The magic is in the process. We're letting you in on the secret. Throughout spring 2026, Works & Process will present a full slate of dynamic programs at Guggenheim New York, along with a special Martha Graham Dance Company performance at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice on May 8, coinciding with the opening of the Venice Biennale.
 
The season begins with the fourth Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival at Guggenheim New York, featuring six Works & Process commissions January 9–13 as part of JanArtsNYC. Beyond New York City, Works & Process will also present Dance Out East on Long Island January 9–11 in partnership with The Church in Sag Harbor, Guild Hall of East Hampton, and The Watermill Center. All featured projects in both festivals are supported through fully funded Works & Process residencies that champion artists and their creative process.
 
In the Guggenheim’s Peter B. Lewis Theater, programs illuminating the creative process by blending artist discussion and performance will feature Opera Philadelphia, Signature Theatre, American Ballet Theatre, CATS: The Jellicle Ball, Miami City Ballet, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Martha Graham Dance Company, the Metropolitan Opera, Philadelphia Ballet, Terrence McNally Recovery Commissions with Craig Lucas and Jake Brasch, a new work by Martha Graham dancer Xin Ying, and a preview of Jacob’s Pillow’s summer 2026 season.

Works & Process Rotunda Dance Parties will return as well, including a salsa social with Sekou McMiller & Friends and queer country line dancing with SCUFF, presented in partnership with Guggenheim Member Mondays.
 
The Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival also returns for two evenings, co-presented with 92NY and Dormeshia’s Ladies in the Shoe Tap Conference, featuring Naomi Funaki, Kukai Dantza, and Xianix Barrera.
 
As part of the Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival, Guggenheim New York and Works & Process will present rotunda performances of Early Works by Lucinda Childs.

Championing artists and their creative process from studio to stage, Works & Process supports more than 25 fully funded creative residencies each year across Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont, in collaboration with a network of over a dozen partners. Since the program’s expansion from its innovative bubble residency program launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 1,000 artists have participated in over 100 Works & Process residencies. Many of the works developed have gone on to receive awards grants, and tour nationally­­—and internationally, with the U.S. State Department. Four Works & Process commissions will continue to tour this fall.
 
A detailed schedule of events is outlined below.
 
General ticketing starts December 9 at worksandprocess.org.
 
SEASON AT A GLANCE
 
WORKS & PROCESS AT GUGGENHEIM NEW YORK
1071 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10128
Tickets starting at $25
 
Peter B. Lewis Theater: Performance Highlights and Illuminating Discussions with Artist Receptions
 
Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival at Guggenheim New York
January 9-13
·    January 9:
Choreographic Portrait: Courtney “Balenciaga” Washington
MasterZ at Work Dance Family* and Parsons Dance*
Rotunda Dance Party: The MasterZ Ball
·    January 10:
Chrysolation by Chrybaby Cozie & Harlem Lite Feet*
New Jersey Ballet: Wings of Desire by Roderick George*
·    January 11:
Akinola by Adesola Osakalumi*
Les Ballet Afrik: New York Is Burning by Omari Wiles*
·    January 12:
At the Altar by Baye & Asa
Alien of Extraordinary by Sun Kim Dance Theatre
Rotunda Dance Party: Sekou McMiller & Friends’ Palladium Nights
·    January 13:
Johnny Loves Johann: Johnny Gandelsman with John Heginbotham, Caili Quan,
Jamar Roberts, and Melissa Toogood*
Los Perros del Barrio Colosal and Like Those Playground Kids at Midnight by BOCA TUYA | Omar Román de Jesús
·    January 16:
Opera Philadelphia: Complications in Sue by Michael R. Jackson with Anthony Roth Costanzo, Zack Winokur, and Raja Feather Kelly
·    January 25:
Signature Theatre: Mother Russia by Lauren Yee and Animal Wisdom by Heather Christian
·    January 26:
American Ballet Theatre: Othello: A Dance in Three Acts by Lar Lubovitch
·    February 2:
CATS: The Jellicle Ball with Zhailon Levingston, Bill Rauch, Omari Wiles, and Arturo Lyons
·    February 7:
Miami City Ballet: Alexei Ratmansky
·    February 9:
Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Windfall by Tarell Alvin McCraney
 
Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival at Guggenheim New York
Works & Process in partnership with 92NY and Dormeshia’s Ladies in the Shoe Tap Conference
·    March 8:
Kukai Dantza: Yarin
Naomi Funaki: Ikigai*
·    March 9:
Kukai Dantza: Nire Txokotik and Xianix Barrera: Quebrada
·    March 22:
Martha Graham Dance Company: Jamar Roberts
·    March 30:
The Metropolitan Opera: Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence
·    April 19:
Philadelphia Ballet: Romeo and Juliet by Juliano Nunes
·    April 20:
Terrence McNally Recovery Commissions: Craig Lucas and Jake Brasch, with Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Provincetown Theater, Recovery Arts Project, The Ziegfeld Club’s 2026 Needlepoint Bob Grant, and the Terrence McNally Foundation
·    April 26:
In the Folds of Her Purple by Xin Ying*, in partnership with Onassis ONX and PS21
·    April 27:
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2026 Preview
 
*Works & Process Commission
 
Rotunda Dance Parties in partnership with Guggenheim New York Member Mondays 
·    January 12:
Sekou McMiller & Friends’ Palladium Nights
·    March 9:
SCUFF Queer Country Dancing
 
Rotunda Performance
·    March 14 and 15:
Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival: Early Works by Lucinda Childs
 
WORKS & PROCESS AT PEGGY GUGGENHEIM COLLECTION
Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, Dorsoduro 701, I-30123 Venice, Italy
Free with museum admission
·    May 8:
Martha Graham Dance Company
 
DANCE OUT EAST
Works & Process in partnership with the Church in Sag Harbor, Guild Hall of East Hampton, and The Watermill Center
·      January 10, 2 pm:
The Church in Sag Harbor: The Lineage Project by Kristine Bendul & Abdiel
·      January 10, 7 pm:
      Guild Hall of East Hampton: Naomi Funaki: Ikigai*
·      January 11, 2 pm:
The Watermill Center: Sekou McMiller & Friends’ Palladium Nights
 
*Works & Process Commission
 
WORKS & PROCESS COMMISSIONS ON TOUR
·    January 7:
Chrysolation by Chrybaby Cozie & Harlem Lite Feet
Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth
·    February 26:
Tell Me Where It Comes From by Emily Coates
Wadswork Atheneum Museum of Art
·    April 23-24 :
Tell Me Where It Comes From by Emily Coates
Yale Schwarsman Center
·    April 25:
The Missing Element with The Beatbox House
he Clarice at University of Maryland
·    May 17:
Ladies of Hip-Hop
Black Dancing Bodies Project: “SpeakMyMind”
Tennessee Performing Arts Center
 
WORKS & PROCESS RESIDENCY PROGRAM
Each year, Works & Process produces more than 25 fully funded, weeklong creative residencies with partners across five states. Artists are curated and selected through an open call. Launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, the residency program has continued for six successful years, providing longitudinal, made-to-measure support that includes industry-leading creative residency fees of $1,250 per artist per week, transportation, health insurance enrollment access, 24/7 studio availability, and on-site housing to facilitate uninterrupted creative work. Recognizing that the artistic process is a continuum, each residency includes public engagements that illuminate the creative process for local communities. Culminating performances in New York City compensate artists at a rate of $450 per artist per performance. For more information, including details on community events associated with each residency, visit worksandprocess.org.
 
RESIDENCY PARTNERS
Connecticut: Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
Massachusetts: The Adams Theater, Prior Performing Arts Center at College of the Holy Cross, The Yard
New Jersey: ArtYard
New York: Bethany Arts Community, Bridge Street Theatre, Catskill Mountain Foundation, The Church in Sag Harbor, CUNY Dance Initiative, Guild Hall of East Hampton, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, Modern Accord Depot, Onassis ONX, The Pocantico Center, PS21, The Watermill Center
Vermont: The Campus at Marlboro Music
 
CURATED RESIDENCIES
Baye & Asa, Chase Brock Experience, Chrybaby Cozie, Courtney “Balenciaga” Washington with MasterZ at Work Dance Family and Parsons Dance, Craig Lucas, Heather Christian and Signature Theatre, Jake Brasch, Roderick George with New Jersey Ballet, Sekou McMiller
 
OPEN CALL RESIDENCIES
Kristine Bendul & Abdiel, BOCA TUYA | Omar Román de Jesús, Orlando Hernández & the Knee-Heart Connection, Arturo Lyons, Sydnie L. Mosley Dances, Sun Kim Dance Theatre, New Chamber Ballet, Adesola Osakalumi, REYNA, Xin Ying
 
CUNY DANCE INITIATIVE JOINT RESIDENCIES
A Lady in the House Dance Company/Nubian Néné
 
TINO AND RAJIKA PURI CREATIVE RESIDENCY
Naomi Funaki
 
SPRING 2026 RESIDENCIES
 
ARTYARD
New Jersey Ballet: Wings of Desire by Roderick George*
January 2–9
 
BETHANY ARTS COMMUNITY
Akinola by Adesola Osakalumi*
January 3–10
 
Vogue Orchestra by Arturo Lyons
January 10–16
 
REYNA
May 4–10
 
A Side Of The World For A Canvas by Sydnie L. Mosley Dances
May 11–17
 
BRIDGE STREET THEATRE
Too soon to discover planets, too late to discover islands. by Orlando Hernández & the Knee-Heart Connection
February 7–13
 
THE CAMPUS AT MARLBORO MUSIC
Chrysolation by Chrybaby Cozie & Harlem Lite Feet*
January 2–7
 
MasterZ at Work Dance Family: The 24/7 Diner by Courtney “Balenciaga” Washington*
January 2–8
 
New Chamber Ballet
January 2–9
 
CATSKILL MOUNTAIN FOUNDATION
At the Altar by Baye & Asa
January 5–11
 
Come Home by Chase Brock Experience
March 30–Apr 5
 
THE CHURCH IN SAG HARBOR
The Lineage Project by Kristine Bendul & Abdiel
January 4–10
 
EUGENE O’NEILL THEATER CENTER
Heather Christian and Signature Theatre
March 2-8
 
Terrence McNally Recovery Commissions: Craig Lucas and Jake Brasch
April 14–18
 
GUILD HALL OF EAST HAMPTON
Naomi Funaki: Ikigai*
Tino and Rajika Puri Creative Residency
January 4–11
 
THE WATERMILL CENTER
Sekou McMiller & Friends’ Palladium Nights
January 5–11
 
CUNY DANCE INITIATIVE JOINT RESIDENCY
A Lady in the House Dance Company/Nubian Néné
August 2025–June 2026: CUNY Dance Initiative Rehearsal Residency at Queens College
May 4–10: Works & Process Residency at Bethany Arts Community
 
*Works & Process Commission
 
Works & Process at Guggenheim New York
 
Choreographic Portrait: Courtney “Balenciaga” Washington with MasterZ at Work Dance Family* and Parsons Dance*
Rotunda Dance Party: The MasterZ Ball
January 9, 7 pm
Ticket purchase to this performance includes admission to the Rotunda Dance Party with MasterZ at Work Dance Family at 8:30 pm.
 
See a portrait of Black trans femme choreographer Courtney “Balenciaga” Washington—founder of the Kiki House of Juicy Couture, a leader of the House of Balenciaga, founder of MasterZ at Work Dance Family, and a Legend in the Ballroom community.
 
For nearly forty years, Parsons Dance has brought life-affirming performances and joy to audiences worldwide. Led by David Parsons, “one of the great movers of modern dance” (New York Times), the company is praised for its dancers’ athleticism and technical skill. Parsons Dance premieres a new co-commission with Works & Process by Washington.
 
The evening also features Washington’s new Works & Process commission The 24/7 Diner, which fuses street dance, street jazz, ballroom, vogue, and hip-hop and is inspired by chance encounters at New York City diners and stories told over shared meals.
 
Works & Process executive director Duke Dang moderates a discussion.
 
To conclude the evening, join MasterZ at Work Dance Family for a Rotunda Dance Party. All audience members are encouraged to take part in the MasterZ Ball, featuring four categories: Face, Runway, Performance, and Dance Off.
 
Leadership support for this Works & Process program is provided by Barbara Rohdie and
Linda Stocknoff.
 
Co-commissioned by Parsons Dance as a part of its Generation NOW Choreographic Fellowship and Works & Process. This work was made possible by a creative residency at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; and a Works & Process technical residency at Catskill Mountain Foundation.
 
Commissioned by Works & Process, MasterZ at Work Dance Family’s The 24/7 Diner was made possible, in part, by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and Mellon Foundation. The 24/7 Diner was developed in Works & Process Residencies at Modern Accord Depot (2024), Bethany Arts Community (2025), and The Campus at Marlboro Music (2026).
 
Chrysolation by Chrybaby Cozie & Harlem Lite Feet*
New Jersey Ballet: Wings of Desire by Roderick George*
January 10, 7 pm
Chrybaby Cozie presents the premiere of Chrysolation, a Works & Process commission, and New Jersey Ballet previews Wings of Desire, a co-commission with Works & Process and ArtYard, choreographed by Roderick George.

Harlem Lite Feet pioneer Chrybaby Cozie and members of the renowned Bomb Squad dance through their lived experience of the origins and evolution of this vibrant New York City dance tradition. Litefeet, also known as "getting lite," is a dynamic street dance style that originated in Harlem and the Bronx in the early 2000s. The term reflects its emphasis on light, rapid steps that give the impression of weightlessness.
 
Roderick George’s Wings of Desire, inspired by classical ballets such as Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, and La Bayadère, is a raw, emotionally charged ballet exploring relationships, sensuality, morality, and the human gaze. At its core, the work contemplates time, fate, and the intertwining of love and loss. Set to an original score that bridges past and future musical traditions, Wings of Desire celebrates freedom, connection, and the extraordinary artistry of the New Jersey Ballet dancers. Coming directly from a Works & Process residency at ArtYard, this performance offers an early preview ahead of the ballet’s premiere in April at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
 
Commissioned by Works & Process, Chrybaby Cozie has created Chrysolation with Works & Process residencies at the Campus at Marlboro Music (2025 and 2026) and developed Chrysolation with support from 92NY as part of the inaugural Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Jerome Robbins Dance Division, Hi-ARTS, and administrative support from Creative Netwerk.
 
Akinola by Adesola Osakalumi*
Les Ballet Afrik: New York Is Burning by Omari Wiles*
January 11, 7 pm
Culminating a Works & Process residency at Bethany Arts Community, award-winning actor, choreographer, creative director, singer, and dancer Adesola Osakalumi presents a first look of Akinola. Osakalumi excavates the linkages between old world traditions and new world innovations, while expanding the conversation around the depth and cultural significance of street and urban arts. Drawing on a movement vocabulary inspired by the rich cultural retentions of both American and West African traditions––rhythms, stories, and practices that live through the body––this work explores what it means to move with intention, honoring the past while pushing toward new possibilities for expressing identity, legacy, and community through dance.
 
Also on the program, ballroom community legend and House of Oricci Founding Father Omari Wiles brings ball culture to the Guggenheim with New York Is Burning, featuring Wiles’s AfrikFusion, fusing traditional African dances and Afrobeat with house dance and vogue. The 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning received critical acclaim for its depiction of the New York drag ball scene and of voguing as a powerful expression of personal pride in the face of racism, homophobia, and the stigma of the AIDS crisis. Just as Paris Is Burning did for New York in the 1980s, New York Is Burning reflects the aspirations, desires, and yearnings of a diverse group of dancers in a city beset by health, racial, and financial crises. Commissioned by Works & Process prior to the pandemic as an homage to Paris Is Burning on the documentary’s thirtieth anniversary, Wiles’s work centers on the artists for whom his dance company serves as a surrogate family.
 
Osakalumi and Wiles discuss their creative process.
 
Wiles developed the Works & Process commission New York Is Burning for his company, Les Ballet Afrik, in a summer 2020 Works & Process bubble residency at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, a spring 2021 Works & Process bubble residency at Catskill Mountain Foundation, and a January 2022 Works & Process LaunchPAD “Process as Destination” residency at The Church, Sag Harbor, in partnership with Guild Hall. Throughout this time, in some of New York State’s first permitted performances during the pandemic, Works & Process coproduced Les Ballet Afrik’s outdoor, filmed, and preview performances at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and the Guggenheim Museum rotunda and the world premiere in the Peter B. Lewis Theater.
 
At the Altar by Baye & Asa
Alien of Extraordinary by Sun Kim Dance Theatre
Rotunda Dance Party: Sekou McMiller & Friends’ Palladium Nights
In partnership with Guggenheim Member Monday
January 12, 7 pm
Ticket purchase to this performance includes admission to the Rotunda Dance Party with Sekou McMiller & Friends’ Palladium Nights (with live music) at 8 pm.
 
Baye & Asa preview At the Altar, a new evening-length work by choreographers Amadi “Baye” Washington and Sam “Asa” Pratt commissioned as part of The Democracy Cycle at PAC NYC and co-commissioned by American Dance Festival. An exploration of cultural, religious, and political deities, this work reckons with the pitfalls of extreme idolatry and interrogates our collective struggle for survival and salvation. The work poses these central questions: Who/what do we worship? How do we worship? Who are the righteous? Who are the blasphemers? PAC NYC’s Director of The Democracy Cycle Boo Froebel moderates the discussion with Washington and Pratt.
 
Sun Kim Dance Theatre presents excerpts from Alien of Extraordinary, a dance-theater piece born from the labyrinth of the U.S. artist visa system, which flattens human stories into forms and reduces lives to paperwork. Choreographed by Sun Kim, a South Korean immigrant who specializes in the street dance style of popping, the work takes its title from the “alien of extraordinary ability” (O-1) visa and draws from Kim’s personal experience with it. Performed by a richly diverse ensemble of immigrant dancers, Alien of Extraordinary features theme music by klezmer musician and composer Michael Winograd. The piece is an invitation to witness the immigrant artist’s journey in all its fragility and resilience––creating a meeting ground for empathy, imagination, and shared belonging. Ephrat Asherie moderates the discussion with Kim.
 
To conclude the evening, join Sekou McMiller & Friends for the Palladium Mambo Dance Extravaganza. With a musical flair and explosive energy, dancer and choreographer Sekou McMiller is at the forefront of Afro Latin Dance performance and education. His unique fusion style, rooted in Afro-Caribbean traditions and laced with a range of dance techniques from the African diaspora, brings you a Palladium Mambo Dance extravaganza with live music. Bring your dancing shoes and join McMiller in the rotunda for a dance party for all. Presented in partnership with Guggenheim Member Mondays.
 
At the Altar received a Works & Process Residency at Catskill Mountain Foundation (2026).
 
Alien of Extraordinary is created with the support of a Works & Process Residency at Modern Accord Depot (2025) as well as a CUNY Dance Initiative Residency at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center.
 
Johnny Loves Johann: Johnny Gandelsman with John Heginbotham, Caili Quan, Jamar Roberts, and Melissa Toogood*
Los Perros del Barrio Colosal and Like Those Playground Kids at Midnight by BOCA TUYA | Omar Román de Jesús
January 13, 7 pm
See excerpts of Johnny Loves Johann, a new work uniting violinist Johnny Gandelsman with choreographers John Heginbotham, Caili Quan, Jamar Roberts, and Melissa Toogood. This performance pairs Gandelsman’s unique interpretation of Bach’s Cello Suites—performed live on violin—with original choreography performed by its creators, celebrating the humanity and dance at the center of this iconic music.
 
Also featured are two works by Omar Román de Jesús with his company BOCA TUYA. In Los Perros del Barrio Colosal, power dynamics intertwine with the raw essence of human nature, seen through the eyes of street dogs who are hungry, territorial, and relentless. This work unravels a visceral tale of dominance and submission, questioning who leads and who follows in the unending cycle of survival and control. Brimming with energy and wit, Los Perros pulls audiences into its vibrant, chaotic world with humor and unrelenting charm. In a world that often seeks to stifle individuality, Like Those Playground Kids at Midnight stands as a beacon of defiance, encouraging all to embrace their uniqueness and challenge the boundaries that confine them. Traversing the enigmatic landscapes of desire, identity, and aspiration, it advocates for the liberation of the soul.
 
Carolina Performing Arts, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, senior director for artistic and production Amy Kolling moderates the discussion.
 
Carolina Performing Arts and the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts serve as lead co-commissioners for Johnny Loves Johann. This work also received commissioning support from the Joyce Theater’s Stephen and Cathy Weinroth Fund for New Work (with additional support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund); the Modlin Center for the Arts at the University of Richmond; Works & Process; and The Yard. Additional funding support was provided by Jody and John Arnhold, Alva Greenberg, Michael Hostetler and Erica Pascal, John Mittelman, Marty Peretz, Michael and Amy Tiemann, and Ken and Florence Umezaki.
 
BOCA TUYA | Omar Román de Jesús is supported with a Works & Process residency at The Adams Theater.
 
Opera Philadelphia
Complications in Sue by Michael R. Jackson
With Anthony Roth Costanzo, Zack Winokur, and Raja Feather Kelly
January 16, 7 pm
Before its world premiere at Opera Philadelphia in February, this preview of Complications in Sue shows how one librettist, one actor, four singers, and ten composers joined forces to make opera in a brand-new way. In his first opera libretto, Pulitzer Prize– and Tony Award–winning playwright Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop) traces the life of a woman named Sue whose personality is split in two. Sue’s life––from the mundane to the extraordinary––unfolds, with each decade scored by a different musical luminary.
 
Opera Philadelphia favorites Missy Mazzoli (Breaking the Waves, The Listeners), Rene Orth (10 Days in a Madhouse), and Nico Muhly (Dark Sisters) return alongside a panoply of company debuts from notable composers, like Grammy Awards nominee Nathalie Joachim. The production stars MacArthur Fellow and cabaret icon Justin Vivian Bond, with Zack Winokur and Raja Feather Kelly directing, and conductor Caren Levine making her Opera Philadelphia debut.
 
Jackson, Costanzo, Winokur, and Kelly join in a moderated discussion blended with performance highlights.
 
Signature Theatre
Mother Russia by Lauren Yee
Animal Wisdom by Heather Christian
January 25, 7 pm
Go behind the scenes with Signature Theatre resident artists Lauren Yee and Heather Christian and their upcoming productions: Mother Russia and Animal Wisdom.
 
In Mother Russia, by Signature Theatre resident artist Lauren Yee (Cambodian Rock Band, The Great Leap), the setting is 1992 St. Petersburg: the Soviet Union has collapsed, McDonald’s has risen, and Evgeny, a young man at a loss, stumbles into a job working surveillance with his old friend Dmitri. Their target, Katya, is a former pop singer with questionable allegiances and a mysterious past. As their lives riotously intertwine, Evgeny finds himself falling in love and losing his bearings––all while grappling with the taste of freedom (and fast food) along the way. This savvy, off-kilter tale of identity, espionage, and the cost of capitalism makes its New York premiere, in this razor-sharp dark comedy directed by Teddy Bergman. 
 
In Animal Wisdom, by Signature Theatre resident artist Heather Christian (Oratorio for Living Things, A Wrinkle in Time), step into a musical séance like no other— where the veil is thin, the music is wild, and the spirits of memory come roaring to life. Called “dazzlingly original” by Vogue, this work blends storytelling, requiem, and family mythology in a musical ritual made for sinners and saints alike. A journey into the haunted spaces of memory and loss—diving deep into the relationship between the soul, the seen, and the unseen—this transporting experience comes to Signature in a thrilling new production helmed by director Keenan Tyler Oliphant. With her raucous, singular music fusing blues, gospel, and folk, Obie Award–winner Christian invites you to pay tribute to the forces that shape our lives.
 
Yee and Christian join a moderated discussion led by Signature Theatre artistic director Emily Shooltz, and performers present excerpts from both works.
 
Heather Christian will be supported with a Works & Process residency at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center March 2-8, 2026. Leadership support for this Works & Process residency is provided by Nina Matis.
 
American Ballet Theatre
Othello: A Dance in Three Acts by Lar Lubovitch
January 26, 7 pm
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) offers a preview of Othello: A Dance in Three Acts.  Choreographed by Lar Lubovitch with an original score by Elliot B. Goldenthal, the ballet will be presented at the Company's Spring season in March at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. This reimagining of Shakespeare’s tragic tale tells the story of the Moorish general Othello, who is manipulated by his soldier Iago to believe that Desdemona, his​beloved wife, has been unfaithful. Consumed by jealousy, Othello spirals into madness and kills Desdemona before learning of her innocence. 
 
ABT Artistic Director Susan Jaffe will moderate a discussion with Lar Lubovitch, and ABT dancers will perform excerpts.
 
CATS: The Jellicle Ball with
Zhailon Levingston, Bill Rauch, Omari Wiles, and Arturo Lyons
February 2, 7 pm
Broadway meets Runway! Performers from the wildly acclaimed, award-winning production of CATS: The Jellicle Ball present a sneak peek before the production ascends to Broadway in a kaleidoscope of glittering spectacle, iconic music, and electrifying ballroom choreography that the New York Times calls “a lightning strike that sets joy free!”

Based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s worldwide phenomenon CATS is reimagined in a record-breaking, award-winning production that has left New York City purring. Directed by Obie Award winners Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, with choreography by Obie Award winners and New York City Ballroom legends Omari Wiles (House of Ricci) and Arturo Lyons (House of Miyake-Mugler), CATS is the fiercest event of the season. Levingston, Rausch, Wiles, and Lyons join a discussion moderated by TENz co-founder Sailey Williams, and cast members perform excerpts.
 
Miami City Ballet: Alexei Ratmansky
February 7, 3 pm and 7 pm
Miami City Ballet (MCB) presents a first look of world-renowned choreographer Alexei Ratmansky’s new commission celebrating MCB founder Toby Lerner Ansin’s 85th birthday, before its February premiere in Florida. This work blends history, tradition, and forward-thinking creativity, with a score by Johann Strauss. Miami City Ballet’s new artistic director Gonzalo Garcia moderates a discussion with Ratmansky, and MCB dancers perform excerpts.
 
This world premiere was commissioned by MCB and funded by the Ansin Foundation in honor of Toby Lerner Ansin’s 85th birthday. 
 
Leadership support for this Works & Process program is provided by Charles and Deborah Adelman and Jeff Davis and Michael Miller.
 
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Windfall by Tarell Alvin McCraney
February 9, 7 pm
Go behind the scenes of Windfall, a new work written by Academy Award–winning Steppenwolf ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney. Premiering in Chicago in April during Steppenwolf's 50th Anniversary Season, this evening offers a first look at excerpts from this dynamic new play, along with insights into McCraney’s creative process.
 
Windfall is a story about money. Don’t let them fool you otherwise. When a father loses his child in a clash with the local police, he is visited by three strangers who advise him to take the city’s cash settlement, relocate and forget his grief––or else stay and remain impoverished, surrounded by memories of the world his child fought so hard to protect. McCraney’s new work explores how grief, justice, sexuality, gender, history, and even pride become secondary concerns in the wake of currency.
 
Kukai Dantza: Yarin
Naomi Funaki: Ikigai*
Tino and Rajika Puri Creative Residency
March 8, 7 pm
The Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival returns to Works & Process, co-presented with 92NY and Dormeshia’s Ladies in the Shoe Tap Conference. This program features excerpts from tap dance artist Naomi Funaki's new work commissioned by Works & Process Ikigai, and a presentation by Kukai Dantza, a company creating contemporary dance rooted in Basque culture.
 
Founded in 2001 in Errenteria in the Basque country, by dancer and choreographer Jon Maya, Kukai Dantza has developed a distinctive form of contemporary dance rooted in Basque culture. Kukai Dantza will perform Yarin by Jon Maya and Andrés Marin. Meaning root, encounter, and dialogue, in Yarin we find two men who look from their roots, who explore them as a way to relate to their surroundings. They arrive with their own origin and essence, they present an encounter and a dialogue. The dialogue is not always easy, but it is built on listening and respect. At times it brings us together, sometimes it distances us, sometimes it makes us tense, and also embraces us. Yarin presents us with an intercultural encounter, where the dantzari (traditional Basque dancer) Jon Maya and flamenco dancer Andrés Marín, accompanied with live music by Julen Achiary, meet each other on the basis of an honest dialogue, showing their differences and their desire to share through them a common path towards tomorrow.
 
Recognized as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2024 and a 2025 Jadin Wong Fellow, see a moderated discussion and in-process showing of Ikigai, an evening-length work exploring the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima nuclear disaster through tap dance, live music, and storytelling. Drawing inspiration from her personal experience and that of her family and friends, Funaki reflects on themes of resilience, loss, and connection. The performance is a rhythm-driven exploration of the emotional and cultural impact of one of Japan's most devastating tragedies. This presentation brings together a diverse cast of tap dancers, movement artists, and vocalists, underscoring tap’s power as a medium for storytelling and cross-cultural dialogue around cultural resilience in the face of catastrophic events.
 
Funaki and Maya join a moderated discussion, and dancers perform excerpts from both works.
 
Naomi Funaki's Ikigai is commissioned by Works & Process and has been developed in a Works & Process residency at Guild Hall (2026) as part of the Tino and Rajika Puri Creative Residency.
 
Kukai Dantza is presented in collaboration with the Cervantes Institute and Flamenco Festival and made possible through an introduction by Guggenheim Bilbao.
 
Kukai Dantza: Nire Txokotik
Xianix Barrera: Quebrada
Rotunda Dance Party: SCUFF Queer Country Dancing
In partnership with Guggenheim Member Monday
March 9, 7 pm
Ticket purchase to this performance includes admission to the Rotunda Dance Party with SCUFF Queer Country Dancing at 8 pm.
 
The Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival returns to Works & Process, co-presented with 92NY and Dormeshia’s Ladies in the Shoe Tap Conference. The festival’s closing performance features works by Kukai Dantza and Xianix Barrera.
 
Founded in 2001 in Errenteria in the Basque country by dancer and choreographer Jon Maya, Kukai Dantza has developed a distinctive form of contemporary dance rooted in Basque culture. Nire Txokotikrecalls Maya’s beginnings in traditional Basque dance and shows the work of research and collaborations carried out with different choreographers and creators.
 
Xianix Barrera is a Bessie Award–nominated flamenco dancer, choreographer, and artistic director whose work bridges tradition and innovation. Known for her emotionally charged performances and multidisciplinary creations, she explores themes of resilience, identity, and transformation through flamenco, most recently in her ongoing theatrical work QUEBRADA. 
 
Both companies share excerpts from their works, followed by a moderated discussion offering insight into the choreographers’ creative processes.
 
To conclude the evening, join SCUFF in the rotunda for a line dance takeover. In the queer country dance tradition, SCUFF teaches line dancing and partner dancing as a channel for love and self-expression. Beginner-friendly and inclusive of all levels.
 
Presented in partnership with Guggenheim Member Mondays.
 
Kukai Dantza is presented in collaboration with the Cervantes Institute and made possible through an introduction by Guggenheim Bilbao.
 
Rotunda Performance
Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival
Early Works by Lucinda Childs
March 14 and 15, 7:30 pm
Lucinda Childs is a preeminent figure in American postmodern dance and one of the most influential artists in the history of contemporary performing arts. Her important choreographic body of work is distinguished by a distinctive movement language––complex, abstract in structure, and built from a deliberately pared-down physical vocabulary.
 
Early Works is a collection of pieces that traces Childs’s artistic evolution, from the solo works she created during her time with the Judson Dance Theater beginning in 1963 to the earliest works made for her own company, founded in 1973. In these works, rhythm and geometry are highlighted. Using a vocabulary of pure movement––walking, running, turning, skipping, and leaping––Childs explores rapid shifts in direction and the impact of minimal shifts in movement patterns. These displacements, both physically and mentally demanding, illuminate the rigor and precision at the core of her practice. These geometric and mathematically structured dances laid the groundwork for DANCE, her first work choregraphed to music in 1979.
 
Part of the Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival, in collaboration with Guggenheim New York and Works & Process.
 
Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels
Founded in 2020, Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels is guided by the values of creation, transmission, and education. Its mission is to support artists and institutions in sharing choreographic heritage while encouraging new productions. Since its launch, Dance Reflections has accompanied numerous companies in their creations as well as multiple institutions in the presentation of their works on the international stage. The program is reinforced each year by major events, such as the Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival. In addition to supporting the creation and promotion of choreographic works, Dance Reflections places increasing importance on issues of transmission and education. With its partners, the initiative organizes residencies for professional dancers as well as actions to raise awareness of choreographic culture, open to all. Its network, now consisting of more than 60 partners from 17 different countries, continues to grow with each project.
 
Martha Graham Dance Company: Jamar Roberts
March 22, 7 pm
Martha Graham Dance Company presents a first look of a new work by Jamar Roberts in advance of the company’s 100th season at New York City Center in April. Created in part at a residency at The Church in Sag Harbor for leading Graham dancer Lloyd Knight with a commissioned score by Stahv Danker, the new work is joined by excerpts from Roberts’s We The People performed by Knight and other top dancers of the Graham Company. Roberts and Knight also join a moderated discussion with Martha Graham Dance Company artistic director Janet Eilber.
 
The Metropolitan Opera
Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence
March 30, 7 pm
Before late Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho’s final opera arrives at the Metropolitan Opera this spring, get an advance look at this powerful modern masterpiece. Exploring the wide web of trauma left in the wake of an unspeakable tragedy, Innocence features a multilingual libretto by Sofi Oksanen and Aleksi Barrière and conjures an eerie, darkly beautiful sound-world to tell a heart-wrenching story. Ahead of the opera’s April 6 premiere, Met General Manager Peter Gelb moderates a discussion with the creative team, with cast members joining to perform highlights from the score.
 
Philadelphia Ballet
Romeo and Juliet by Juliano Nunes
April 19, 7 pm
Before its premiere in April, Philadelphia Ballet presents a preview of a new interpretation of Shakespeare’s ubiquitous tale of star-crossed lovers, set to the renowned score by Sergei Prokofiev. Reimagined by Philadelphia Ballet’s resident choreographer Juliano Nunes, Romeo and Juliet follows the story of two young lovers from feuding families whose intense passion leads to their untimely tragic end. Nunes joins a moderated discussion, and dancers perform excerpts from the production.
 
Terrence McNally Recovery Commissions: Craig Lucas and Jake Brasch
With Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Provincetown Theater, Recovery Arts Project, The Ziegfeld Club’s 2026 Needlepoint Bob Grant, and the Terrence McNally Foundation
April 20, 7 pm
The Terrence McNally Recovery Commissions award two annual $10,000 new play commissions—one to an emerging playwright and one to an established playwright—each identifying as being in recovery from a substance use condition. Reflecting the spirit of sponsorship, the commissioned artists serve as resources for one another throughout a yearlong process that includes a writing retreat with Provincetown Theater and Recovery Arts Project; a Works & Process residency at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut made possible by The Ziegfeld Club’s 2026 Needlepoint Bob Grant; all culminating in a Works & Process showing, where audiences are invited to experience selected scenes from both new plays by Jake Brasch and Craig Lucas and a moderated discussion with the playwrights exploring their artistic processes, recovery journeys, and the role of storytelling in healing.
 
The commissions are named in honor of Terrence McNally, whose own journey in recovery began with a life-changing moment at Stephen Sondheim’s birthday party, where Angela Lansbury, with love and concern, encouraged him to face his struggles with alcohol. McNally later shared this story in the documentary Every Act of Life, believing in the power of being part of a supportive public community. 
 
The inaugural recipients of the Terrence McNally Recovery Commissions are Jake Brasch, who makes their Off-Broadway debut this season with The Reservoir at the Atlantic Theater Company, and Craig Lucas, Obie Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist.
 
This project will receive a Works & Process Residency at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut (2026), and is supported by the Ziegfeld Club’s Needlepoint Bob Grant. 
 
This project is underwritten by the Terrence McNally Foundation and supported by the Recovery Arts Project, who taps into the transformative power of art and artists to change the national conversation about addiction and recovery in order to save lives. 
 
In the Folds of Her Purple by Xin Ying*
In partnership with Onassis ONX and PS21
April 26, 7 pm
Martha Graham Dance Company principal dancer Xin Ying presents excerpts from her new work In the Folds of Her Purple, in partnership with Onassis ONX and PS21. An interdisciplinary artist, Ying explores the intersection of movement, technology, and digital legacy in her works. In the Folds of Her Purpledraws inspiration from Martha Graham’s iconic solo Lamentation. Created with generative AI and volumetric film, the piece is not a recreation, but a response—a contemporary performance shaped by the living bodies who have stretched, trembled, and breathed inside her purple tube. Ying joins a moderated discussion and excerpts are performed.
 
This Works & Process commission has received Works & Process Residencies at Onassis ONX and PS21: Center for Contemporary Performance (2025).
 
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2026 Summer Preview
April 27, 7 pm
Located in Becket, Massachusetts, Jacob’s Pillow is a treasured 220-acre National Historic Landmark, a recipient of the prestigious National Medal of Arts, and home to America’s longest-running and largest international dance festival. See excerpts of works incubated by the Pillow that will culminate in Festival 2026 presentations this summer, to be announced. Between performance excerpts, Pamela Tatge, executive and artistic director of Jacob’s Pillow, moderates a discussion with the artists. 
 
Leadership support for this Works & Process program is provided by Henry and Gerry Alpert.
 
*Works & Process Commissions
 
Works & Process Lead Donors
Lead funding provided by Stuart H. Coleman and Meryl Rosofsky, Elizabeth Sharp Edens and Wes Edens, Adam and Abigail Flatto, Agnes Gund, Christian Humann Foundation, Leon Levy Foundation, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Tino and Rajika Puri, Stephen Kroll Reidy, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Denise and Andrew Saul, Caroline M. Sharp, The Evelyn Sharp Foundation, and The SHS Foundation. 
 
Additional support provided by Jody and John Arnhold, Jeff and Susan Campbell, Cate Caruso, Paul Cronson, Lucy and Philip Dobrin, The Fanwood Foundation, Bart Friedman and Wendy Stein, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Leon Polsky, Barbara Ritchin, Randall Sharp, and Eugene and Jean Stark. 
 
Works & Process is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
 
About Works & Process
The magic is in the process. We’re letting you in on the secret.
 
Works & Process champions performing artists and their process from studio to stage by producing fully funded creative residencies and presenting behind-the-scenes events that blend artist discussions and performance highlights. Our events transcend the proscenium, so audiences can spectate, participate beyond the stage, and culminate in receptions to continue the conversation.
 
In Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont, Works & Process produces over 25 creative residencies annually with over a dozen partners. In over 100 Works & Process residencies, supporting over 1,000 artists, incubated works have gone on to receive awards and grants, and tour nationally—and internationally, with the U.S. State Department. These out-of-town residencies provide 24/7 studio access, on-site housing, access to health insurance enrollment, industry-leading artist fees, and a transportation stipend to facilitate uninterrupted creative process.
 
Beyond Guggenheim New York, we also partner with organizations across New York City, including 92NY and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Jerome Robbins Dance Division. During the summer, we curate and present free outdoor dance programs with Manhattan West and City Parks Foundation’s SummerStage. In conjunction with the opening of the Venice Biennale, Works & Process will present the Martha Graham Dance Company at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.
 
Works and Process, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Tax ID: 13-3592291
 
Stay connected: @worksandprocess (from )

• January 9, 2026
  and every day until April 27, 2026

  January 9, 2026
• Works & Process
  1071 5th Avenue, New York, NY

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• Contact Michelle Tabnick for more information
  6467654773 or [email protected]
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