10 dance performances to attend this spring

Spring is a time of rebirth and regeneration. As we begin to experience warmer, sunny days and observe nature awakening again, Boston’s cultural scene unveils an abundance of vibrant and thought-provoking dance performances. This season, you’ll be able to see Boston Ballet’s fiery “Carmen” light up the stage, as well as the return of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to the city. Productions will invite us to explore themes of unity, resilience and empathy, offering spectators glimpses of powerful storytelling and choreography.

“Aikya” is a Sanskrit word that means “union,” and this performance inspired by that term will represent harmony through different Indian art forms. The show will begin with an invocation of the teachers of the dancers. Audiences will be treated to traditional, classical Indian dance, including Kathak and Bharatanatyam, as well as artist Rabindranath Tagore’s musicals, performed Rabindranritya-style. The evening will end with a chanting of the Vedas, Hindu scriptures. An Indian creative arts collaboration company, Souls of India was founded by Samadrita Bhattacharyya and Meghma Banerjee and works with artists of different Indian dance backgrounds, as well as painters and musicians.

Founded in 2003 by Katherine Hooper and Irada Djelassi, BoSoma Dance Company is a group that will be celebrating its 20th anniversary with two evenings of contemporary dance. Numbers include “Tapestry,” a piece that has become known for its “spatial design, intricate patterns, and sequence of dynamic and athletic movement,” according to a press release. Audiences can also enjoy the work “Convergence,” which relates a narrative of people inhabiting “sacred ground” as they advance forward with resilience and empathy. BoSoma Youth Company, performing “Too Darn Hot” and “Train Stop Shuffle,” will also take the stage.

Celebrity Series of Boston brings Jerusalem-based contemporary dance troupe Vertigo Dance Company to Boston with a work that draws inspiration from the ideas of self-discovery and belonging. “Makom” is a Hebrew word that means “place,” and this performance from artistic director and choreographer Noa Wertheim will guide audiences through an experience of finding “unity amidst chaos and solace in oneself,” according to a press release. The production features minimal lighting, a moving score, and neutral-colored costumes.

“Limitless” is Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s spring dance concert, regaling audiences with works of the world’s most masterful choreographers. The program includes “Plod” by Dan Wagoner, set to Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 in D Major, which will be performed by the Boston Conservatory Orchestra. Aszure Barton’s “Lift,” which the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater originally commissioned, will also be performed. “Snatched Back from the Edges” by Dwight Rhoden reflects on many of the difficult emotions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, while “The Unsung” by José Limón honors Native Americans and will be performed by an all-female cast for the first time.

Choreographed by Jorma Elo, “Carmen” is the fiery and passionate story of an antiheroine who captivates the heart of a soldier, Don José. What follows is a narrative about seduction, betrayal and jealousy, set to the music of Rodion Shchedrin after George Bizet. During this performance, spectators will also get to watch “Kingdom of the Shades,” staged by Florence Clerc after Marius Petipa. It features 28 dancers in unison, performing in synchronized lines. The excerpt comes from Act III of “La Bayadère,” and it demonstrates Boston Ballet’s commitment to the scene’s artistry while leaving out the more “problematic storyline” and the appropriation of South Asian culture.

New York City’s Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to Massachusetts with a Celebrity Series of Boston show, a spring tradition in Boston. Over the troupe’s four days in Boston, audiences will be treated to varied programming. Choreographer Amy Hall Garner’s “CENTURY” will be performed as a regional premiere, and audiences will be treated to the group’s signature work, “Revelations,” a soulful exploration of grief and joy staged by Ailey himself. Spectators will also have a chance to observe “Following the Subtle Current Upstream” by Alonzo King and a selection of Ailey classics, including excerpts from “Memoria” and “Night Creature.”

Catch a glimpse of energizing and powerful dance, through three performances that make up “Spring Experience” at Boston Ballet. A world premiere from Ken Ossola will draw inspiration from Michelangelo’s “non-finito” sculptures “Prisoners.” The score comes from Boston Ballet Music Director Mischa Santora, and the piece will navigate “the tensions between our mind and body and the perpetual human state of both emergence and incompleteness,” according to the website.

Composer James Blake’s “propulsive and beautifully structured” music will be showcased in “Blake Works III (The Barre Project).” Developed for Boston Ballet in 2022, the performance will mark the return of this work by William Forsythe to the company's stage. It's a return for the choreographer as well; the last time audiences saw a show his live at the Boston Ballet was in the fall of 2022, a spokesperson confirmed.

“Bella Figura” from Jiří Kylián will sensually celebrate the human form, enthralling audience members “with its raw beauty, sense of curiosity, and delicate intimacy.” The ballet will be set to Baroque music, such as works from Antonio Vivaldi, Alessandro Marcello, Lukas Foss and Giuseppe Torelli.

Presented by Global Arts Live, Boston Dance Theater will perform “Pinnacle Works,” two evenings of dances created by celebrated choreographers. Co-artistic director Itzik Galili has staged the U.S. premiere of “If As If,” while Marco Goecke’s “Affi” and “Firebird,” also U.S. premieres, will unfold during the performance. Alessandro Sousa Pereira’s “Awa” and “Delicate Blue” will make their world premieres. The contemporary dance repertory company, led by Jessie Jeanne Stinnett and Galili, strives to present works with socio-political significance.

The Boston Center for the Arts will be putting the spotlight on new works from current Boston Dancemaker Residents Laila J. Franklin and Simon Montalvo in two separate showcases. Franklin’s piece “BABYBABYBABY” centers around dances about love, specifically budding romance (onstage May 16-19). It is meant to serve as a “meta-commentary on popular dance aesthetics,” according to a press release, inspired by the ideas of connection and intimacy. Franklin was recognized by Dance Magazine as a 2024 “25 To Watch” artist.

Montalvo’s “A House with No Walls: First Floor” (June 7-8) asks us to “explore the ways in which we exist internally and externally in the world,” according to a press release. Through movement, audio interviews and physical theater, the production will relate stories of transgender and gender-nonconforming people. Montalvo is a movement artist, researcher and archivist whose choreography has been presented by Project 31, Boston Conservatory at Berklee and TAMUCC.