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Philly dance on a summer road trip
The Month in Philly Dance for August and September 2026
Camille Bacon-Smith
We have reached the quiet months in dance. Some of our local companies head out on tour this time of year, and others are getting ready for the big fall season. Still, others are putting the finishing touches on performances for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, opening September 8. But if you are willing to head outside the city, there are still performances by local favorites to explore.
PHILADANCO!
Saturday, August 1, 2pm and 7:30pm
Sunday, August 2, 2pm
The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, New York
You can never have enough DANCO! Fans can still catch the company finishing up their run at the Joyce in New York City this month. Performance will include well-loved works by company favorites Tommie-Waheed Evans and Christopher Huggins, with a new piece by Rennie Harris.
In Nature's Studio
Sunday, August 23, 4pm
Reading Public Museum Arboretum, 500 Museum Road, Reading, PA
Ballet dancer Karis Guzman heads to the Reading Public Museum Arboretum for a site-specific solo performance of her piece In Nature’s Studio. The piece, presented by JCWK Dance Lab and Reading Theatre Project, invites the audience to contemplate resilience in the face of struggle and isolation in the natural landscape of the Arboretum.
BalletX, The Four Seasons Reimagined
Thursday, September 10, 7pm
Friday, September 11, 7pm
Saturday, September 12, 2pm and 7pm
Topper Theatre at the Mullen Center for the Performing Arts, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova
If you missed Four Seasons Reimagined at BalletX’s Festival at the Highmark Mann this June, you have a second chance to see it at Villanova. For the piece, 4 choreographers each interpreted one of the seasons in dance, set to composer Dan Deacon’s reimagining of Antonio Vivaldi’s classic masterpiece. Artistic director Christine Cox talked about this unique version of the Seasons here.
Alonzo King LINES Ballet
Friday, September 25, 7:30pm
Saturday, September 26, 2pm and 7:30pm
Dance returns to the city with Alonzo King, one of the icons of contemporary ballet in America. This is the company’s first appearance in Philadelphia; they’ll be performing King’s Ode to Alice Coltrane, set to Coltrane’s spiritual jazz music, and a meditative new piece, LEGACIES, with music created for the piece by composer and musician esperanza spalding. I already have my tickets for this one!
And Also
PHILADANCO!
Thursday, August 20, 6pm
Dilworth Park, 1 South 15th Street
Later in August, DANCO! will be back for a free performance as part of the Center City District’s Arts on Center Stage Program.
BalletX
Thursday, September 17, 7:30pm
Williams Center for the Arts, 317 Hamilton Street, Easton, PA
BalletX hits the road this fall. Tour includes a stop at Lafayette College for an evening of the company’s trademark contemporary ballet.
Coming in September
Philadelphia Fringe Festival is when BSR goes all in with writers, including yours truly, racing across the city to cover an explosion of the weird, the wonderful, and the heartfelt communion with the artist we didn’t know we needed. The September Philly Dance column will look at some of the Fringe offerings that catch my eye in this year’s program listing—artists I will follow anywhere, and others that sound like they will be fun to check out.
But here’s the tough part. BSR runs on a shoestring and a stable of wildly overqualified freelancers, (like Gail Obenreder and Cameron Kelsall to name just two). BSR has never operated behind a paywall, but how much it can cover depends on contributions from you. So if you want to see more dance, more theater, more what-did-I-even-see (and why do I love it) covered during the busiest month of the year, please pitch in! Where else can you be a patron of the arts for the price of a theater ticket?
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