2023-24 Season

Red Baraat is a pioneering band from Brooklyn, N.Y. Conceived by dhol player Sunny Jain, the group has drawn worldwide praise for its singular sound, a merging of hard driving North Indian bhangra with elements of hip-hop, jazz and raw punk energy. Created with no less a purposeful agenda than manifesting joy and unity in all people, Red Baraat’s spirit is worn brightly on its sweaty and hard-working sleeve.

The genesis of the Paul Taylor Dance Company transpired on May 30, 1954, in Manhattan, when dance-maker Paul Taylor first presented his choreography with five other dancers on the Lower East Side. That performance marked the beginning of 64 years of unrivaled creativity. In the decades that followed, Taylor became a cultural icon, one of America’s most celebrated artists and a part of the pantheon that created American modern dance. Leading the company that bears his name until his death in 2018, Taylor molded it into one of the preeminent performing ensembles in the world. Under the artistic direction of Taylor dancer Michael Novak, the company continues to perform throughout the world as well as at its New York City home, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts – where it appears under the aegis of Paul Taylor American Modern Dance.

A new driving force in Nordic world music is the young Danish trio, Dreamers’ Circus. Contemporary and endlessly innovative in their approach, they draw inspiration from the deep traditions of folk music in the region and reshape them into something bright, shiny and new.

Julie Fowlis is a multi-award-winning Gaelic singer who is deeply influenced by her early upbringing in Scotland’s Outer Hebridean island of North Uist. With a career spanning five studio albums and numerous high profile collaborations, her “crystalline” and “intoxicating” vocals have enchanted audiences around the world.

The TL Collective ("To Love"), was founded by Micaela Taylor in 2016. Trailblazing in the city of Los Angeles, she is the recipient of the inaugural Springboard EMERGE Choreographic Award and was named one of Dance Magazine's 25 to Watch 2019 and was on its May 2020 cover. The Los Angeles-based dance company is known for its fusion of contemporary dance and theatrical hip-hop, including elements of groove and acrobatics accompanied by high-level athleticism. The company has toured to venues including New York City Center’s Fall for Dance and the Wallis Annenberg, and was scheduled to perform at the American Dance Platform at the Joyce Theater in New York City. Alongside the launch of The TL Collective, Taylor has been commissioned to choreograph and teach by BODYTRAFFIC, Rambert2 (London), Martha Graham Dance Company, Springboard Danse Montreal, B12 Festival Berlin, Carlos Acosta’s Acosta Danza and more.

Roots powerhouse duo The Small Glories are Cara Luft and JD Edwards, a musical tour-de-force partnership planted on the Canadian prairies. Thrown together purely by accident for an anniversary show at Winnipeg, Canada’s venerable West End Cultural Centre, The Small Glories could almost make you believe in fate.

Out of the darkness comes a new dawn. In a concert of hope commemorating and remembering the freedom movements in South Africa and the United States, the three-time Grammy-winning Soweto Gospel Choir brings joy and inspiration to us all. An unforgettable night starts with a rousing program of some of the South African freedom songs that inspired their Rainbow Nation, then moves to the United States with beautiful and heartfelt renditions of the music of the civil rights movement featuring works by legendary artists such as Billy Holiday, James Brown, Otis Redding, Curtis Mayfield and the one and only Aretha Franklin.

Alash are masters of Tuvan throat singing (xöömei), a remarkable technique for singing multiple pitches at the same time. What distinguishes this gifted trio from earlier generations of Tuvan throat singers is the subtle infusion of modern influences into their traditional music. One can find complex harmonies, Western instruments and contemporary song forms in Alash’s music, but its overall sound and spirit remain decidedly Tuvan.

The Wicked Chicken plays a mix of driving rock ’n’ roll, old-time fiddle and blues. Armed with exciting new material, a powerful groove and a unique sound, the Wicked Chicken will surprise and captivate audiences of all varieties. The foundation of the band are the Tritsch brothers: Gus (guitar, vocals and fiddle) and Huck (drums, percussion and fiddle).

After a girl’s granny passes away, she starts to suspect she is being pursued by the smoke-demon shapeshifter from the old woman’s stories. In the tradition of Spirited Away and Coraline, The Griegol is a mythic gorgeously rendered dark fantasy for brave children and lovers of atmospheric theatre. This is an inventive new work that conjures magic and laughter out silhouettes, puppetry, live music and animation.

“Sophisticated and commanding” (Los Angeles Times), the Trinity Irish Dance Company (TIDC) is the birthplace of progressive Irish dance, an innovative movement genre that “ushered in a new era for Irish step dance” (Chicago Tribune). A fusion of Ireland’s vibrant and longstanding dance-form and elements of American innovation, Trinity Irish Dance Company dazzles audiences around the globe with its hard-driving percussive power, lightning-fast agility and aerial grace. Minutes into watching the awe-inspiring precision of its dancers and musicians, TIDC expands whatever notions the audience may have about Irish dance … revealing its limitless possibilities. It’s everything you expect but like nothing you’d imagine.

Juho Pohjonen is regarded as one of today’s most exciting and unique instrumentalists. The Finnish pianist performs widely in Europe, Asia and North America, collaborating with symphony orchestras and playing in recital and chamber settings. An ardent exponent of Scandinavian music, Pohjonen’s growing discography offers a showcase of music by Finnish compatriots such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kaija Saariaho and Jean Sibelius.