Dance
Upcoming Events
Preview Premiere and Reception: Gamelan Dharma Swara
Gamelan Dharma Swara is proud to present at Chautauqua the Preview World Premiere of a new Dharma Swara commission, co-created by Artist-in-Residence Gusti Komin and longtime dance teacher and choreographer Shoko Yamamuro. The traditional welcome piece to open a performance or event is reimagined. Works of this genre — typically in the female style — often focus on notions of reception and invitation alongside purification and blessing; however, this exploratory work will also consider the group’s identity as New Yorkers performing Balinese arts via the lens of expatriate artists.
Following the preview premiere, mingle with fellow attendees and performers at the Strohl Art Center for a reception. Enjoy an assortment of hearty hors d’oeuvres; refreshments will be available for purchase.
About Gamelan Dharma Swara
Gamelan Dharma Swara — “a duty of perpetuating sound” — is one of the United States’ leading Balinese music and dance ensembles. From their beginnings at the Indonesian Consulate of New York to the present day, they have been captivating audiences with raucous performances for over 33 years and counting. The group performs a spellbinding blend of iconic traditional pieces paired with bold, contemporary compositions, spanning some 500 years. It has been called “thrilling, mesmerizing and powerful” (New York Times) and “sublime, receiving perhaps the weekend’s most rapturous response” (The New Yorker).
Preview Performance of SOMEWHERE by YY Dance Company
Join us for an exclusive preview performance by YYDC, offering a sneak peek of SOMEWHERE, an evening-length dance piece that marks the second part of Yue Yin’s planned trilogy. The trilogy commenced with NOWHERE, which was previewed at Chautauqua and performed at Chelsea Factory in NYC in 2023. This upcoming work highlights Yue’s unique dance vocabulary and FOCO technique, which focuses on generating, guiding, and transforming energy within bodies and space. Witness SOMEWHERE as a work in progress at Chautauqua!
Following the preview performance, join YYDC at the Athenaeum Hotel for a four-course dinner and conversation with Artistic Director and Choreographer Yue Yin. You may purchase a single ticket to the preview or a ticket for the dinner and the preview performance.
Based in NYC, YYDC is a contemporary dance company dedicated to the teaching, production and performance of original choreographic works by founder and artistic director, Yue Yin. Over the past decade, Yin has refined and expanded an original movement vocabulary – FOCO Technique™ – a fusion inspired by the Chinese folk and contemporary dance movement. The company has presented works at dance festivals such as SummerStage, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival Inside Out and New York International Fringe Festival, and at venues such as Hanover International Choreographic competition, BAM Fisher, Joyce SoHo Theater, Peridance Theater, Lincoln Center Rosh Hall, New York Live Arts and many others. Yue Yin is an internationally recognized performer, choreographer and the founder and artistic director. She studied at the prestigious Shanghai Dance Academy and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where she received her MFA in 2008.Yue Yin was the recipient of the 2021 Harkness Promise Award. This prestigious award recognizes her innovation in choreography and education. She was the winner of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago 2015 International Commissioning Project, winner of the 2015 BalletX Choreographic Fellowship, and winner of Northwest Dance Project’s 5th Annual Pretty Creatives International Choreographic Competition in 2013. Through these high-profile successes, Yin has received commissions from all three widely-recognized companies as well as other companies and organizations namely Gibney Company, Martha Graham Dance Company, Boston Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet, Limon Dance Company, Alberta Ballet, Balletto Teatro di Torino, Juilliard School for Dance and more.
*Inclement Weather Location: Carnahan-Jackson Dance Studios
Pre-Concert Lecture with Chautauqua Dance Circle
All-Star Dance Gala
Curated by Sasha Janes, Artistic Director for Chautauqua School of Dance, the annual All-Star Dance Gala serves as a celebration of the exceptional talent consistently produced by the Chautauqua School of Dance. Artists from top-tier national companies join forces for an exciting mixed repertoire evening of contemporary and classical dance. In addition to the performance, alumni host discussion panels and serve as School of Dance guest faculty, graciously sharing their knowledge with the next generation of All-Stars. Come celebrate the extraordinary talent that Chautauqua has nurtured from school to stage.
Pre-Concert Lecture with Chautauqua Dance Circle
Paul Taylor Dance Company
One of the most iconic and dynamic modern dance ensembles of our time, the Paul Taylor Dance Company has been innovating and transforming the artform of modern dance since 1954. With a history of multidisciplinary collaborations, passionate expression and thrilling athleticism, the Company is known worldwide for its vast repertory, performing work from the Founder’s canon; new works created by some of today’s most engaging and established choreographers; and important historical dance from the 20th and 21st centuries. Dedicated to sharing modern dance with the broadest possible audience, the Company tours annually, both domestically and internationally, with performances and a variety of educational programs and engagement offerings. The Company returns to Chautauqua in two separate programs at the Amphitheater.
July 13 @ 8:15 pm Week Four (July 13–20)
Paul Taylor Dance Company with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
Amphitheater
Paul Taylor Dance Company with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
Rossen Milanov, conductor
One of the most iconic and dynamic modern dance ensembles of our time, the Paul Taylor Dance Company has been innovating and transforming the artform of modern dance since 1954. With a history of multidisciplinary collaborations, passionate expression and thrilling athleticism, the Company is known worldwide for its vast repertory, performing work from the Founder’s canon; new works created by some of today’s most engaging and established choreographers; and important historical dance from the 20th and 21st centuries. Dedicated to sharing modern dance with the broadest possible audience, the Company tours annually, both domestically and internationally, with performances and a variety of educational programs and engagement offerings. The Company returns to Chautauqua in two separate programs at the Amphitheater, with Saturday’s program featuring live music from the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra under the baton of music director Rossen Milanov.
Program:
Mercuric Tidings
Syzygy
Promethean Fire
Chautauqua School of Dance: Student Gala I
Sasha Janes, Director
Patricia McBride, Director of Ballet Studies and Master Teacher
Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Principal Resident Coach
Chautauqua School of Dance presents an outstanding mixed repertoire matinee of new and established works featuring the most exceptional young talent in the country. Under the leadership of Sasha Janes, the school continues its long tradition of excellence as a top-tier summer training program focused on bringing the next generation of dance stars from the studio to the stage.
July 22 @ 8:15 pm Week Five (July 20–27)
Chautauqua School of Dance with the Music School Festival Orchestra
Amphitheater
Chautauqua School of Dance with the Music School Festival Orchestra
Chautauqua School of Dance presents an outstanding mixed repertoire evening of new and established works, masterfully performed by the Music Student Festival Orchestra. This performance will feature the most exceptional young talent in the country. Under the leadership of Sasha Janes, the school continues its long tradition of excellence as a top-tier summer training program focused on bringing the next generation of dance stars from the studio to the stage.
Gibney Company
Gibney Company is a world-class contemporary dance company that presents a breadth of works by emerging and renowned choreographers. Based in New York City at Gibney, a dance and social justice organization founded by Gina Gibney in 1991, the Company underwent an ambitious expansion and reinvention in 2020 following a major donor gift. Over the past few years, Gibney Company has commissioned new works and is building a repertory for performances in New York and around the world. Gibney Company dancers, known as Artistic Associates, support the Gibney organization’s mission as both artists and activists, advancing artistry through performance while also leading entrepreneurial advocacy projects.
Pre-Concert Lecture with Chautauqua Dance Circle
August 7 @ 8:15 pm Week Seven (August 3–10)
Houston Ballet II with Students from Chautauqua School of Dance
Amphitheater
Houston Ballet II with Students from Chautauqua School of Dance
Houston Ballet II is the second company of Houston Ballet, America’s fourth-largest ballet company. Comprised of a stellar array of ballet students from around the world, Houston Ballet II members perform a diverse range of works, including excerpts from great classics like The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker to contemporary works by Houston Ballet Artistic Director, Stanton Welch AM.
Under the direction of Julie Kent and Stanton Welch AM, Artistic Directors, and Jennifer Sommers, Director of the Academy, Houston Ballet II dancers are led by internationally acclaimed coach and teacher Claudio Muñoz, Ballet Master for Houston Ballet II and Houston Ballet’s artistic staff. Houston Ballet II tours nationally and internationally. Most recently, students were invited to participate in Assemblée Internationale 2023, a seven-day festival hosted by Canada’s National Ballet School, along with students and artistic staff from 36 schools from around the globe.
Pre-Concert Lecture with Chautauqua Dance Circle
August 10 @ 8:15 pm Week Eight (August 10–17)
Houston Ballet with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
Amphitheater
Houston Ballet with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
Rossen Milanov, conductor
With over 50 years of rich history, Houston Ballet has evolved into the country’s fourth-largest ballet company and with a global reach, touring in renowned theaters in Dubai, London, Paris, Moscow, Spain, Montréal, Ottawa, Melbourne, New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Tokyo and more.
Australian choreographer Stanton Welch AM has served as Artistic Director of Houston Ballet since 2003, raising the level of the Company’s classical technique from dance legends such as Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, John Neumeier, and Jerome Robbins. Continuing the legacy of being a choreographic eden, Houston Ballet has also commissioned new works by Aszure Barton, Trey McIntyre, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Justin Peck. Julie Kent joined Welch as Artistic Director in 2023, after serving as Artistic Director of The Washington Ballet from 2016 – 2023, where she commissioned over 26 world premieres from a diverse range of choreographers as well as several full-length classical ballets. Kent retired as a Principal dancer in 2015 as the longest-tenured dancer in American Ballet Theatre’s 84-year history and is deeply committed to positively impacting artists, audiences, and communities through the transformative power of dance.
Program to be announced.
August 11 @ 2:30 pm Week Eight (August 10–17)
Chautauqua School of Dance: Student Gala II
Amphitheater
Chautauqua School of Dance: Student Gala II
Sasha Janes, Director
Patricia McBride, Director of Ballet Studies and Master Teacher
Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Principal Resident Coach
Chautauqua School of Dance presents an outstanding mixed repertoire matinee of new and established works featuring the most exceptional young talent in the country. Under the leadership of Sasha Janes, the school continues its long tradition of excellence as a top-tier summer training program focused on bringing the next generation of dance stars from the studio to the stage.
Dance
The Chautauqua School of Dance, under the direction of Sasha Janes, is well known for the unique opportunity it affords students to study with master teachers within a small studio environment.
Support the Dance Program
Learn more about how you can become involved in Chautauqua’s School of Dance.