The American Dance Guild Performance Festival Returns

The American Dance Guild Performance Festival Returns

The American Dance Guild will return to live performance with their yearly ADG Performance Festival, their first live production since the Covid pandemic. Return, Renew, Rejoice! will take place over four evenings, Dec 1 – Dec 4 at the Ailey Citigroup Theater, 405 West 55th Street, in New York City. The work of 34 contemporary choreographers will be shown.

ADG Honors this year will go to choreographers Phyllis Lamhut and the late H.T. Chen, winners of ADG’s Lifetime Achievement Award. An Award for Distinguished Service to the Field will be presented to Christine Jowers, founder of The Dance Enthusiast. Opening night, December 1, will feature all three ADG honorees, and will include an awards ceremony. Each honoree will show their work again over the Festival weekend. 

The Festival will include a presentation of three historic modern dances. “Shuvi Nafshi” (Return O My Soul Unto Thee – 1947) by Hadassah, reconstructed by Steven Vendola will be performed by Mary Ford Sussman on Friday Dec. 2. “Pizzicati” (1916), a rarely seen work by Michio Ito, restaged by Bonnie Oda Homsey courtesy of Los Angeles Dance Foundation and licensed with the Michio Ito Foundation, Inc., will be performed by Kaoru Ikeda on Saturday Dec. 3 and Sunday Dec 4. In addition, “Concertino” (1955), with choreography by the late Pauline Koner, will be presented by Gwendolyn Bye’s Dance Fusion Company from Philadelphia and shown on Friday, December 2.


The ADG Festival’s participating artists represent a wide variety of aesthetic and cultural voices, reflecting the broad spectrum of American dance life and the diverse character of dance today. Works by mature as well as emerging artists will be shown.

“We’re excited to be back at Ailey LIVE. The ADG Festival is dedicated to presenting the range and diversity of expression in current dance art practice, and to remembering our historical modern dance roots. The Festival has always honored and presented the work of several modern dance legends, making our yearly program a vibrant blend of old and new,” said Gloria McLean, ADG President.


The American Dance Guild has served the dance field in many capacities for more than 60 years, including sponsoring conferences, festivals & publications. The yearly Performance Festival continues the Guild tradition of bringing together artists from across the nation and internationally for performances and master classes. 

Tickets to the ADG Festival are $30/25/20 and Festival Passes are $75. Discounts are available for students, seniors, ADG members, and groups. Proof of vaccination and masks are required for entry. Tickets will also be available at the box office one hour prior to curtain. Click here to purchase tickets.

For the entire ADG Performance Festival line-up visit https://www.americandanceguild.org/