World Premieres, Chicago Debuts, and Columbia Artists Shape Dance Center’s 53rd Season

“MATADORA,” a world-premiere by Columbia dance alum Camila Rivero Pooley ’18, working as INSÉKTA, kicks off the Dance Center’s 53rd season September 24–26. Opening night will also introduce the Shirley Mordine Dance Maker Awards, honoring the Dance Center’s founder and her legacy in Chicago dance. Photo by Diego Bolivar.

Season 53 features world and Chicago premieres, returning Columbia alums, student performances, interdisciplinary festivals, and the inaugural Shirley Mordine Dance Maker Awards.

will bring local, national, and international dance artists together for its 53rd season, featuring performances shaped by distinct identities, cultural lineages, and lived experiences.

Running September 2026 through May 2027, the season includes world premieres by Columbia alum INSÉKTA and South Chicago Dance Theatre founder Kia S. Smith; Chicago premieres by Macarena Recuerda Shepherd, IS/LAND, and RE|dance group; the Dance Center debuts of CounterBalance, BĀLA Dance Project, and the Latinx/e Contemporary Movement Festival; and the return of Red Clay Dance Company, founded by Columbia alum Vershawn Sanders-Ward ’02.

“Fifty-three marks a prime year—a number that stands whole and undivided. Season 53 at the Dance Center celebrates artists who carry that same singular force,” says Artistic Director Meredith Sutton. “Each artist who takes our stage brings a distinct movement language, shaped by lived experience, cultural lineage, and creative vision.”

Student, faculty, and alum work remains central to the season, with performances including Free Fall, Choreographic Projects, ZAWADI, Spring Forward, Relay, and the BFA Capstone Concert. The annual B-Series Festival and Dance Center Symposium will also unite for the first time as “B-COMING Festival and Symposium,” exploring the roots, lineage, and continued evolution of hip hop and street dance cultures.

Fall 2026

September 24–26

Season 53 opens with the world premiere of a Latine Futurist dance and physical theatre work by INSÉKTA, the artistic practice of Columbia dance alum Camila Rivero Pooley ’18. Co-produced by Synapse Arts and presented with DESTINOS: 9th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, “MATADORA” explores Latine rage as a force of transformation, divinity, and self-possession.

October 2–3

Presented with Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, the festival features contemporary, queer, and experimental performance by Latinx/e movement artists whose work engages with heritage, migration, identity, resilience, and joy. The expanded two-day program includes a concert, workshop, and community conversation.

October 7–9

Columbia’s newest musical theatre majors make their campus performance debuts with selections from the musical theatre canon and beyond.

October 15–17

CounterBalance makes its Dance Center debut with an inclusive movement workshop, anniversary concert featuring artists with and without disabilities, and a showcase for emerging disabled choreographers. The program is presented with Access Living, Bodies of Work, MOMENTA Dance Company, ReinventAbility, and Unfolding Disability Futures.

October 23–24

Columbia Assistant Professor Bevara Anderson-Selkridge presents the first standalone Chicago concert by BĀLA Dance Project, drawing from Umfundalai, house, modern, Horton, contemporary ballet, and Vaganova techniques.

October 30

Columbia’s annual live shadow-cast performance of the cult classic makes its Dance Center debut for one night only.

November 19–20

Selected student choreographers share original short works on the Dance Center stage.

December 3–4 and 10–11

Dance majors present two distinct programs of new work developed through the complete choreographic process, from initial concept and auditions through rehearsal and production.

December 12

Founded by Columbia alum Ambe’r Johnson ’16, this community celebration offers workshops and immersive experiences centered on the history and performance traditions of Dundunba, a family of West African rhythms and dances originating with the Malinké people of Guinea.

December 17–18

Columbia students perform work by guest choreographers Matumbe Himons and Nejla Yatkin and faculty members Dardi McGinley Gallivan, Darrell Jones, and Lisa Gonzales. The inaugural Shirley Mordine Dance Maker Award recipients will be announced December 17.

Spring 2027

“If It Were a Movie” by Macarena Recuerda Shepherd
January 28–30

Presented with the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, this Chicago premiere uses sound, movement, analog and digital technology, and audience headphones to move between the plausible and the unreal.

February 11–13

A new Dance Center commission by Kia S. Smith honors the faith and resilience of her great-grandmother, Josephine Griffin Jones, while exploring how family history and embodied knowledge become artistic expression.

February 18–19

Students in acting, dance, design, and musical theatre produce, direct, choreograph, and perform the fourth annual musical theatre dance revue.

February 25–27

The Dance Center’s annual symposium and B-Series Festival unite for the first time for three days of performances, workshops, scholarship, freestyle cyphers, and community exchange. The program is co-curated by Daniel “BRAVEMONK” Haywood and Kelsa “K-Soul” Rieger-Haywood.

March 4–6

RE|dance group makes its Dance Center debut with two Chicago premieres by Artistic Director Michael Estanich, pairing dance theatre works that explore contemporary relationships, perseverance, purpose, and love.

March 11–12

This Chicago premiere blends sound, dance, and poetry to honor immigrants detained at the Angel Island Immigration Station from 1910 to 1940 and considers broader patterns of intolerance affecting marginalized communities today.

March 18–19

The student-led festival returns for its second year, showcasing Columbia dance organizations open to students from all majors.

April 8–9

Founded by Columbia alum Vershawn Sanders-Ward ’02, Red Clay Dance Company returns with works reflecting its signature blend of contemporary dance, African Diasporic traditions, artistry, and activism.

April 15–17

Selected student choreographers bring original short works to the Dance Center stage.

April 22–24

Dance majors present new works marking the culmination of their development as choreographers.

April 29–30

Columbia dance alums and faculty choreograph new works performed by current students.

May 13–15

The BFA in Dance class of 2027 presents new work culminating its years of study, experimentation, collaboration, and growth at Columbia.

Tickets and Season Passes

All programs take place at The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Ave. Ticket prices vary, and most performances are free for Columbia students. A $105 Season 53 Pass includes the symposium and 10 ticketed performance programs.

Single tickets, season passes, complete performance times, and accessibility information are available at . The box office can also be reached at (312) 369-8330 or danceinfo@colum.edu.

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