Our guide to dance performances happening this weekend and in the week ahead.
RONALD K. BROWN/EVIDENCE at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. (July 5-6, 8 p.m.; July 7, 2 p.m.). Meshell Ndegeocello’s music is a rich mix of soul, R&B, rap, rock and other influences, which makes her an apt collaborator for Brown, whose choreography is also a potent blend of styles, including West African and contemporary dance. And both use their art to tap into something deeply spiritual. This week, they present the premiere of “Mercy,” with Ndegeocello performing the original score live. Joining that work is “Grace.” Created by Brown 20 years ago, it depicts the journey of a goddess who has come to Earth to welcome its inhabitants to heaven.
845-758-7900, fishercenter.bard.edu
BRYANT PARK CONTEMPORARY DANCE PICNIC PERFORMANCES (July 5, 6 p.m.). Have a picnic in this Midtown park and enjoy some al fresco dance while you’re at it. This annual summer series features an array of local dance troupes who each contribute a short work to the eclectic program. In the final week of this year’s series, the participants are David Dorfman Dance, a longtime, reliably joyful member of the city’s modern dance scene; the Francesca Harper Project, another energetic group; URBAN/TRIBE, a young company founded by Mathew James; and Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts, featuring students from Mosley’s summer dance intensive.
bryantpark.org/programs/contemporary_dance
JACOB’S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL in Becket, Mass. (through August 25). Works by Merce Cunningham, performed by Compagnie CNDC-Angers/Robert Swinston, can be seen here through Sunday, parallel to performances by David Roussève/Reality. Beginning on Wednesday, Dance Theater of Harlem returns to mark its 50th anniversary and honor its founder, Arthur Mitchell, who died last fall. To celebrate and commemorate, the company will perform works by George Balanchine, Anabelle Lopez-Ochoa, Christopher Wheeldon and Darrell Grand Moultrie. Nearby at the Doris Duke Theater, Reggie Wilson’s Fist and Heel Performance Group presents the premiere of “Power,” which combines Wilson’s exploration of African spiritual traditions with recent research into the Shakers to imagine what a Black Shaker ritual might look like.
413-243-0745, jacobspillow.org
MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP at the Rose Theater (July 10-13, 7:30 p.m.). At Lincoln Center’s annual Mostly Mozart Festival, Morris presents three works set to compositions that are not by Mozart. The focus will be on the premiere of “Sport,” accompanied by Erik Satie’s collection of short, sprightly piano pieces, “Sports et divertissements.” That new work is joined by the 10-year-old “Empire Garden,” with music by Charles Ives, and “V,” a signature work from 2001 set to Robert Schumann’s famous Piano Quintet in E flat. It is a classic illustration of Morris’s musical insight and visual poignancy.
lincolncenter.org/mostly-mozart-festival
[Read about the events that our other critics have chosen for the week ahead.]
ROYAL DANISH BALLET at the Joyce Theater (July 9-10, 7:30 p.m.; July 11, 8 p.m.; through July 14). Established in 1748, this company is one of the oldest in the world. In the 1830s, it was headed by the choreographer August Bournonville, and in many ways, it has remained under his thrall ever since. On this return visit to the Joyce, the troupe presents “The Bournonville Legacy,” a compilation of excerpts from his repertoire of charming story ballets, including “Napoli,” “A Folk Tale” and “La Sylphide,” the whimsical work often credited with lifting ballet into its Romantic period. On display will be the Bournonville trademarks: skittering footwork, regal arms, precise head placement and a cheerful buoyancy.
212-242-0800, joyce.org
TAP CITY, THE NEW YORK CITY TAP FESTIVAL at various locations (July 6-12). This weeklong celebration by the American Tap Dance Foundation includes a variety of performances and events. On Sunday, tap enthusiasts can visit Broadway theaters that played a role in tap’s history and go behind the scenes at Radio City Music Hall on the Tap Treasures tours, followed later that evening by a tribute to Duke Ellington at Birdland. On Monday, the Copasetic Boat Ride cruises along the Hudson River with tap jams on board, and on Wednesday, veteran hoofers and next-gen stars are honored at the TapCity Awards. Thursday brings “Rhythm in Motion,” a showcase for over a dozen of today’s most exciting tap artists.
646-230-9564, atdf.org
VICTORY DANCE at the New Victory Theater (July 11, 7 p.m.). This returning series, featuring a grab bag of dance, is presented with kids in mind — a 90-minute program, broken up by mini-talks meant to educate and engage — but the content of each program reflects some of the most sophisticated dance in town. The first consists of the inventive percussive dancer and choreographer Caleb Teicher, the forward-thinking Bharatanatyam artist Preeti Vasudevan, members of American Ballet Theater performing the famed Act II pas de deux from “Swan Lake,” and the ballerina Michele Wiles of BalletNext partnering with the flex dancer Jay Donn. The show is sold out, but you can call the box office to be added to the wait list.
646-223-3010, newvictory.org
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