Parsons Dance, a beacon of contemporary American dance, is captivating audiences with their athletic and joyous performances. As they tour across the United States, including special events at iconic venues like The Broad Stage in Santa Monica and The Hanover Theatre in Worcester, the company continues to thrill audiences with their dynamic ensemble work and technical brilliance. Join us as we delve into the artistry behind Parsons Dance and the unforgettable experiences they offer, especially during their 40th Anniversary season celebration.

Parsons Dance: Celebrating 40 Years of Dynamic Movement and Joy

Known for its energized, athletic, and joyous style, Parsons Dance is an internationally acclaimed contemporary American dance company, taking the stage in Santa Monica as part of their 40th anniversary season! Their bold ensemble work, dynamic movement, and breathtaking technique have solidified their status as one of the world’s leading dance companies, captivating audiences around the globe for years. As Clive Barnes of the New York Post once said, “It does not take long to see why Parsons and his company are one of the hottest tickets in contemporary American dance.”

Parsons Dance

The Broad Stage

Known for its energized, athletic, and joyous style, Parsons Dance is internationally renowned for creating and performing contemporary American dance. Their bold ensemble work and movement has solidified them as one of the world’s leading dance companies. Works, like the iconic Caught, exemplify this company’s innovation and huge audience appeal. Parsons Dance is always a favorite that is sure to thrill audiences with their effortless movement and stunning dancers.

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McCallum Theatre

Join us for a once-in-a-lifetime evening at the Miller Center for the Arts as we welcome the internationally acclaimed PARSONS Dance Company for a special performance dedicated to Marlin Miller, founder of the Miller Center for the Arts. Marlin’s vision shaped generations of artists, audiences, and the cultural life of our community. On this extraordinary night, he will join us in the audience as we celebrate his lasting legacy and the impact of the arts he championed.

Reading Area Community College

Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center

The Hanover Theatre & Conservatory for the Performing Arts

Known for their remarkable athleticism and stunning ensemble work, Parsons Dance brings exuberance, joy and passion to any stage. Flawlessly fusing the gestures and movements that comprise modern dance with the discipline and precision of a classical dance company, Parsons Dance is internationally renowned for works like the iconic “Caught,” exemplifying their trademark innovation and huge audience appeal.

Lyndon Institute

This summer marks 25 years since the last Pillow appearance by Parsons Dance, the internationally-touring contemporary dance company based in New York City and led by David Parsons, “one of the great movers of modern dance” (The New York Times). Beloved for their high-energy and athletic ensemble work, Parsons dancers have wowed audiences in more than 30 countries, performing selections from a repertory of more than 75 works created by David Parsons, as well as established choreographers like Jamar Roberts and Rena Butler.

Jacob's Pillow

Contemporary American dance company, Parsons Dance, is internationally renowned for its energized, athletic ensemble work. Led by artistic director and prolific dance-maker, David Parsons, the company brings a specialized program that includes signature works like Swing Shift, heralded for the fervor of its dancing and jazzy propulsion, and Nascimento, with its commissioned music by Brazilian composer, Milton Nascimento. Parsons' powerhouse, CAUGHT, with its strobe-driven special effects, completes this lively program.

Aspen District Theater

Lensic Performing Arts Center

Parsons Dance returns for its annual New York season with an exceptional program of three world premieres alongside company classics. With his characteristic musicality and wit, David Parsons offers a new work set to music by the experimental band Son Lux. A commission by Penny Saunders, with live music by Michael Wall, and a captivating new dance by Jamar Roberts take the stage as well. Audiences will also enjoy repertory masterpieces like Parsons' iconic solo Caught which, throughout the company's four-decade history, has delighted all.

See Us At The Joyce Theater

The Joyce Theater

Known for its remarkable athleticism and stunning ensemble work, Parsons Dance delivers positive life-enriching experiences to audiences worldwide. Flawlessly fusing the gestures and movements that comprise contemporary dance with the discipline and precision of a classical company. Parsons Dance is always a favorite that can bring exuberance, joy and passion to any stage. Please come join us at Music Hall.

Music Hall Center

Hailed by the Toronto Star as “one of the hottest tickets in contemporary dance,” the always-popular Parsons Dance company returns to take your breath away with its brand of joyous, high-voltage dances. Led by Artistic Director and prolific dance-maker David Parsons, the company brings a tailor made program that includes signature works like Caught, a gravity-defying fusion of art and technology demanding split-second timing and athletic stamina by the dancer. The evening’s very special finale will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Parsons’ critically acclaimed work Whirlaway to a soundtrack of Allen Toussaint hits. Originally commissioned by NOBA and premiering at the Mahalia Jackson Theater in 2014, the dramatic restaging of this work with new costumes and choreography by Parsons Dance will be joined by Reginald Toussaint and The Allen Toussaint Orchestra, as we honor the life and legacy of a New Orleans icon.

Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts

Hailed by the Toronto Star as “one of the hottest tickets in contemporary dance,” the always-popular Parsons Dance company returns to take your breath away with its brand of joyous, high-voltage dances. Led by Artistic Director and prolific dance-maker David Parsons, the company brings a tailor-made program that includes signature works like Caught, a gravity-defying fusion of art and technology demanding split-second timing and athletic stamina by the dancer, and Swing Shift, a cherished David Parsons piece built around a series of duets and trios that he describes as “a study of speed and partnering.” The evening’s very special finale will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Parsons’ critically acclaimed work Whirlaway to a soundtrack of Allen Toussaint hits. Originally commissioned by NOBA and premiering at the Mahalia Jackson Theater in 2014, the dramatic restaging of this work with new costumes and choreography by Parsons Dance will be joined by Reginald Toussaint and The Allen Toussaint Orchestra, as we honor the life and legacy of a New Orleans icon. “Parsons’ dancers are young, hot and incredibly athletic.

Parsons Dance with the Allen Toussaint Orchestra

Louis Armstrong Park

Known for their remarkable athleticism and stunning ensemble work, Parsons Dance Company brings exuberance, joy, and passion to any stage. Flawlessly fusing the gestures and movements that comprise modern dance with the discipline and precision of a classical dance company, they are internationally renowned. Stunning works, like the iconic Caught, exemplify this company’s innovation and huge audience appeal.

David Parsons Dance Company

The Grand 1894 Opera House

Always a TITAS Favorite, Parsons Dance always delivers! Known for its energized, athletic, and joyous style, Parsons Dance is internationally renowned for creating and performing contemporary American dance. Their bold works and distinctive style have solidified them as one of the world’s leading dance companies. Works, like Caught, one of the world’s most famous solos, exemplify this company’s innovation and huge audience appeal. Parsons Dance is always a favorite that is sure to thrill audiences with their amazing energy and stunning dancers.

Moody Performance Hall

Parsons Dance is a New York City based contemporary American dance company, internationally renowned for its energized, athletic ensemble work. Founded in 1985 by Artistic Director David Parsons and Tony Award-winning lighting designer Howell Binkley, the company has toured to more than 447 cities, 30 countries, and 5 continents and has appeared at such notable venues as The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Sydney Opera House, Maison de la Dance, Teatro La Fenice, Teatro Municipal de Rio de Janiero.

Rialto Center for the Arts

Georgia State University

As one of the world’s premier contemporary dance companies, this talented troupe showcases a dynamic fusion of styles that combines athleticism, grace and unparalleled innovation. Through endless creativity and self-expression, striking choreography and powerful music, Parsons Dance creates unforgettable performances that push the boundaries of dance and bring life-affirming artistry to audiences across the globe.

Wortham Center for the Performing Arts

Parsons Dance is known for its energized, athletic, and joyous style. For more than 30 years, Artistic Director David Parsons has combined his choreographic gifts and talent  for training passionate, highly skilled dancers into a solidified position as one of the world’s leading companies. Their stunning work flawlessly combines the movements and gestures of modern dance with the precision and discipline of classical dance to create a program that delivers a spirited evening for all ages. Returning to the Phillips Center, Parsons Dance will present Caught, a favorite among audiences. You certainly do not want to miss this opportunity!

Phillips Center at University of Florida

Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts

Known for its energized, athletic and joyous style, Parsons Dance is internationally renowned for creating and performing contemporary American dance. Program to include The Road, with music by Cat Stevens, and commissioned by Tilles Center with support from the Sandra and Eric Krasnoff Dance Endowment, Vickie Morris, Rory Pottruck, and Chuck Andrews.

Tilles Center for the Performing Arts

Known for its energized, athletic, and joyous style, Parsons Dance is internationally renowned for creating and performing contemporary American dance. Their bold ensemble work and movement has solidified them as one of the world’s leading dance companies. Works, like the iconic Caught, exemplify this company’s innovation and huge audience appeal. Parsons Dance will thrill audiences with their effortless movement and stunning dancers.

Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts

Known for its energized, athletic, and joyous style, Parsons Dance is internationally renowned for creating and performing contemporary American dance. Their bold ensemble work and movement has solidified them as one of the world’s leading dance companies. Works like the iconic Caught exemplify the company’s innovation and huge audience appeal. Parsons Dance is always a favorite that is sure to thrill audiences with their effortless movement and stunning dancers.

Luther Burbank Center for the Arts

New York City Ballet gave its first performance at City Center on October 11, 1948. This year, on the same date, the Company will offer audiences a chance to step back in time to this momentous occasion in the history of ballet. The program—which will only be performed once—replicates that seminal evening by presenting the same program audiences saw then, comprised of three works that have become (or indeed were already) classics of the Balanchine repertory: Concerto Barocco, first created in 1941 for a precursor company to New York City Ballet;  Symphony in C, a feast of classical steps featuring more than 50 dancers; and Orpheus, which had made its debut just months earlier when the Company was called Ballet Society.

75th Anniversary

Lincoln Center

Serenade marked a turning point for Balanchine. The first ballet he made in America, created on students from the just-aborning School of American Ballet, it has remained a beloved highlight of the repertory ever since, with its haunting imagery and entrancing embrace of the shimmering Tschaikovsky score for strings. Exploring again the dance potential of Greek myth after 1928’s Apollo, Balanchine’s celebrated, intimate collaboration with Stravinsky subsequently brought forth Orpheus. And Balanchine returned to his cherished Tschaikovsky for Theme and Variations, a dazzling display of classical ballet culminating in an elegant polonaise.

All Balanchine V

Balanchine’s ability to define music through dance, with infinite variety, marks all the ballets here. Concerto Barocco channels the delicacy and refinement of its Bach score through a pure-dance vocabulary that amplifies the music’s power. The elemental, alternately driving and melodic music of Prokofiev became the basis for one of the choreographer’s most dramatically powerful works, Prodigal Son, a retelling of the Biblical tale that is also distinguished for its designs by the great French painter Georges Rouault. And Bizet’s endlessly scintillating score proved a perfect match for Balanchine’s mastery of all aspects of classical technique in the enduring favorite Symphony in C.

All Balanchine IV

NYCB’s 2023 Fall Gala includes two iconic works from our founding choreographers. Excerpts from Balanchine’s Who Cares?—set to Gershwin’s radiant melodies performed by special guest musicians—presents balmy and romantic duets in new costume designs by Wes Gordon for Carolina Herrera. Jerome Robbins’ vibrant Glass Pieces closes this one-time-only program, capturing the pulsating heartbeat of metropolitan life with its electrifying choreography.

Fall Gala

Apollo, a dance depicting the Greek god’s interaction with his muses, is the oldest Balanchine ballet in the repertory, created in 1928 in Paris. The dance marked the first significant collaboration between the choreographer and Igor Stravinsky, arguably his greatest musical muse. La Sonnambula, with its atmospheric sets and costumes, spins forth a mysterious dramatic world in its depiction of the sleepwalker of the title and the poet whom she bewitches, with tragic consequences. Completing the program is Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2, one of Balanchine’s most resplendently beautiful homages to the grand classical tradition.

All Balanchine III

Bourrée Fantasque, which debuted in 1949 and has only rarely been revived in recent years, returns to the repertory and is sure to charm audiences with its vibrant mixture of frolicsome comedy in the first movement and sparkling classical choreography throughout. Agon, a dance both austere in its means and sublimely powerful in its effect, marked a watershed in the storied collaboration between Balanchine and Stravinsky. And Slaughter on Tenth Avenue represents Balanchine as a supreme entertainer, with its deliciously zany story of a murder plot that goes awry, thanks to a high-kicking stripper and the fearlessly energetic hoofer who loves her.

All Balanchine II

Balanchine’s deep affection for his adopted home animates this program of ballets all set to American music. Western Symphony is a vivacious suite of dances taking inspiration from the mythical Wild West. A similarly buoyant spirit infuses Stars and Stripes, with Balanchine seamlessly wedding classical steps with the rhythmic marches of John Philip Sousa, orchestrated by Hershey Kay. Tarantella employs a sprightly piece of music by Louis Moreau Gottschalk for a zesty and playful pas de deux that never fails to delight. Rounding out the program is The Unanswered Question from Ivesiana, a hypnotically alluring dance that captures the haunting, otherworldly music of Charles Ives.

All Balanchine I

A season celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of New York City Ballet, with the fall repertory devoted exclusively to George Balanchine works, kicks off in sumptuous style. Balanchine’s only full-length plotless ballet, Jewels has been a perennial favorite of both connoisseurs and popular audiences since its 1967 premiere. Taking inspiration from gemstones after a visit to Van Cleef & Arpels, Balanchine created a three-part ballet that is also a tribute to disparate eras: Emeralds evokes the gracious elegance of the art form’s history in France, Rubies celebrates the jazzy energy that American dancers brought to the ballet, and the glittering finale, Diamonds, honors Balanchine’s roots in Russia and the height of the classical period.

Jewels

Performing works based on the vast repertory of storied choreographer David Parsons, Parsons Dance is an internationally renowned contemporary American dance company known for its energized and athletic ensemble work. Parsons and his Company have been recognized with three Choreography Fellowship Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Choreography Award, the Dance Magazine Award, a Howard Gilman Fellowship, the Dance Masters of America Annual Award, and the Capezio ACE Award. (Smoke, haze, and strobing light effects)

PARSONS DANCE

Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo

Performing works based on the vast repertory of storied choreographer David Parsons, Parsons Dance is an internationally renowned contemporary American dance company known for its energized and athletic ensemble work. Parsons and his Company have been recognized with three Choreography Fellowship Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Choreography Award, the Dance Magazine Award, a Howard Gilman Fellowship, the Dance Masters of America Annual Award, and the Capezio ACE Award. (Smoke and haze effects)

“This is a dance your heart out’ (at all times, no excuses) kind of enterprise” – The New York Times  Exuberant and virtuosic, Parsons Dance is internationally renowned for its remarkably athletic and joyous style which has solidified them as one of the world’s leading modern/contemporary dance companies. Now making their Segerstrom Center for the Arts debut, Parsons Dance is sure to thrill audiences with their effortless movement and enthusiastic dancers. Stunning works, like the iconic Caught, exemplify this company’s innovation and huge appeal.

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