Legendary dancer and choreographer Agnes de Mille once said, “The truest expression of a people is in its dance and its music. Bodies never lie.” Perhaps that’s why variations of the candid art form will be on stage, on screen, and on display across this Toddlin’ Town.
The Joffrey Ballet opens its 2026-27 season with the Chicago premiere of John Neumeier’s Liliom (Sep. 17-27) at Chicago’s Lyric Opera House. Set in a carnival during the Great Depression, the dramatic ballet is inspired by Ferenc Molnár’s 1909 play and the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel (1956). Together, the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Rob Parton’s Jazztech Big Band will bring the score by Academy Award-winning composer Michel Legrand to life.
“This landmark Chicago premiere demands extraordinary versatility from our artists, blurring the lines between dance, drama, and storytelling in ways few works can,” explains The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director Ashley Wheater MBE. “I have long believed that Liliom is John Neumeier’s greatest achievement, showcasing the full breadth of his genius as a storyteller and transforming what inspired Rodgers and Hammerstein’s beloved Carousel into a cinematic, emotionally stirring, and deeply human theatrical experience.”
Giordano Dance Chicago is part of the Chicago Live! (Sep. 19) lineup at Navy Pier. They’ll also perform the world premiere of “Caravan” (Nov. 6-7) by GDC Resident Choreographer Al Blackstone at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie. “At Giordano Dance Chicago, every season is a chance to break barriers—and for our 64th season, we’re going bigger than ever,” says GDC Artistic Director Nan Giordano. “From our electrifying fall performances at the North Shore Center to our dynamic spring engagement at the Harris Theater, and every stage we ignite in between, we’re unleashing the power, passion and pure exhilaration of Giordano. “I invite everyone to join us—experience it live, feel the energy, and be part of the movement.”
Red Clay Dance Company‘s Season 18: Spectrum starts with a free performance at the Chicago Live Festival (Sep. 19) on Navy Pier. The season continues with a reprisal of Vershawn Sanders-Ward’s Freedom Square: The Black Girlhood Altar (Oct. 1-3) at Northwestern University’s Wirtz Center. “Every season is a milestone worth celebrating, and this one feels especially meaningful because it reflects the extraordinary village that has grown from one vision into a movement fueled by so many voices and spirits,” says choreographer Ward, who also serves as the company’s founding artistic director and CEO.
For the first time since 2016, Dance Theatre of Harlem returns to Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre (Oct. 17). The performance showcases Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird choreographed by John Taras; Donizetti Variations by choreographed by George Balanchine; and Robert Garland’s Return, set to the songs of James Brown and Aretha Franklin. Later, the historic venue will open its doors for Ballets Jazz Montréal’s Dance Me (Nov. 7). Inspired by Leonard Cohen, the program offers choreography by Andonis Foniadakis, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Ihsan Rustem.
Honey Pot Performance presents Pleasure Power Portal (Sep. 26-Oct. 25). The multi-part performance experience brings movement, storytelling, and sensory play to the First Church of the Brethren. “Pleasure is not frivolous; it is a cultural practice and source of power,” notes Meida McNeal, Artistic Director of Honey Pot Performance. “It’s one of the ways communities sustain relationships, carry memory and imagine new possibilities. Pleasure Power Portal invites people to gather around that idea and consider what pleasure can make possible individually and collectively.”
At Edge Theater, Asian Improv aRts Midwest presents Shubukai 50th Anniversary celebratory performance (Sep. 19) featuring Rika Lin, special guest Koryu Nishikawa V, Japanese classical dancer Kanshichinao Fujima, the Shubukai dancers and more.
Ballet Hispánico New York performs CARMEN.maquia (Oct. 10) at College of DuPage’s McAninch Arts Center (MAC) in Glen Ellyn. By the year’s end, the MAC invites Salt Creek Ballet to brighten up the winter with The Nutcracker (Dec. 18-20). “Forty years ago, the MAC made a promise to this community to bring the world’s best artists right to their doorstep. This season, we are keeping that promise in a big way, and bringing in the best national and international acts from around the globe,” says MAC Director Diana Martinez.
M.A.D.D. (Making A Difference Dancing) Rhythms celebrates its 25th Anniversary at the Chicago Tap Summit (Oct. 2-4) at the Harold Washington Cultural Center. In addition to performances, discussions and classes, the tap dancing event includes the world premiere of Beyond a Shuffle (2026), a documentary about M.A.D.D. Rhythms.
The visual, political and spiritual histories of dancehall and reggaetón music is explored through contemporary art in Dancing the Revolution (through Sep. 20) at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. This first-of-its-kind exhibition houses paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs, and video by more than 35 artists, including Alberta Whittle, Carolina Caycedo, Edra Soto, and Jean Michel Basquiat.
The museum also presents Slow Dance (through Mar 21, 2027) in its Sylvia Neil and Daniel Fischel Galleries. Focusing on how bodies change, this multidisciplinary exhibition combines static art (painting, sculpture) with moving pieces (video, live performance).