Season Also Includes ‘The Music Center’s BalletNOW®’ Curated by Paris Opera Ballet’s Hugo Marchand, Featuring the Company’s Esteemed Principal Dancers and Soloists for an Unmissable Experience; Plus, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and The Music Center Debut of Camille A. Brown & Dancers
Season Subscriptions on Sale Now at MUSICCENTER.ORG
LOS ANGELES (May 20, 2025)—The Music Center today announced its exhilarating 2025–2026 Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center season, inviting Angelenos and all dance lovers to experience a rare treat: a performance by the acclaimed New York City Ballet, making its long-awaited return to L.A.’s performing arts center after more than two decades.
The dance season will open in September 2025 at The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre with the L.A. premiere of five-time Tony® Award-nominated choreographer and director Camille A. Brown’s newest work I AM, performed by Camille A. Brown & Dancers. The following month, In October 2025, Complexions Contemporary Ballet returns to The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to wow Angelenos again after a two-year absence. The beloved Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater continues its exclusive Southern California multi-year residency with The Music Center in March 2026 with seven stupendous performances in The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Also gracing the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion stage with seven performances in June 2026 will be New York City Ballet. Making his mark at The Music Center’s iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall with a three-day engagement, July 31–August 2, 2026, Paris Opera Ballet’s Principal Dancer Hugo Marchand curates and performs in The Music Center’s BalletNOW®: Superstars of Paris Featuring Hugo Marchand & Friends. Marchand will bring with him an extraordinary lineup of the company’s superstar êtoiles (principal dancers) and soloists.
Season subscriptions are available for purchase now by visiting musiccenter.org or by calling (213) 972-0711. As part of these residencies, The Music Center will offer free arts and cultural experiences, such as talks, student matinees, workshops and the like to complement the dance season.
“In times of both challenge and triumph, dance reminds us of our shared humanity and brings us joy. When curating the 23rd season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, we strived to present dance companies that, combined with their electrifying artistry, emotional resonance and technical brilliance, illustrate dance’s power to connect, elevate and rejuvenate the human spirit,” said Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center. “We invite audiences to rise with us this dance season; these extraordinary artists will deliver performances that will stir the soul, ignite our imagination and connect us in delight and wonder.”
The Music Center debut of Camille A. Brown & Dancers launches the 2025–2026 dance season on September 12–14, 2025. Founded by five-time Tony® Award-nominated choreographer and director Camille A. Brown, the company will present Brown’s newest work I AM (2025) in its L.A. premiere, featuring original live music, in The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre. I AM deepens Brown’s exploration of Black joy and launches bold new inquiries into the power of imagination and the shape of the future. The evening-length work is inspired by the pulse of the film Drumline and the “I Am” episode of the HBO series Lovecraft Country. “The dancers, strong, flexible and clean in their moves, seem to exult in their physical prowess, and in the presence of each other, as if each one is challenging each other to go further, dance faster, jump higher, be their best selves,” writes Splash Magazines. “They have community in each other, and they radiate joy.”
Co-Founding Directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson of Complexions Contemporary Ballet look forward to captivating L.A. audiences once again with the company’s bold fusion of athleticism, passion and elegance at The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, October 24–26, 2025. Retro Suite takes audiences on a high-energy ride through a collection of classic works by Co-Founding Director and Principal Choreographer Dwight Rhoden spanning from 1994 to the present—an homage to the company’s momentous 30th anniversary season. The program also features For Crying Out Loud (2023), set to music from U2’s album “Songs of Surrender.” The Guardian extols: “Companies like Complexions are game-changing: they’re forging a path for what ballet can be instead of what it historically has been.”
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will also perform at The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on March 25–29, 2026. The beloved modern dance company, which recently performed an incredible seven performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in April 2025, returns for the third year of its exclusive Southern California multi-year residency with The Music Center. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater embarks on its next era under the leadership of new Artistic Director Alicia Graf Mack, guided as ever by Alvin Ailey’s pioneering legacy. Audiences will be treated to classic works from the Ailey repertory that have inspired and uplifted fans for decades—including the touchstone of inspiration Revelations, the ultimate anthem to resilience and joy. Ailey will continue to break ground with new works by contemporary choreographers that promise to propel dance in exhilarating new directions—pushing the bounds of what the human body can do and what the human spirit can achieve.
After more than 20 years, New York City Ballet returns to The Music Center with two magnificent programs of mixed repertory, including Concerto Barocco, Allegro Brillante, Red Angel and more, from June 24–28, 2026. The iconic company, co-founded by George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein in 1948, remains one of the world’s foremost ballet institutions and is a must-see for L.A. audiences, who will witness the company’s legendary past and thrilling future. “More than any other ballet company in the world,” hails The New York Times, “New York City Ballet has the marriage of music and dance written into its constitution.”
The 23rd season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center comes to a spectacular close on July 31–August 2, 2026, with The Music Center’s BalletNOW®: Superstars of Paris Featuring Hugo Marchand & Friends. Paris Opera Ballet Étoile (principal dancer) Hugo Marchand curates and performs in the brilliant program that offers a breathtaking glimpse into the elegance and artistry of Paris Opera Ballet’s principals and soloists—Léonore Baulac, Antonio Conforti, Letizia Galloni, Dorothée Gilbert, Germain Louvet, Marc Moreau and Hannah O’Neill—with pianist Elena Bonnay and cellist Julie Sevilla-Fraysse. This unmissable engagement reimagines the ballet experience through an intimate performance at The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall and marks the return of The Music Center’s BalletNow®, which graced The Music Center’s stages in 2015 (curated by Herman Cornejo and Roberto Bolle of American Ballet Theatre) and in 2017 (curated by Tiler Peck of New York City Ballet).
For tickets and information about the 2025–2026 season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, visit musiccenter.org or call (213) 972-0711.
The 2025–2026 Season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center*
CAMILLE A. BROWN & DANCERS (Music Center Debut)
The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre
Friday, September 12, 2025, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, September 13, 2025, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, September 14, 2025, 2:00 p.m.
Live Music
I AM (L.A. Premiere)
Direction and Choreography: Camille A. Brown
Scenic and Lighting Design: David L. Arsenault
Production Design: Aaron Rhyne
Costume Design: Ashley Soliman
Sound Design: Justin Ellington
Music Supervisor: Zane Mark
Music Director and Arranger: Deah Love Harriott
Continuing her explorations of Black joy, five-time Tony®-nominated director and choreographer Camille A. Brown creates a new work for her company that launches new queries into the possibilities of imagination and boldly investigates the future. While Brown has often disrupted people’s understanding of the past, she imagines, in this new work, a creative space for cultural liberation, conjuring new ways of being in this world. Pulling from themes found in the "I Am" episode of the HBO series Lovecraft Country, this new work blasts into the universe where anything is possible and features various dance genres of the African Diaspora.
COMPLEXIONS CONTEMPORARY BALLET
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Friday, October 24, 2025, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 26, 2025, 2:00 p.m.
Last company appearance at The Music Center: 2024
Retro Suite
Choreography: Dwight Rhoden
Lighting Design: Michael Korsch
Costume Design: Christine Darch
A celebratory collection of classic works by Complexions Contemporary Ballet Co-Founding Director and Principal Choreographer Dwight Rhoden spanning the company’s 30-year history.
For Crying Out Loud (2023)
Choreography: Dwight Rhoden
Music: U2
Lighting Design: Michael Korsch
Costume Design: Christine Darch
Set to music from U2’s album “Songs of Surrender,” For Crying Out Loud includes: “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “I Will Follow,” “Every Breaking Wave,” “Vertigo,” “With or Without You” and “Pride.”
ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Wednesday, March 25, 2026, 7:30 p.m. (Program A)
Thursday, March 26, 2026, 7:30 p.m. (Program B)
Friday, March 27, 2026, 7:30 p.m. (Program A)
Saturday, March 28, 2026, 2:00 p.m. (Program A)
Saturday, March 28, 2026, 7:30 p.m. (Program B)
Sunday, March 29, 2026, 2:00 p.m. (Program B)
Sunday, March 29, 2026, 7:30 p.m. (Program A)
Mixed repertory to be announced; all programs conclude with Revelations
Last company appearance at The Music Center: 2025
Returning to The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for a third year as part of its exclusive Southern California multi-year annual residency, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater embarks on its next era under the leadership of new Artistic Director Alicia Graf Mack, guided as ever by Alvin Ailey’s pioneering legacy. Audiences will be treated to classic works from the Ailey repertory that have inspired and uplifted fans for decades—including the touchstone of inspiration Revelations, the ultimate anthem to resilience and joy. Ailey will continue to break ground with new works by contemporary choreographers that promise to propel dance in exhilarating new directions—pushing the bounds of what the human body can do and what the human spirit can achieve.
NEW YORK CITY BALLET
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Wednesday, June 24, 2026, 7:30 p.m. (Program A)
Thursday, June 25, 2026, 7:30 p.m. (Program A)
Friday, June 26, 2026, 7:30 p.m. (Program A)
Saturday, June 27, 2026, 2:00 p.m. (Program B)
Saturday, June 27, 2026, 7:30 p.m. (Program B)
Sunday, June 28, 2026, 2:00 p.m. (Program B)
Sunday, June 28, 2026, 7:30 p.m. (Program B)
Mixed repertory
Last company appearance at The Music Center: 2004
Featuring recorded music and live soloists for Program A; recorded music and live performances by the New York City Ballet Orchestra for Program B
Program A:
- Signs (2022)
Choreography: Gianna Reisen
Music: Philip Glass
Signs, set to piano solos by Philip Glass, reveals rippling rows of dancers unleashing bursts of refreshing energy in solos and duets before the swelling waves of the ensemble’s current absorb them once again.
- Red Angels (1994)
Choreography: Ulysses Dove
Music: Richard Einhorn
A dynamically charged, abstract work, Red Angels highlights the power and athleticism of its four dancers through bold choreography, intense lighting and a riveting score for electric violin.
- A Suite of Dances (1994)
Choreography: Jerome Robbins
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed with an onstage cellist, A Suite of Dances is a solo tour de force for a male dancer that is at once witty and pensive.
- The Times Are Racing (2017)
Choreography: Justin Peck
Music: Dan Deacon
One of the most buzzed about premieres of 2017, The Times Are Racing by New York City Ballet Resident Choreographer and Artistic Advisor Justin Peck, is a “sneaker ballet” that draws inspiration from a variety of dance styles—and sees its dancers in streetwear designed by Humberto Leon—while matching Dan Deacon’s electronic score with youthful impulse and vigor.
Program B:
- Concerto Barocco (1941)
Choreography: George Balanchine
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach
One of Balanchine’s greatest masterpieces, Concerto Barocco is music made visible as two elegant yet dynamic lead ballerinas each depict one of the instrumental soloists in a virtuosic double violin concerto.
- Allegro Brillante (1956)
Choreography: George Balanchine
Music: Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky
An exhilarating display of technical feats, Allegro Brillante features a lead couple and supporting corps de ballet who breeze through a flurry of classical steps with incisive precision.
- This Bitter Earth (2012)
Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon
Music: Max Richter, Dinah Washington and Clyde Otis
This breathtaking and poetic dance for a couple explores the haunting, tenuous melodies set to a remix of Dinah Washington’s soulful rendition of “This Bitter Earth” and Max Richter’s “On the Nature of Daylight.”
- Concerto for Two Pianos (2024)
Choreography: Tiler Peck
Music: Francis Poulenc
Described by The New York Times as “a physical manifestation of musical notes,” the first work choreographed for New York City Ballet by Principal Dancer Tiler Peck “sets her dancers free” in a whirlwind of choreography set to a sparkling composition by Francis Poulenc and garbed in elegantly airy costumes.
THE MUSIC CENTER’S BalletNOW®: SUPERSTARS OF PARIS FEATURING HUGO MARCHAND & FRIENDS
The Music Center’s Walt Disney Concert Hall
Friday, July 31, 2026, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 1, 2026, 2:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 1, 2026, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, August 2, 2026, 2:00 p.m.
Mixed repertory
Paris Opera Ballet’s Étoile (principal dancer) Hugo Marchand curates and performs in this brilliant program that offers a breathtaking glimpse into the elegance and artistry of Paris Opera Ballet’s principals and soloists—Léonore Baulac, Antonio Conforti, Letizia Galloni, Dorothée Gilbert, Germain Louvet, Marc Moreau and Hannah O’Neill—with pianist Elena Bonnay and cellist Julie Sevilla-Fraysse. This highly anticipated engagement reimagines the ballet experience through an unforgettable night at The Music Center’s iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall and marks the return of The Music Center’s BalletNow®, which graced The Music Center’s stages in 2015 (curated by Herman Cornejo and Roberto Bolle of American Ballet Theatre) and in 2017 (curated by Tiler Peck of New York City Ballet).
*Programs and artists subject to change.
ABOUT GLORYA KAUFMAN PRESENTS DANCE AT THE MUSIC CENTER
Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, a TMC Arts program, is one of the leading presenters of dance on the West Coast. The celebrated series offers significant works by prestigious ballet and contemporary dance artists from around the world. Now in its 23rd year, Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center is a powerful force, bringing works by today’s most influential companies and choreographers to audiences in Los Angeles. Performances are complemented by special experiences for both ticket buyers and the public with opportunities to learn more about the choreography and the themes explored, including panels, master classes, dance film festivals, interactive experiences and more. The 23rd season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center is generously supported by Glorya Kaufman Foundation, Center Dance Arts, Dorothy B. Chandler Program Fund and Elisabeth Katte Harris.
ABOUT CENTER DANCE ARTS
Center Dance Arts is a dynamic community of patrons with a passion for dance. Center Dance Arts members bring dance to life in Los Angeles by promoting The Music Center’s world-class dance performances, extensive educational outreach and free and low-cost community experiences so all may experience the transformative power of dance. For more information, visit musiccenter.org/cda.
ABOUT THE MUSIC CENTER
The Music Center convenes artists, communities and ideas with the goal of deepening the cultural lives of every resident in Los Angeles County. The $80 million non-profit performing arts organization has two divisions: TMC Arts and TMC Ops. TMC Arts, The Music Center’s programming engine, provides year-round programming inside The Music Center’s four theatres, on Jerry Moss Plaza, outside at Gloria Molina Grand Park—a 12-acre adjacent green space—in schools and other locations all over Los Angeles County. TMC Arts presents world-class dance with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, free and low-cost public concerts and events, live and digital K–12 arts education programs, workshops, performances, interactive experiences and special events. TMC Ops manages the theatres, the Plaza and Gloria Molina Grand Park, which comprise $3 billion in county assets, on behalf of the County of Los Angeles. The Music Center is also home to four renowned resident companies—Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Opera and LA Phil. For more information, visit musiccenter.org. Follow The Music Center on social media @MusicCenterLA