Summer in New York: Dance events and performances

The spring season at NYCB ushers in two premieres by Peter Martins and Benjamin Millepied, along with a major revival of one of George Balanchine’s most shimmering ballets,: Symphony in C. Last performed by the company in 2008, the four-movement ballet, set to Bizet, will be given a makeover in the form of new costumes (designed by Marc Happel) and headpieces (by Robert Sorrel). This company is all about dancing, but fashion addicts should take note: Martins’s new work will feature costumes by Gilles Mendel (of J. Mendel), and Millepied’s by Kate and Laura Mulleavy (of Rodarte); the latter designed the tutus for Black Swan, which Millepied choreographed. $29–$149.  

As the Park Avenue Armory commits to scheduling more cultural programming, gear up for the exceptional restaging of Trisha Brown’s Astral Converted in the space’s vast Drill Hall. The final piece in Brown’s Valiant Series of dances—so named for their ferocious athleticism—Astral Converted features designs by Robert Rauschenberg (a frequent collaborator with Brown collaborator), and music by John Cage. As previous programs by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and Elizabeth Streb attest, this is the most astonishing place to watch dance in the city.

It’s been nearly 16 years since the Paris Opera Ballet appeared in New York, but it feels like an eternity. As part of Lincoln Center Festival, this revered company, directed by Brigitte Lefèvre, performs Giselle and a mixed bill of French works, as well as the U.S. premiere of Pina Bausch’s dance-opera Orpheus and Eurydice, which was created for Tanztheater Wuppertal in 1975 and revived in 1991. The season opens with a French twist on three one-act ballets: Serge Lifar’s Suite en blanc, Roland Petit’s L’Arlésienne and Maurice Béjart’s Boléro.

This spring, American Ballet Theatre spotlights the New York premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s Firebird (Stravinsky and Ratmansky Perfection). The season also features a new production of John Cranko’s Onegin, which is based on Pushkin’s epic poem; the first-night cast pairs Diana Vishneva with Marcelo Gomes. Other highlights include the return of Christopher Wheeldon’s Thirteen Diversions, George Balanchine’s Apollo and Frederick Ashton’s The Dream. Two farewells cap off the season, as Angel Corella and Ethan Stiefel hang up their tights.

In a joint presentation by the Chocolate Factory and Abrons Arts Center, Bessie-award winning choreographer Luciana Achugar unveils her new FEELingpleasuresatisfactioncelebrationholyFORM (feel free to call it FEEL…FORM), a meditation on the relationship between aesthetics and ideology. Four dancers—Rebecca Brooks, Jennifer Kjos, Melinda Lee and Achugar herself—get in touch with their carnal sides to explore the sensation of not only seeing, but feeling a dance.