Five New York companies will share a single stage this summer, thanks to a fashion house that has loved ballet since Coco sketched her first leotard.
Born in 2021, when theaters cracked their doors after months of silence, the BAAND Together Dance Festival was conceived as a show of solidarity. Ballet Hispánico, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem pooled dancers, lighting rigs, and rehearsal hours to prove performance could thrive again. Four years later, the experiment has settled into a ritual: July 29 through August 2, the companies reunite at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater for a concise, crowd-friendly program that runs under two hours each night.
Chanel has bankrolled the festival from its start, a nod to the maison’s century-long relationship with dance. “This fifth anniversary is special for everyone involved,” says Shanta Thake, Lincoln Center’s chief artistic officer, citing the brand’s steady patronage and its current role as lead sponsor.
The 2025 lineup reads like a tasting flight of New York choreography: Dance Theatre of Harlem sets the tone with Robert Garland’s propulsive “Nyman String Quartet No 2”. New York City Ballet follows with Christopher Wheeldon’s rain-kissed pas de deux. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater offers Lar Lubovitch’s reflective “Many Angels”, while American Ballet Theatre contributes Susan Jaffe’s lyrical “Midnight Pas”. Ballet Hispánico closes with Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s spirited “House of Madmoiselle”.
Festival directors call BAAND Together “a celebration of what makes New York extraordinary: its creativity, its diversity, its spirit.” That philosophy now extends beyond the footlights; tickets begin at pay-what-you-wish pricing to keep seats within reach.
BAAND Together Dance Festival runs July 29 through August 2 2025 at the David H. Koch Theater, 20 Lincoln Center Plaza. Performances begin at 7:30 pm nightly, with a 4:00 pm matinee on August 2. Tickets follow a choose-what-you-pay model (suggested $35) and are on sale now at LincolnCenter.org.
