other major companies. Set to a waltz and four mazurkas by Frédéric Chopin, Other Dances features a series of Polish folk-inspired choreography that pays homage to Chopin’s romanticism and the purity of classical ballet technique.

Dance Theatre of Harlem – Nyman String Quartet No. 2 by Robert Garland
Creative and Casting Information
Set to Michael Nyman’s String Quartet No. 2, Robert Garland continues his signature exploration of the intersection of cultures that is contemporary America. Complex and witty, this sophisticated work shows off the unique capacity of the company’s artists to code-switch with abandon.

World Premiere of Pas de O'Farrill by Pedro Ruiz, a collaboration between Ballet Hispánico & New York City Ballet, commissioned by Lincoln Center
Creative and Casting Information
In tribute to the music of Latin Jazz sensation Arturo O'Farrill, Pedro Ruiz takes on the classical ballet form and fuses it with the movement and essences of the Afro-Cuban diasporic legacy. The duet seeks to immerse the classical technique with the Latinx voice and expand the idea of what ballet is and can be.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Dancing Spirit by Ronald K. Brown (7/25, 7/26, 7/29)
Creative and Casting Information
Ronald K. Brown pays tribute to Judith Jamison’s profound influence with a new work that echoes the title of Jamison’s autobiography. Set to music by Duke Ellington, Wynton Marsalis and War, Brown’s evocative choreography uses movement from Cuba, Brazil and the United States to conjure dancing spirits who embody Jamison’s elegance, vision, dignity and generosity.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – For Four and Takademe Robert Battle (7/28)
Creative and Casting Information
Take four amazing Ailey dancers and add in Wynton Marsalis’ delicious jazz score – written in 4/4 time – and you’ll understand why Robert Battle cheekily titled this exuberant short work For Four. Originally created as the opening video segment for the 2021 Ailey Spring Gala virtual broadcast, Battle used the pent-up energy of a world that had largely been cooped up for the prior 15 months during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Battle’s bravura work Takademe, the choreographer mixes humor and high-flying movement in a savvy deconstruction of Indian Kathak dance rhythms. Clear shapes and propulsive jumps mimic the vocalized syllables of Sheila Chandra's syncopated score.

New York City Ballet – The Times Are Racing by Justin Peck
Creative and Casting Information
Justin Peck's The Times Are Racing is a sneaker ballet that sees its dancers in streetwear, drawing inspiration from a variety of dance styles while matching Dan Deacon’s electronic score with youthful impulse and vigor. The work is set to the last four tracks of Deacon’s expansive 2012 album, America, marking Peck's second collaboration with fashion designer Humberto Leon of Opening Ceremony, and has lighting design by Peck’s frequent collaborator Brandon Stirling Baker.

If you have any questions about this event, please contact Guest Experience at 212-875-5456 or [email protected].