New story ballets, a landmark revival, works that take to the sky or descend into the earth—the fall performance season is going full speed ahead as we move into October. Here’s what has us most intrigued.
A Trilogy Concludes
BIRMINGHAM, UK Birmingham Royal Ballet’s trilogy of works celebrating the company’s hometown comes to a close with Luna, a new ballet inspired by the pioneering women of Birmingham. The all-female creative team includes choreographers Iratxe Ansa, Wubkje Kuindersma, Seeta Patel, Arielle Smith, and Thaís Suárez, as well as the composer Kate Whitley. How will this diverse ensemble, brought in by director Carlos Acosta to finish the trilogy he conceived, collaborate to create a cohesive work, and what (feminist?) messages will they choose to convey? Luna premieres Oct. 3–5 at the Birmingham Hippodrome before touring to London’s Sadler’s Wells Oct. 22–23. brb.org.uk. —Emily May
Resistance Takes Flight
SAN FRANCISCO Named for the pre–Roe v. Wade abortion network, Jo Kreiter’s Ode to Jane explores what resistance can look like today with reproductive health care under attack. Seven aerial artists of Flyaway Productions perform the work, set to an original score by Xoa Asa, on the fire escapes and walls of the Tenderloin district’s Cadillac Hotel. Oct. 4–12. flyawayproductions.com. —Courtney Escoyne
Celebrating an Elder
VANCOUVER Indigenous dance group Dancers of Damelahamid honors the life and legacy of the late Elder Margaret Harris, a co-founder of the company, with the premiere of Raven Mother. The evening-length, multimedia work illustrates the breadth of her impact as a new generation carries the company’s vision into the future. Oct. 9–12. thecultch.com. —CE
Down in the Dirt
DURHAM, NC What impacts do perpetual violence and war have on the body? In Carl Flink’s Battleground, Black Label Movement investigates the question through movement and abstraction while performing in a specially created 30-by-25–foot dirt pit, aiming to encourage dialogue about violence’s accepted and often celebrated role in today’s society. Oct. 11–13. americandancefestival.org. —CE
A Psych Thriller for ABT
NEW YORK CITY Literature buff Helen Pickett brings Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s 1866 psychological thriller Crime and Punishment to the American Ballet Theatre stage. When, in a twisted social experiment, ex–law student Raskolnikov kills a crooked pawn broker and her bystander half-sister, he is beset by irreconcilable guilt. Placing the emphasis squarely on humanity and its tangled nature, Pickett and co-director James Bonas have made the ballet’s tortured protagonist a role that can be performed by dancers of any gender; both men and women are slated to dance it during its premiere week. Crime and Punishment debuts on Oct. 30 as part of ABT’s fall season, which also includes the premiere of new commissions by Kyle Abraham and Gemma Bond. Oct. 16–Nov. 3. abt.org. —Kyra Laubacher
Dance of the Dead
NASHVILLE Drawing inspiration from the art of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, Maria Konrad’s new Dia de los Muertos ballet brings the traditional Mexican celebration of deceased loved ones to Nashville Ballet. Oct. 17–20. nashvilleballet.com. —CE
A New Chapter Unfolds
ST. LOUIS The recently rechristened Saint Louis Dance Theatre (formerly Big Muddy Dance Company) opens its season with (RE)Claim, a program featuring new works by Jamar Roberts and artistic director Kirven Douthit-Boyd, the company premieres of Robert Battle’s Unfold and José Limón’s Chaconne, and returning works by Omar Román de Jesús and Douthit-Boyd. Oct. 24–27. saintlouisdancetheatre.org. —CE
Confronting Mortality
NEW YORK CITY Created during the AIDS epidemic, Bill T. Jones’ Still/Here was a controversial work when it premiered in 1994, in large part because it utilized the words, gestures, and images of people from across the U.S. living with terminal diagnoses who participated in widely publicized “survival workshops” run by Jones. Now, it returns to Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave festival 30 years later, a contemplation of mortality that will perhaps have increased resonance for audiences that have experienced an ongoing global pandemic. Oct. 30–Nov. 2. bam.org. —CE
