The month in Philly Dance: May 2025

Malandain Ballet Biarritz: The Seasons
Friday, May 2, 8pm
Saturday, May 3, 2pm and 8pm
Zellerbach Theater at the Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut Street

French choreographer Thierry Malandain’s Malandain Ballet Biarritz comes to Philadelphia for the first time when the company brings The Seasons to the Zellerbach. The piece is set to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and The Four Seasons of the Year, by Vivaldi’s lesser-known contemporary, Giovanni Antonio Guido. In this piece, Malandain leavens his contemporary ballet style with a nod to courtly dance of the early 18th. century.

BalletX Dance Festival, featuring Jennifer Archibald’s Maslow’s Peak
Friday, May 2, and Saturday, May 3, 7:30pm
Mann Center for the Performing Arts, 5201 Parkside Avenue

I have been looking forward to Archibald’s full-length Maslow’s Peak since I saw the excerpt at BalletX’s spring series last year, and it’s one of my top picks for the month. Archibald was inspired by William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, so expect an edgy sensibility. But the title comes from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Self-actualization—the peak—is where creativity and a lack of prejudice reside. Before the main event, local dance organizations will be performing throughout the grounds.

Philadelphia Ballet: La Sylphide
Thursday, May 8 through Sunday, May 11
Academy of Music, 240 South Broad Street

The company brings together two pieces from the repertoire of the Royal Danish Ballet. August Bournonville’s 1836 ballet, La Sylphide, is the oldest of the fairy tales ballets still in the repertoire. It’s a story of magic and obsession set in the mists of the Scottish Highlands. Harald Lander’s 1948 Etudes celebrates the ballet class as its own source of inspiration.

Megan Mazarick: Soapbox
Thursday, May 8 through Saturday, May 10, 7:30pm
Performance Garage, 1515 Brandywine Street

Choreographer and dancer Megan Mazarick is the Performance Garage’s 2025 DanceVisions resident artist. She will be performing Soapbox, which she first introduced in 2023 as a work in progress at the Cannonball Festival. The piece deconstructs political rhetoric of our times through words and dance.

Pure Lucia: A Centenary Celebration of the Life and Work of Lucia Dlugoszewski
Friday, May 9 and Saturday, May 10, 7:30pm
FringeArts, 140 North Columbus Boulevard

In a time when we are learning so much about the women forgotten in the musical canon, the rediscovery of avant-garde composer Lucia Dlugoszewski is a welcome addition. The performance highlights her collaborations with Erick Hawkins Dance, and the company will be performing to live music. (In this clip from 1964, dancers interpret Dlugoszewski as she plays an instrument of her own creation.)

And also

The Lady Hoofers Tap Ensemble
May 10, 2pm and 7pm
Harold Prince Theater at the Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut Street

Performance of new and past favorite pieces by the all-women tap company.

Project Moshen presents: Dream within a Dream
Saturday, May 17, 7pm
Sunday, May 18, 3pm
Performance Garage, 1515 Brandywine Street

All-women jazz dance company presents a reimagining of Alice in Wonderland.

Parsons Dance
Friday, May 30, 8pm
Saturday, May 31, 2pm and 8pm
Zellerbach Theater, 3680 Walnut Street, Philadelphia

A Philly favorite in contemporary dance returns with local premieres including Mr. Withers, set to the music of Bill Withers.

Philadelphia Ballet: Spring Festival at Red Rose Farm
Saturday, May 31, 2025 6:30pm
Red Rose Farms, 1022 North Spring Mill Road, Villanova

Picnic on the lawn of board chair David Hoffman’s Villanova estate for an open-air performance. Tickets are for a party of four. Bring your own picnic!