Want to see Miami’s top dancers in action? Check out these events

Miami’s 2025-26 dance season bursts with premieres, repertory treasures and boundary-pushing collaborations. From Dance NOW!, Miami’s community-anchoring Daniel Lewis Dance Sampler and MCB’s Justin Peck showcase to new creations at Dimensions Dance Theatre, Bistoury’s genre-blurring “Mechanical Ballet” and the bold visions of Miami newcomer, STYX The Company, South Florida audiences can expect a year of dazzling movement and fresh artistry.

DANCE NOW! MIAMI

Now celebrating its 15th season, the Daniel Lewis Dance Sampler once again ushers in Miami’s fall dance calendar with a vibrant showcase of the city’s leading companies. Honoring Daniel Lewis, founding dean of dance at New World School of the Arts, Dance NOW! Miami co-artistic directors Hannah Baumgarten and Diego Salterini curate this beloved tradition, offering audiences a first look at the artists and ensembles that will define the year ahead.

Daniel Lewis Dance Sampler, Oct. 18, New World School of the Arts Theater, 25 NE Second St., Miami. 305-237-3135 or nwsa.mdc.edu/theater

Dance NOW! Miami returns to Miami Theater Center with “Blue Pencil,” a searing ballet inspired by Portugal’s Estado Novo regime (1933-1974), when Salazar’s “blue pencil” censorship stifled press and culture. Developed with Portugal’s Dança em Diálogos and premiered abroad last spring, the work transforms stories of repression into dance, underscoring art’s power to resist authoritarian control. The evening also includes highlights from Dance NOW!’s acclaimed 26-year repertory.

Program II: Encore of Blue Pencil, March 14, Miami Theater Center, 9806 NE Second Ave., Miami Shores. 305-751-9550 or www.mtcmiami.org

MIAMI CITY BALLET

With Gonzalo Garcia as Miami City Ballet’s new artistic director, fall ignites with the heat of Tony Award–winning choreographer Justin Peck. On tap is a triple bill: “Year of the Rabbit,” with its lush Philip Glass score reimagined for ballet; “Chutes and Ladders,” a bold pas de deux set to Benjamin Britten’s moody cello sonata; and “Heatscape,” Peck’s steamy, streetwise love letter to Miami’s Wynwood Walls, alive with Shepard Fairey’s iconic visuals and a propulsive score by Bohuslav Martinů.

Peck: Miami in Motion, Oct. 17-19, Adrienne Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. 305-929-7010 or www.miamicityballet.org

Miami City Ballet returns in the spring with George Balanchine’s dazzling “Jewels,” which premiered in 1967 at New York City Ballet. The full-length masterwork celebrates the brilliance of emeralds, rubies and diamonds through three distinct ballets. Long a crowd favorite, “Jewels” lets Balanchine’s genius shine while giving MCB’s dancers a chance to sparkle.

Jewels, March 27-29, Adrienne Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. 305-929-7010 or www.miamicityballet.org

BISTOURY PHYSICAL THEATRE AND FILM

Bistoury Physical Theatre, led by Alexey Taran and Carla Forte, returns with “Mechanical Ballet,” a bold new work presented as part of Miami-Dade County Auditorium’s Away from Home Series.

Known for pushing the boundaries of dance, theater and film, the company offers an immersive performance that fuses contemporary movement, live voice, 3D projection mapping and live music. Staged in a circular audience configuration with 360-degree visuals, “Mechanical Ballet” explores the intersection of humanity, technology and the environment with Bistoury’s signature intensity.

Mechanical Ballet, Oct. 17-18, INKUB8 Studio, 355 NW 54th St., Miami. 305-905-1275 or www.bistoury.org

STYX THE COMPANY

Miami’s only concert-classical-commercial dance company returns with “Volume 4,” a bold new program debuting at Black Box Media. Co-founded in 2022 by Brianna Campbell and Mika Santo, STYX has already built a reputation for breaking barriers, with past offerings like “Not a Ballet” and “1st: A Technicolor Mind Museum,” leaving audiences wanting more. Their latest installment leans into a moody, underground vibe — think poker tables, pool halls and old-school paperboy caps — while showcasing the company’s signature blend of contemporary and commercial styles.

Volume 4, Nov. 2, Black Box Media, 12355 NE 13th Ave., North Miami. 305-713-5547 or www.zenkipro.com/styx

DIMENSIONS DANCE THEATRE OF MIAMI

Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami returns to the Moss Center this fall with a program of world premieres. Longtime company dancer Selah Jane Oliver unveils “Valley of Shadows,” an evocative Chopin-set work first glimpsed in the company’s Salon Series, now fully staged with striking red-and-black costuming. Also on tap is a new ballet by Yanis Eric Pikieris set to music by Michael Nyman. With bold choreography and Miami-grown talent, DDTM keeps pushing the city’s contemporary ballet scene forward.

Fall Program, Nov. 8, Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center, 10950 SW 211th St., Cutler Bay, 786-573-5300 or www.mosscenter.org

This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 4:30 AM.