All of these companies were planning to premiere their works live in the U.S. this year but shifted to adapt. One takeaway is clear, the continent of Africa is producing some of the most exciting and innovative dance worldwide while remaining true to their roots. From Africa at Battery Dance Festival is available to watch online through August 30.

Winter in New York City is not known for being particularly steamy (though the unseasonably mild weather this year gives one reason to pause), but there is always Complexions Contemporary Ballet's season at the Joyce Theater to turn up the heat to a feverish, sweltering boiling point! For the 26th season, the company revived recent seminal works -- Bach 25 and Woke -- alongside favorites spanning from 1994 to a brand new solo in Essential Parts, which acted as a 'Greatest Hits' compilation for the ever-evolving, always revolutionary dance troupe. This year also marked the World Premiere of their latest exploration of the full canon of a particular musician's oeuvre -- Love Rocks featuring the music of the iconic Grammy-winning rockstar, Lenny Kravitz. For patrons unable to attend all programs, FOMO (fear of missing out) syndrome is understandable, but for those who are highly familiar with the group's work or only getting their first taste, Program C -- which featured the latter two mentioned -- was the most delectable sampling of Complexions offerings old and new. The fascinating thing about such juxtapositions is that, in seeing the latest creations from 2020 side-by-side with choreography premiered in the early 1990s, it is remarkable to note how the level of innovation, depth of emotion and current relevance remains the same. It's a reminder that timeliness and timelessness can coexist, given the right mediums and masters. The genius of legendary Co-Founders, Co-Artistic Directors Desmond Richard and Dwight Rhoden (also the Principal Choreographer) cannot be underestimated. Indeed, it has not. They have both achieved phenomenal success and longevity, been lauded as trailblazers and received numerous accolades from peers, critics and audiences alike since they burst on the dance scene. It's no wonder that they have utilized the music of David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Kendrick Lamar and Lenny Kravitz to tell their stories through bodies in motion -- they are rockstars themselves!

Whelan finds the yin and yang in their performance chemistry, saying, 'we're very opposite in nature, which creates balance. I'm more androgynous with clean, clear lines while she has a big, vibrant presence.' Beiser affirmed Whelan's value for respecting collaboration saying she learned from Lang that 'collaboration is about working with others who are great at something you don't do.'

'On a personal level, to me, the piece represented the lineage: a student hears a teachers' voice and is forever changed by it,' Vangeline described. 'A butoh student must be lost to be found, walk in the dark, dive deeply inside themselves, and, as Tatsumi Hijikata said, 'pluck the darkness from their own flesh.'

Eryc Taylor Dance and guest choreographers from ETD's grant program performed segments from EARTH at BBG. Taylor's impetus to create EARTH was the urge to present a visual, physical and auditory 'wake up call' to the impact of humankind's impact on global warming.

Doug Varone and Dancers in the shelter of the fold / epilogue is a transcendent and transfixing inquiry into public and private relationships to faith through seven vignettes that intermingled fluidly at BAM's Fisher from June 5-8th. The thirteen bodies in nearly continuous motion -- choreographed by Varone -- were so mesmerizing that the captivated viewers were on the edge of their seats during the entire performance. The evening was as sonically spellbinding as it was visually enchanting thanks to the complex, varied and at times otherworldly or ethereal sounds provided a diverse array of multiple compositions played by Bang on a Can All-Stars with PUBLIQuartet and Lesley Flanigan.

Well before The Met Gala's kitschy theme for 2019 inspired the likes of Lady Gaga, Jordan Roth and countess celebrities to strut their most outrageous stuff down the pink carpet, Mark Morris has been the reigning King of Camp in choreography, celebrating this gleeful genre in company classics such as The Hard Nut. This spring he elevated the playful style integrated with expressive movement in Pepperland, an exuberant homage to the 1960s counterculture and The Beatles' seminal 1967 concept album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Get your tickets and get ready for an extraordinary contemporary dance experience. The Martha Graham Dance Company just opened their spring season at The Joyce Theater and they will be performing through April 14.

The Joyce Theater catapults its scintillating 2019 season that encapsulates an entire spectrum of contemporary international movement with a renowned and acclaimed audience-favorite, COMPLEXIONS Contemporary Ballet.

Choreographer Ranardo-Domeico Grays, founder/artistic director of VISIONS Contemporary Ballet, will present his company in Healing Works II, Saturday, November 10th, 7:30 PM, at The Theatre at The Riverside Church, entrance 91 Claremont Avenue (bet. 120th – 122nd St and Broadway - Riverside Drive).

Summer means festival season! Nationally and internationally, large and small, summer dance festivals showcase performances ranging from classical ballet to the ultra avant-garde. But perhaps the most appealing and important aspect of all performance festivals is that there's truly something for everyone.

As if a prelude to the Independence Day fireworks, Artistic Director/Choreographer Shoko Tamai's Ninja Ballet: 'Ma' (Negative Space) debuting at the Secret Theatre in Long Island City, explodes with a dynamic blend of Eastern and Western dance styles, theatrics and the elegance of classical ballet fused with thrilling martial arts fight choreography and live musical accompaniment featuring traditional instruments from Asian, Middle Eastern and Native American cultures that transport the viewer to another place and era.

The first installation of the Contemporary Dance Series, curated by Tiffany Rea-Fisher (which runs Fridays from June 22-July 20 at 6pm) kicked-off with a strong start on the debut evening with performances from Harlem School of the Arts, AThomasProject, Eryc Taylor Dance and Graham 2.

In her new works: 'Moving Through Tea' & 'Universal Emotions,' for her Symphony Space debut on May 11th, Nuo An brings a delightful, charming and irreverent sense of childlike play and inquisitiveness to her work that explodes in powerful, surprising and deeply moving representations of the true essence of things we might overlook such as the journey of a tea leaf or the source of our strongest feelings.

Adham Hafez, Egyptian creator, performer, academic and the founder of Adham Hafez Company and HaRaKa Platform, is no stranger to delving deep into controversial topics and forcing his audiences to examine everything they think they know about particular cultures, beliefs, and histories. Hafez is a bold, highly-intelligent provocateur, deliberately messing with the minds of those who experience his work. His world premiere of 'To Catch A Terrorist' debuts at the La MaMa Moves Festival May 12-13.

For a few decades, The Complexions Dance Company has been my very favorite company to see perform. They did not fail me again. Literally mind-blowing performances from this visit to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

FJK Dance Works in Progress: UnTold explores and blends various dance forms: passionate tango and Latin dance with classical ballet, modern, contemporary and Broadway styles all with an Arabic twist! The company, lead by partners Fadi Khoury and Sevin Ceviker breathtakingly tell stories of human emotion through their bodies.

On the evening of April 3, 2018, The Dance Factory led by Artistic Director Dada Masilo returned to The Joyce Theater following their successful season back in 2016. Masilo- who is known for her unique and innovative interpretations of classical ballets such as Romeo and Juliet, Carmen, and Swan Lake- presented the New York premiere of her latest work, Giselle. This is not the original story that audiences have come to know for generations. But rather, retells and reimagines the story from a feminist lens with a twist.

'Let's Dance,' the 2018 Season at Lincoln Center for the Paul Taylor American Modern Dance Company is here for the month of March. Those of us that are ardent fans will not be disappointed. For people that are new to the company's extraordinary talents, you're in for a real treat.

ODC, the most active center for contemporary dance on the West Coast, has announced its 2018 Theater Season, a program demonstrating the organization's commitment to fostering new performance and to introducing the work of esteemed artists from across the globe to new audiences.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Doug Varone and Dancers returns to the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, for an evening of repertoire February 8-10.