The 92nd Street Y Announces HARKNESS DANCE CENTER – CELEBRATING 90 YEARS

The 92nd Street Y, New York's 2024/25 Harkness Dance Center season continues with Harkness Dance Center – Celebrating 90 Years, a multi-night slate of performances and more honoring the center's trailblazing place in modern dance history and commitment to the future of the art form.

Events take place throughout the Harkness Dance Center, in the recently renovated Arnhold Center spaces – Buttenwieser Hall, Buttenwieser Lounge and Arnhold Studio – the historic Kaufmann Concert Hall, as well as the New York Public Library.

Harkness Dance Center – Celebrating 90 Years

Schedule of Events

Art Bath x 92NY

Curated by Mara Driscoll, Elizabeth Yilmaz, Art Bath; and Alison Manning, 92NY
Xin Ying and Katherine Crockett (Martha Graham Dance Company); John Manzari & Dancers; Joey Arias; Roderick George, Flower Shark, Christopher Williams; and more TBA.
Thu, Fri, Mar 6 & 7, 7:30 pm, from $65 / $35 students

A fusion of past, present, and future, Art Bath x 92NY is an immersive performance salon like no other. For two nights only, this event transcends traditional performances, offering a sensory journey through the historic halls of 92NY and its celebrated Harkness Dance Center.

The night unfolds through 92NY's iconic spaces — The Hall of Mirrors, Arnhold Center, Buttenwieser Lounge, and Arnhold Studio — culminating in performances at Buttenwieser Hall. Expect cutting-edge choreography, historical film footage, live DJ sets, and craft anniversary cocktails, all woven into a two-hour experience celebrating dance history and its thrilling future.

DEL Movement Sentence Choir

Baye & Asa and DEL Facilitator Randi Sloan

Sat, Mar 8, 1-4 pm, FREE with registration

Buttenwieser Hall

Join us for a special DEL Movement Sentence Choir celebrating the Harkness Dance Center's 90th Anniversary with Amadi ‘Baye' Washington and Sam ‘Asa' Pratt of Baye & Asa, and DEL Facilitator Randi Sloan. Baye & Asa were 92NY Future Dance Festival selected artists in 2021, and a 92NY Artist in Residence in 2021-2022

The DEL Movement Sentence Choir combines two concepts, Laban's famous movement choirs and the DEL Movement Sentence, to create a joyful dance experience that brings together dancers of every genre, age and ability. Participants explore the DEL model and create new choreography with the artists that will be performed and live streamed. To learn more about DEL, visit www.danceedlab.com

Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, A Dance Company – Upside Down

PHILADANCO! – Talley Beatty's Pretty Is Skin Deep, Ugly Is to the Bone

In Person – Sat, Mar 8, 7:30 pm, from $40 / $15 student

Online – Sun, Mar 9, 12 pm – Tue, Mar 11, 12 pm, $20

Kaufmann Concert Hall

A landmark evening in dance history, this extraordinary performance brings together two influential companies, each rooted in deep cultural traditions and celebrated for their transformative artistry, whose roots are entwined with the Harkness Dance Center.

Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE: Ronald K. Brown and his company EVIDENCE return to The 92nd Street Y with Upside Down, a work that blends African diasporic rhythms with contemporary dance. Originally created in 1998 in collaboration with Rokiya Kone and her Jeune Ballet d'Afrique Noire, the piece is driven by the vibrant music of Nigerian singer Wunmi, accompanied by both traditional and modern instruments.

Upside Down highlights family lineages that reach from the past into the future. Its early sections channel communal grief — moving seamlessly from introspective gestures to full-bodied group sequences. The 92nd Street Y holds special meaning for Brown: it was here that the legendary Judith Jamison first witnessed his rehearsals and asked him to create a work for the Ailey organization. Now, more than two decades later, Upside Down returns to the place where its journey began, a testament to Brown's enduring vision and creative roots.

PHILADANCO!: In their 92NY debut, Philadelphia's renowned PHILADANCO! brings a stunning performance of Talley Beatty's Pretty Is Skin Deep, Ugly Is to the Bone . Beatty, a pioneering figure in American modern dance, first graced our stage in 1937 with Katherine Dunham and later collaborated with Alvin Ailey, shaping the future of dance right here. Now, nearly 60 years since the piece was last performed at 92NY, it returns as a testament to Beatty's enduring legacy. With its vibrant blend of innovation and tradition, PHILADANCO!'s precision, passion, and performance promise a “stunner” (The Philadelphia Inquirer). Celebrated for their dynamic dancers and their elevation of African American dance traditions, PHILADANCO!'s performance is an unforgettable celebration of the past, present, and future of American dance.

Graham, Limón, Ailey: Tracing Three Generations of Titans of Dance at 92NY

A Conversation with Janet Eilber, Dante Puleio, David Dorfman, Yin Yue, Doug Varone, Hope Boykin, and additional guests to be announced, moderated by Joan Finkelstein

Mon, Mar 10, 6 pm, FREE with registration

New York Public Library

Join us at the New York Public Library — the largest and most comprehensive dance archive in the world — for an evening that celebrates the rich legacy of modern dance at The 92nd Street Y, New York through the lens of three iconic pioneers: Martha Graham, José Limón, and Alvin Ailey. Moderated by Joan Finkelstein, Executive Director of the Harkness Foundation for Dance and former Director of the 92NY Harkness Dance Center. This star-studded panel brings together a who's who of dance titans representing three generations of the field.