Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company

Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company brings its signature blend of movement and visual art back to the National Portrait Gallery, this time with a trio of dances inspired by American artists Ruth Asawa, Isamu Noguchi, and Helen Frankenthaler. The centerpiece is "Light Against the Earth," a world premiere commissioned by the museum, which draws on Noguchi’s sculptural sensibility. Burgess’s choreography doesn’t just reference the artists’ work; it translates Asawa’s intricate wire forms and Frankenthaler’s sweeping, calligraphy-infused abstractions into physical language. The result is a performance that feels as much like a gallery visit as a dance concert, with bodies tracing the lines and textures of the artists’ visions. The setting—surrounded by portraits—adds another layer, blurring the boundaries between subject, medium, and audience.