This season, Performance Santa Fe is set to dazzle audiences with an extraordinary lineup of events featuring the legendary Kristin Chenoweth, the mesmerizing Contemporary West Dance Theatre, and the chart-topping sensation, Lady A. Join us at the Lensic Performing Arts Center for an unforgettable journey through the worlds of Broadway, modern dance, and contemporary country music, where each performance promises to captivate and inspire. Whether you're a theater aficionado, a dance enthusiast, or a music lover, these events offer something unique and memorable for everyone.

A Spectacular Celebration of Performing Arts: From Broadway to Country Music

The young “Russian genius” (Corriere della Sera) came to international prominence when, in 2014, he won the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians at age thirteen. “Contrary to what could be expected of a youngster …, he demonstrated not only high technical accuracy but also an incredible maturity. Crystal clear sounds and perfect balance revealed his exceptional ability” (Amadeus). Malofeev has quickly established himself as one of the most prominent pianists of his generation. His performances have garnered high praise from critics, with publications such as Der Standard declaring his debut at the Musikverein as “a world piano revolution”.

Alexander Malofeev

St. Francis Auditorium

EPSG:4326

Festival of Song

Scottish Rite Temple

Winners of the 2022 Banff International String Quartet Competition and the 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Isidore String Quartet embodies the excitement, dedication, and creativity of young classical musicians today. Named after Isidore Cohen of the Juilliard String Quartet, the Isidore Quartet infuses the repertory with life by approaching the established as if it were brand new and the new as if it were firmly established. Welcome these remarkable musicians for their Santa Fe concert debut, following performances at Alice Tully Hall and the Kennedy Center!

Isidore String Quartet

New Mexico Museum of Art

The Baroque period was an extraordinary time in music, during which composers embraced new sounds and styles that echo through the centuries into today. Enjoy a pre-concert dinner and preview of Jordi Savall’s program with writer James Keller and explore the music of the revolutionary Baroque.

Creative Connections – The Revolutionary Baroque

Hervé Wine Bar

Revered innovators of two generations of jazz music join forces for a very special performance: pianist Kenny Barron and violinist Regina Carter. Both Barron and Carter have the distinguished honor of being named NEA Jazz Masters, Barron in 2010 and Carter in 2023. Longtime friends and collaborators, their 2000 recording, Freefall, earned them accolades for its “passion and dynamic feeling… the cohesion and joy of this duo’s music-making is consistent from beginning to end” (Jazz Times). They appear in Santa Fe in celebration of Barron’s 80th birthday.

Kenny Barron and Regina Carter

Lensic Performing Arts Center

Pianist Benjamin Grosvenor is truly “one in a million” (The Independent). He first achieved prominence in 2004 as the youngest-ever winner of the keyboard section of the BBC’s Young Musician of the Year Competition at age 11. Now a storied performer of international acclaim, he has taken his place as one of today’s most exceptional musicians, whose virtuosic interpretations are underpinned by a unique balance of technical mastery and intense musicality. At his Santa Fe performance debut, Benjamin Grosvenor will perform gorgeous selections from Liszt and Chopin.

Benjamin Grosvenor, piano

Feel the radiance of Giordano Dance Chicago! America’s original jazz dance company returns to Santa Fe for a night of timeless dance performance. From its origins in the family-run studio of Gus Giordano, the godfather of jazz dance, to its current incarnation as a professional organization with over 60 years of worldwide performance history, Giordano Dance Chicago’s imprint on the art form of jazz dance is profound and far-reaching. The company’s new works continually expand the boundaries of jazz and contemporary dance, stunning audiences across the globe.

Giordano Dance Chicago

Founded in 1963 by Gus Giordano, Giordano Dance Chicago presents performances that are powerful, passionate, elegant, and celebratory alongside accessible and innovative education programs. Learn GDC Artistic Director Nan Giordano about the tradition and invention that embodies American jazz dance over an enjoyable evening of light refreshments.

Creative Connections Tradition and Invention: American Jazz Dance with Nan Giordano

LewAllen Galleries

NEA Jazz Master Delfeayo Marsalis brings the soul of New Orleans to Santa Fe! The Marsalis family are the most celebrated ambassadors of New Orleans’ unique jazz heritage. Following a decorated career as a sideman in bands with jazz legends like Ray Charles, Art Blakey, and Elvin Jones, Delfeayo formed his own band—the Uptown Jazz Orchestra. Playing a mix of original compositions and classic jazz songs, this lively band emphasizes important jazz traditions like riff playing and spontaneous arrangements. Celebrate Mardi Gras in style with the Uptown Jazz Orchestra!

A Mardi Gras Celebration with Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra

Brad Mehldau seamlessly merges elements of jazz exploration, classical romanticism, and pop magnetism. Renowned for his virtuosic piano skills, this award-winning musician unravels and reimagines melodies from artists as diverse as Radiohead, J.S. Bach, Paul Simon, Nick Drake, and more. Mehldau possesses the keen ear and musical imagination of a composer, effortlessly blending jazz and classical elements in his original compositions and commissioned works. It comes as no surprise that The New York Times has hailed him as “the most influential jazz pianist of the past two decades.” Experience the brilliance of Brad Mehldau as he takes the stage for a captivating performance of solo piano works at the St. Francis Auditorium.

Brad Mehldau: 14 Reveries

The Aunties: Women of the White Shell Water Place is a multimedia storytelling experience conceived and created by Indigenous Performance Productions. Featuring three Native American matriarchs from northern New Mexico, The Aunties cultivates a space for these remarkable individuals to tell the stories of their lives. Join us as we celebrate these Aunties through an evening of shared storytelling, music, and multimedia arts, collectively reflecting on their pasts as we look towards the future.

The Aunties: Women of the White Shell Water Place

A celebration of family and community featuring Native American arts, food, music, and a special presentation from Indigenous Performance Productions. With director Kendra Potter (Lummi), executive creative producer Andre Bouchard (Kootenai/Ojibwe/Pend d’Orielle/Salish), featured performers Nora Naranjo Morse (Santa Clara Pueblo), Deborah Taffa (Yuma Kwaa-Tsaan/Laguna Pueblo), and Laura Tohe (Diné), and students from the Insitute of American Indian Arts. Co-presented with IAIA.

Creative Connections – A Celebration of Aunties

Institute of American Indian Arts

Rediscover the human voice! Alash Ensemble are masters of Tuvan throat singing (xöömei), a remarkable technique for singing multiple pitches at the same time, called “Utterly stunning” by the Washington Post. Hailing from the Central Asian Republic of Tuva, this gifted trio has brought the unforgettable voice of their homeland to concert halls across the world. Believing that traditional music must constantly evolve, they infuse their sound with global styles ranging from jazz to pop to hip-hop, crafting an inventive blend like nothing else.

Alash Ensemble

From whence comes our American Christmas tradition? Wassailing is ancient – it has variously meant welcoming, drinking, singing along, giving alms, or celebrating them all at once with a special mulled drink: the wassail! Bjarte Eike, Steven Player, and Emi Ferguson lead us on a merry merging of music and myth, creating a vibrant new tradition that deepens our roots to our antic past. Come sing, laugh, and recall a younger time when the nights were long, the frost was deadly, and pagan spirits and holy saints mingled in harmony. This performance will include refreshments.

Winter Wassail

Join us for a fun-filled evening Gala in support of PSF Education, Performance Santa Fe’s critical and far-reaching free performing arts education programs! And the excitement doesn’t stop there! Wintergreen Wonderland will feature a live performance at the Lensic by Broadway star Jessica Vosk.

Wintergreen Wonderland Gala

La Fonda on the Plaza

The Broadway star makes her return to Santa Fe! Following her rapturously received Santa Fe debut in 2022, Jessica Vosk leads us on another journey of song and celebration. The world first met Jessica when she blew into the Kennedy Center with the national tour of Wicked in the role of Elphaba. Since then, Jessica has toured across the United States, bringing her formidable talent to concert halls from Boston to the Bay Area. She will perform selections from her favorite artists alongside holiday classics in a show that promises fun for the whole family!

Jessica Vosk

England’s finest Renaissance composer was a covert Catholic facing brutal prosecution in the English Reformation. Nonetheless, he persisted, composing clandestine services for worshippers who risked everything for their faith. Hear Byrd’s divine Mass for Five Voices as he intended: sung one-on-a-part in strictest secrecy.

Secret Byrd

Saturday morning coffee, doughnuts and Mass in Secret! Conductor and arts educator Oliver Prezant previews the upcoming performance Secret Byrd, the immersive staged Mass exploring the legacy of William Byrd, one of the greatest English composers of the High Renaissance, who took the risk of expressing his Catholic faith in music during the Protestant Reformation.

Creative Connections – Mass in Secret: The Underground Music of William Byrd

Santa Fe Woman's Club

Join conductor and arts educator Oliver Prezant for a pre-concert dinner and preview of Camilla Tilling and Emanuel Ax’s program. Learn about the extraordinary life of Jenny Lind, “The Swedish Nightingale” over a delicious meal with fellow music lovers.

Creative Connections – Art Songs/Heart Songs

Osteria D’Assisi

Jenny Lind, (1820–1887), known as the ‘Swedish Nightingale,’ was the reigning soprano of her day. A truly larger than life figure, Jenny counted among her friends Felix Mendelssohn and P.T. Barnum and garnered the admiration of all who heard her sing, including Hans Christian Andersen and Queen Victoria. Swedish soprano Camilla Tilling revisits her career with collaborative pianist Emanuel Ax, embarking on a touching journey through the lesser known and documented final 30 years of Jenny’s life during which her focus shifted from the world of opera to the art of song and Lieder.

Camilla Tilling and Emanuel Ax– Jenny Lind: Love and Lieder

Cristo Rey Catholic Church

Much more than a virtuosic trumpeter, Cuban American Arturo Sandoval has won 10 Grammy awards for his vivacious and dynamic compositions, led bands on tours around the globe, won an Emmy for his film scoring, and wrote a book about his experience as a protégé of Dizzy Gillespie. His music has, time and time again, pushed jazz and Latin music to new heights. This concert will feature selections from Sandoval’s most recent album Rhythm and Soul (2022) and promises to be an exhilarating night of masterful music.

Arturo Sandoval

Love, loss, and creation merge in unexpected ways as Manual Cinema presents its thrilling version of the Gothic tale Frankenstein. In this groundbreaking production, Manual Cinema stitches together shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, sound effects, and live music to tell the tale of Frankenstein, his monster, and the biography of author Mary Shelley. The result is an unexpected lesson about the beauty and horror of creation, exposing how family, community, and education shape personhood – or destroy it by their absence. Manual Cinema electrifies Mary Shelley’s timeless novel for a new generation.

Manual Cinema’s Frankenstein

Experience the sound of an Alaskan glacier in Transient Landscapes, an extraordinary, fully immersive live performance installation created by composer Matthew Burtner and percussionist Matthew Duvall. Featuring percussion, keyboards, voice, and field recordings of Alaska’s Matanuska Glacier, Transient Landscapes explores a performative means of remapping climate change into sound. In Burtner’s own words, “this work confronts the transience of interconnected and human-altered landscapes… in which glacial melt becomes flood water on the other side of the world.” Join us for this monumental, once-in-a-lifetime sonic experience!

Transient Landscapes

St. John's College

A discussion with Matthew Burtner, composer, and Matthew Duvall, percussionist, moderated by Paul Sta. Ana. Duvall and Burtner’s monumental collaboration, Transient Landscapes, brings the sound of an Alaskan glacier to Santa Fe. Learn how sound art, data modeling, and ecoacoustics make data emotive and connects human imagination to climate change.

Creative Connections – Reflections: Arts and the Changing Landscapes

Santa Fe Art Institute

Two inventive singers unite at the Scottish Rite Temple to close the 10th Anniversary of Festival of Song: Lauren Snouffer and Rolando Villazón. Lauren Snouffer, one of the most versatile and respected sopranos on the international stage, will open the Santa Fe Opera’s Orfeo as La Musica. We also welcome the production’s Orfeo, legendary tenor and Renaissance man Rolando Villazón, praised the world over as “the most charming of today’s divos” (The Times). Join us for the final Festival of Song and celebrate the voices of these critically acclaimed artists.

10th Anniversary of Festival of Song: Lauren Snouffer and Rolando Villazón

The second installment of Festival of Song brings together the “meltingly beautiful” soprano Ailyn Pérez and the “well-wrought” tenor Robert Watson (San Francisco Examiner; Dallas Morning News). These two formidable artists will appear in the Santa Fe Opera’s 2023 production of Dvořák’s Rusalka as Rusalka and The Prince. Join us for an afternoon of powerful artistry and song.

10th Anniversary of Festival of Song: Ailyn Pérez and Robert Watson

Festival of Song returns! Performance Santa Fe opens the series with an enchanting recital by baritone Huw Montague Rendall and mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey, the leads of the Santa Fe Opera’s Pelléas et Mélisande. Making their SFO debut this summer, these are two of the most exciting talents of opera today. Join us as they open the 10th annual Festival of Song!

10th Anniversary of Festival of Song: Samantha Hankey and Huw Montague Rendall

What happens when the legendary Daniel Ulbricht takes New York City’s best dancers on the road? Santa Fe knows the answer— two magical nights of performance by Stars of American Ballet! Praised by The Boston Globe as “An unapologetic showcase of virtuosity,” Stars of American Ballet brings together today’s most remarkable ballet talents. Led by Daniel Ulbricht and featuring a cast of principal and soloist dancers from the New York City Ballet and other renowned companies, this collective returns with two unforgettable programs. Don’t miss out on this Santa Fe favorite. 

Stars of American Ballet II

Stars of American Ballet I

“Among the most accomplished living practitioners of the jazz tenor saxophone” (NPR Music), Joshua Redman presents a celebration of the power of three! Saxophone, bass, and drums make up a classic trio format playing compositions from three of Redman’s favorite musicians—Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and Wayne Shorter. Following the music wherever it leads, Redman and his bandmates breathe new improvisational life into works Redman considers “not just relevant but foundational.” Redman is joined onstage by Larry Grenadier, bass, and Marcus Gilmore, drums. Discover your favorites anew with 3×3!

Joshua Redman: 3×3

The Tallis Scholars, one of the world’s premier vocal ensembles, celebrates its 50th anniversary under the leadership of founding director Peter Phillips who formed the group from members of the Oxford and Cambridge chapel choirs. Resonating in the glory of the Cathedral Basilica, their program will feature Renaissance masterpieces of sacred music from England and Europe, including works by Tallis, Palestrina, Lassus, and Josquin des Prez, among others.

The Tallis Scholars

Saint Francis of Assisi

The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields is known for its outstanding mastery of the most beloved chamber works. The Academy’s wind ensemble, composed of principal players of the orchestra, is no different. Joined by Caroline Palmer, a pianist renowned worldwide for her outstanding solo and chamber performances, the ensemble will bring a program of beloved repertoire to the St. Francis Auditorium. Mediated by the group’s “impeccable sense of balance” (Seen and Heard International), the evening will explore the different shades and timbres of wind instruments alongside the richness and versatility of the piano.

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Wind Ensemble with Caroline Palmer

New Mexico Museum

Outstanding practitioners of the South Indian dance form Bharatanatyam, the Ragamala Dance Company fuses timeless stories and myths of the Indian subcontinent with contemporary themes of Indian diasporic experience. Sacred Earth is a breathtaking original work exploring the interconnectedness between human emotions and the environment that shapes them. Performed with live accompaniment from an Indian musical ensemble, the dancers create a sacred space to honor the divinity in the natural world and the sustenance we derive from it. The Ragamala Dance Company offers us “some of the most transcendent experiences that dance has to offer” (New York Times). Don’t miss it!

Ragamala Dance Company: Sacred Earth

All Vivaldi! Jupiter Ensemble, under the artistic direction of lutenist Thomas Dunford, performs a full program of works by the emblematic Baroque composer. Based in France and touring internationally, Jupiter Ensemble was born in 2018 from the friendship between Dunford and other brilliant musicians of his generation. Since its founding, Jupiter has distinguished itself as a true virtuoso ensemble. The great freedom, energy, and improvisation skills of each individual musician allow them to perform together with passion, strength, and emotion. Jupiter brings this energy to All Vivaldi!, adapted from their 2019 debut recording with the Alpha label. From the vibrant charisma of “utterly persuasive” (Gramophone) mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre, to sparkling concertos for lute and cello performed by Thomas Dunford and Bruno Philippe, Jupiter Ensemble’s first ever Santa Fe performance will be a night to remember.

Jupiter Ensemble: All Vivaldi

For 50 years, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet has combined a spirit of fearless exploration with a commitment to continually reimagine the string quartet experience. In the process, they have created 70 critically acclaimed recordings, collaborated with visionary artists and composers, and performed thousands of concerts across the globe. to The San Francisco-based ensemble celebrates its 50th anniversary with the KRONOS Five Decades tour, bringing new commissions, signature works from its repertoire, and pieces from Kronos’ Fifty for the Future project to Santa Fe.

Kronos Quartet

Pablo Sáinz-Villegas returns to Santa Fe! The “global ambassador of Spanish guitar” (Billboard) takes us on a musical journey of iconic pieces from his homeland— from the yearning, lyrical melodies of Tárrega’s Recuerdos de la Alhambra to the virtuosic fire of Albéniz’s Asturias. Whatever the style, Sáinz-Villegas’ playing remains peerless— a hypnotic blend of technical ability, artistry, passion, and sheer joy “characterized by its vividly shaded colors and irresistible exuberance” (The New York Times). An inexhaustible talent, Sáinz-Villegas has made a name for himself through his extensive international touring and collaborations with prestigious directors, orchestras, festivals, and composers. Following his sold-out performance in March 2020 (the last concert PSF presented before the COVID-19 pandemic), we are thrilled to welcome Sáinz-Villegas back to Santa Fe for his highly anticipated return.

Pablo Sáinz-Villegas, guitar

Taste the richness of Spanish terroir with guitarist (and wine connoisseur) Pablo Sáinz-Villegas, who will share some of his favorite selections for you to sample and enjoy. 

This event will be hosted at VARA Vinoteca in downtown Santa Fe. You’ll taste multiple wines alongside a delicious spread of tapas.

Overture Series — Wine Tasting with Pablo Sáinz-Villegas

Vara Vinoteca

A well-known insomniac for whom night was a time for creativity and friendship, deep introspection and revelry, the iconic Leonard Bernstein worked incessantly, often entertaining friends and guests late into the night and dazzling them with charismatic performances across a wide range of musical styles. Late Night with Leonard Bernstein is hosted by his daughter Jamie and features three internationally-acclaimed artists – soprano Amy Burton and pianists John Musto and Michael Boriskin. A scintillating and affectionate multimedia portrait of the personal side of this charismatic, singularly public figure, this vibrant production has captivated sold-out audiences across the U.S. since it premiered at Lincoln Center. The program weaves together a warm-hearted, revealing script, a video slideshow of rare photographs of the legendary artist and his family, friends, and colleagues, and Bernstein’s most intimate (and favorite) music, along with personal stories and even audio and film clips of the Maestro himself.

Late Night with Leonard Bernstein

Music historian and writer James Keller talks one-on-one with Jamie Bernstein, daughter of the late, great Leonard Bernstein. Jamie will share personal stories over dinner about growing up with the American icon that she only knew as “Dad.” Plus, you’ll get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the origins of our featured performance, Late Night with Leonard Bernstein. This event will take place at a beautiful private home in the Santa Fe area.

Overture Series — Dinner with Jamie Bernstein

The depth, sensitivity, and virtuosity of Richard Goode’s playing have been praised for decades, making him one of today’s premier interpreters of Classical and Romantic piano repertoire. A former co-artistic director of the famed Marlboro Music Festival, exclusive Nonesuch recording artist, and worldwide touring musician, Goode’s career has brought him to the world’s best orchestras, brightest stages, and most coveted recital halls. This season, Performance Santa Fe welcomes Richard Goode for a special evening of all-Beethoven solo piano works— “a joy in the ear, a nourishment for the mind and an uplift for the spirit.” (The Los Angeles Times)

Richard Goode, piano

Enjoy a luncheon with the incomparable mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove and learn more about their monumental new musical collaboration, A Standing Witness.

Reserve your spot by February 13. Event details, including venue address, will be shared following registration.

Overture Series — American History, Poetry, and Music in Conversation

This event is part of the Art + Sol Winter Arts Festival. To learn more, visit artsolsantafe.org.

A Standing Witness is a monumental new collaboration between Grammy Award-winning composer Richard Danielpour and Pulitzer Prize-winning author and former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove, created especially for the incomparable mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and the celebrated Music from Copland House Ensemble. The soaring music and probing poetry of this epic cycle for mezzo-soprano and chamber ensemble is a sweeping retrospective tracing enormous social, cultural, technological, and political upheavals in the U.S. since the watershed year of 1968. Rapturously received in premiere performances at the Kennedy Center, the University of Chicago, and elsewhere around the U.S., there is no more timely or provocative work for this pivotal moment in American history.

Susan Graham + Music from Copland House – A Standing Witness

The Beatles meets modern dance meets a riotous explosion of color and sound in Pepperland! Created as a tribute to the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ seminal Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Pepperland is a dance masterpiece by Mark Morris, “the most successful and influential choreographer alive” (New York Times). One of Morris’ most iconic original works, the show features six songs from Sgt. Pepper and four Pepper-inspired original compositions arranged and composed by Ethan Iverson— Allegro, Scherzo, Adagio, and The Blues. Dancers performing Morris’ joyful choreography are accompanied live by a chamber ensemble of voice, soprano saxophone, two keyboards, theremin, and percussion. Don’t miss your chance to see Pepperland, a psychedelic dance homage to the revolutionary music of The Beatles.

Mark Morris Dance Group: Pepperland

On January 31, cellist Alisa Weilerstein presents a program of Suites for Solo Cello by J.S. Bach. Want to learn more about the music you’ll hear at the performance? Join Performance Santa Fe for Bach Illuminated, a fun and friendly preview of the evening’s program featuring conductor and arts educator Oliver Prezant. Explore the ins and outs of Bach’s Suites for Solo Cello and enjoy the company of fellow music lovers over a delicious three-course meal. This event will be immediately followed by Alisa’s performance at 7:30 pm.

Overture Series — Bach Illuminated

You’re invited to a very special public master class! Alisa Weilerstein is joined by students from the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association. Students and music lovers of all ages are encouraged to attend.

Masterclass Series with Alisa Weilerstein

United Church of Santa Fe

A passionate interpreter of Bach’s solo cello repertoire and one of the leading cellists of her generation, Alisa Weilerstein makes her long-awaited Santa Fe recital debut with a performance of three of Bach’s solo cello suites. She is a MacArthur Fellow, recipient of the Leonard Bernstein Prize, and universally beloved performer. Weilerstein’s 2020 recording of all six Bach cello suites was praised for its “sunlit clarity” (The Guardian) and “expressive but authoritative style” (The Classic Review). Lovers of Bach won’t want to miss what will be a lyrical, moving performance from one of classical music’s biggest stars.

Alisa Weilerstein, cello

Join musical omnivore and jazz pianist Aaron Diehl for a discussion of the music that inspires him! Learn about the Modern Jazz Quartet and why their music became deeply influential to modern-day jazz artists. Diehl will share beloved musical recordings, anecdotes, insights, and deep reflections into his own practice. Don’t miss this free opportunity to learn about jazz history and culture from a living legend.

Overture Series — Listening Party with Aaron Diehl

St. John’s College

Emmy® and Tony® Award winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth’s career spans film, television, voice-over and stage. In 2015, Chenoweth received a coveted star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2009, she received an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in “Pushing Daisies.” In 1999, she won a Tony Award for “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” and she was nominated for her original role of Glinda the Good Witch in “Wicked” in 2004. Chenoweth has been nominated for two Emmy Awards and for a People’s Choice Award for her role on “Glee.” Chenoweth earned a Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award and Broadway.com Audience Choice Award for her lead role in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s “On the Twentieth Century.” She also earned nominations for a Tony Award and a Drama League Award for the role.

Kristin Chenoweth

Contemporary West Dance Theatre (CWDT), formerly known as the Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theater, is a multicultural nonprofit organization that was founded in March 2007 by Bernard H. Gaddis and Charmaine Hunter. CWDT is Las Vegas’ premiere contemporary modern dance company, named by the Las Vegas Review Journal as one of the “Fab Four” arts organizations in Nevada. The company has a dance methodology that integrates classical and modern paradigms with an athleticism that gives audiences a more profound dance experience. CWDT dancers are passionate, relatable and highly skilled and have been bringing virtuoso performances to the stage that have excited and inspired audiences around the world for over a decade. With well over sixty ballets, CWDT continues to build its vault with works by both well-renowned and up-and-coming choreographers. Consistent with the CWDT brand, the repertoire is made of sophisticated modernist choreography that combines tangible spiritual elegance with grace, which have proven highly impactful and connects strongly with their audiences. Forging new growth in the community, CWDT offers local arts and education outreach programming, and both national and international touring performance opportunities for dance artists.  The company has also recently embarked on the journey to becoming an accredited conservatory in the fine art of dance.

Contemporary West Dance Theatre

Built around rich vocal harmony, vivid emotional writing, and a smooth fusion of country, rock, and pop, Lady A have long been a model of mainstream success. The group has become one of the 21st century’s premier vocal groups, blending deeply felt emotions with classic Country sounds. As a Country-radio staple, the trio has amassed record-breaking success ushering in 10 No. One hits with more than 18 million album units and 34 million tracks sold and nearly 5 billion digital streams.

Known for their 11X PLATINUM hit “Need You Now” which is the highest certified song by a Country group, they have earned ACM and CMA“Vocal Group of the Year” trophies three years in a row, and countless other honors including seven GRAMMY awards, Billboard Music Awards, People’s Choice Awards, Teen Choice Awards, and a Tony Award nod.

Performance Santa Fe

Dec 21, 2024

Kristin Chenoweth

Apr 5, 2025

Contemporary West Dance Theatre

Jun 21, 2025

Lady A

Oct 28, 2024

Alexander Malofeev

Aug 11, 2024

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