When I think of fall, I think of trees — wild roots, rough bark, strong trunks, soft green leaves, and limbs stretching out in every direction. September dance performances feel like this to me: robust and rooted in deep traditions and multicultural perspectives, and work that de-centers whiteness; textured with edgy, experimental ideas and fearless creativity; grounded and purposeful, yet softened by joy, beauty, and inclusion; and reaching out into new territory with interdisciplinary collaborations and comedy, conversations, full of growth, and, of course, gorgeous dancing.

Fall also brings TBA, the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s beloved Time-Based Art Festival — a ten-day celebration featuring projects from 28 artists from the West Coast and beyond, with a focus on local voices.

From existential dance odysseys to performance-lectures, experimental operas to movement-driven multidisciplinary works, TBA is as much a seasonal shift as it is an arts event — a collective passage from summer to fall. It’s an opportunity to witness contemporary art in real time: performances, exhibitions, music, and, above all, movement.

The 2025 Festival, which celebrates PICA’s 30th anniversary, opens with a First Thursday performance and activation of Angelo Scott’s Omni Rail at PNCA with choreography by Muffie Delgado Connelly, followed by an intimate Opening Night Dinner at PICA. Highlights of the festival include the West Coast premieres of choreographic works by Tahni Holt, Emma Lutz-Higgins, and keyon gaskin, among others. Since 2003 TBA has brought risk-taking, genre-defying work to Portland, offering opportunities to experience boundary-pushing choreography alongside other forms of contemporary art.

But that’s not all. September brings a solid lineup of dance and movement from across Portland. Catch new works from Carlyn Hudson and Rejoice! Diaspora Dance Theatre, along with a curated collection of excerpts in BodyVox’s Season Sampler, a response to the historic silo-ization of Portland’s arts organizations. The sampler includes work from BodyVox, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Profile Theatre, Third Angle New Music, Portland Opera, Chatter PDX, and Open Space Dance.

Storytelling and cultural expression are also on the stage, from Sankar Raman’s The Immigrant Story at Portland Center Stage to an all-ages mega celebration of flamenco arts. Dance lovers can also experience three nights of new dance films through the Portland Dance Film Festival, and a Bharanatayam festival curated by Portland-based Bharatanatyam and Odissi dancer Yashaswini Raghuram, featuring renowned Bharatanatyam dancer Srimati Shubha Dhananjay and other celebrated dancers.

Classic and celebrated works also return, including Some Like It Hot, The Lion King, and Swan Lake. And for those interested in dance history and postmodern experimentation, legendary choreographer Deborah Hay will present a performance and lecture reflecting her decades of shaping the dance landscape. It’s going to be a good month!

September Dance Performance

Some Like It Hot
Presented by Broadway in Portland
September 2-7
Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay St., Portland

Set in Prohibition-era Chicago, the award-winning musical Some Like It Hot follows two musicians who disguise themselves as women and join an all-female band to escape the mob after witnessing a hit. The cross-country train ride to Miami with the band turns into a fast-paced, humorous adventure filled with music, dance, and quick-witted twists. 

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Omni Rail (TBA Festival)
World Premiere
Angelo Scott in collaboration with choreographer Muffie Delgado Connelly
6 p.m. September 4
Pacific Northwest College of Art, 511 N.W. Broadway, Portland

Omni Rail transforms the stairwells, railings, and cables of PNCA’s historic 511 Building into a walk-through, ambisonic instrument. Activated by musicians and movement artists, the work blends sound, architecture, and choreography in a fluid exchange across three floors. An additional ground-floor viewing room offers a unique experience, with projections on three walls and a central livestream of the performance plus works made in collaboration with video artist Lenny Beach. Seating is provided, and the doors will remain open throughout the performance, allowing audience members to move freely.

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Horizon (TBA Festival)
World Premiere
Directed by Tahni Holt and choreographed in collaboration with Emma Lutz-Higgins with composer Luke Wyland
September 5-7 
Portland Institute For Contemporary Art (PICA), 15 N.E. Hancock St., Portland

Horizon is a dance choreographed and performed by Tahni Holt and Emma Lutz-Higgins. It is a collaborative effort, featuring composer Luke Wyland, costume designer and visual artist Kim Smith Claudel, dramaturg Kate Bredeson, visual artist Jess Perlitz, and lighting designers Al Knight Blaine and James Mapes. The performance navigates a dynamic landscape of bodies, objects, sound, and light. As the piece unfolds, attention shifts among seeking, dispersing, and disappearing, with moments of connection emerging and dissolving. Horizon blurs the boundaries between the animate and inanimate, inviting audiences into a space of continuous transformation.

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Creative Exchange Lab Artist Talk (TBA Festival)
Olivia Camfield, Kite, Marcus Fischer, Woodrow Hunt, Angelo Scott
Noon September 6 
Portland Institute For Contemporary Art (PICA), 15 N.E. Hancock Street, Portland
Free

PICA’s Creative Exchange Lab (CXL) returns during TBA:25, bringing together artists from around the world to develop new work, share ideas, and connect with Portland. This year’s residents—Olivia Camfield, Marcus Fischer, Woodrow Hunt, Kite, and Angelo Scott—explore sound, installation, Indigenous futurism, experimental film, and more. Throughout the festival, they’ll work in real time, offering glimpses into their process. 

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3rd Nritya Shubha Dance Festival
1 p.m. September 6
Portland Community College Rock Creek Auditorium, 17705 N.W. Springville Road, Building 3, Portland

The 3rd Nritya Shubha Dance Festival is a program of Indian Classical Dance that brings together acclaimed artists from India, Australia, and the Pacific Northwest, curated by Srimati Yashaswini Raghuram, a Portland-based Bharatanatyam and Odissi dancer and artistic director of the Nrithyaspurthi Center for Performing. The performance is a fundraiser for Peace by Piece, a youth-led nonprofit advancing mental health equity and education by addressing cultural, economic, and systemic barriers often overlooked by traditional education systems.

The show’s highlights include Siri Sinchana – Ashtalakshmi Dhyana, a vibrant production honoring the eight forms of the goddess Lakshmi, produced and performed by renowned bharatanatyam dancer Srimati Shubha Dhananjay, Chairperson of the Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy and Artistic Director of Natyantaranga-Karana (India). Featured performers also include Srimati Maya Dhananjay (Australia); Srimati Rohini Dhananjaya, Artistic Director of Diya Performing Arts (India); Srimati Pratibha Nandagudi, Artistic Director of Hamsaasya Kalaayaana (Portland); Srimati Sandhya Kandadai Rajagopal, Artistic Director of Bhargavi Bharata Natyalaya (Seattle); as well as Raghuram, and other guest dancers from the Pacific Northwest.

The performance will also feature Perini Nritya, the divine pot dance of Bharatanatyam, along with other traditional Bharatanatyam pieces, as well as a Kathak performance by Srimati Shubha Dhananjaya.

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The Brutal Joy: A Lecture
Justine A. Chambers
7:30 p.m. September 6
Portland Institute For Contemporary Art (PICA), 15 N.E. Hancock St., Portland

This performative lecture speaks to the conceptual and historical underpinnings of Justine A. Chambers’ latest choreographic project, The Brutal Joy. Chambers discusses dance and fashion as counter archives, the processes of ritualization and individuation, and the oscillation among the riff, the vamp, and the break, letting moments of self-actualization surface through a dance of future possibilities. Emerging from childhood memories of family gatherings on the South Side of Chicago, The Brutal Joy unfurls Black vernacular dance alongside sartorial gesture as intellectual discourse, reverie, and devotion to Black living.

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The Untitled Native Project — Live at PICA (TBA Festival)
Woodrow Hunt, Olivia Camfield, Anthony Hudson/Carla Rossi, Amber Kay Ball, Trevino Brings Plenty, ⁠Leland Butler, ⁠David Harrelson, ⁠Steph Littlebird, LaRonn Katchia, ⁠Kanani Miyamoto
7:30 p.m. September  7 
Portland Institute For Contemporary Art (PICA), 15 N.E. Hancock St., Portland

The Untitled Native Project — Live at PICA is a three-part event: history, storytelling, and conversations. Part One features Oregon and Portland history from David Harrelson and Anthony Hudson. Part Two spotlights Native artists in the Pacific Northwest, with perspectives from Amber Kay Ball, Leland Butler, Olivia Camfield, Anthony Hudson, Woodrow Hunt, LaRonn Katchia, Steph Littlebird, and Kanani Miyamoto. Part Three concludes with a conversation with Trevino Brings Plenty and the artists about their perspectives and the future of Native arts and cultures.

This performance will be livesteamed via PICA’s YouTube channel. Please visit pica.org/tba for updates.

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Feria de Portland
Presented by Espacio Flamenco Portland
1 p.m. September 7
Green Anchors PDX, 8940 N. Bradford Street, Portland
Free

Hosted by Espacio Flamenco, this free, all-ages mega-celebration of flamenco arts and culture in the Pacific Northwest blends music, dance, food, workshops, art, and community into a raucous all-day affair. Spend the day moving among performances by visiting artists, a variety of participatory workshops in palmas, cante, rumba, and craft activities; browse art vendors and resale shops; enjoy food cart offerings; and let kids dive into creative projects. Check out the schedule for details.

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tbd: to be diasporic un determined (TBA Festival)
keyon gaskin and collaborators
September 11-13
Portland Institute For Contemporary Art (PICA), 15 N.E. Hancock Street, Portland

Portland dance artist Keyon Gaskin prefers not to frame their work with credentials. Their TBA performance, featuring collaborators Syon Davis, Amenta Abioto, Akela Jaffi, Ashi Dancler, Isaiah Spriggs, and Vaughn Kimmons, draws on the writing of Stephanie Leigh Batiste, associate professor of English and Black Studies at UC Santa Barbara and author of Darkening Mirrors; and June Jordan, the celebrated African American poet, essayist, and activist, whose Soulscript: A Collection of Classic African American Poetry, a compilation of poems by prominent Black poets from the early 20th century, emphasizes poetry as a space for reaction, memory, and dream. The work explores identity, imagination, and the poetic and political forces that shape our world. Gaskin’s choreographic works are layered, challenging, and unexpected, pushing against norms and inviting audiences into a space where meaning, movement, and voice intersect. The performance will include loud, amplified sound.

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A Presentation
Presented by Carlyn Hudson
September 12-14
BodyVox Dance Center, 1201 N.W. 17th Ave., Portland

Nationally commissioned choreographer and recent recipient of The Miller Foundation’s Spark Award, Oregon-based Carlyn Hudson presents her fourth evening-length program of choreographic works. With her roots firmly planted in classical ballet, Hudson draws influence from vaudevillian theater, folk dance, and contemporary dance, weaving humor, heartache, and beauty, and reflecting an array of contrasting ideas.

Hudson has performed with Connecticut Ballet and Polaris Dance Theater, and co-founded SubRosa Dance Collective in 2011. Her work has also been presented at the Chop Shop Contemporary Dance Festival, Union PDX Festival of Contemporary Dance, Unveiled Dance Festival, Pacific Dance Makers, and Ballet Alliance Festival.

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GRIOT 
Presented by Rejoice! Diaspora Dance Theatre
September 12-21
Reed College Performing Arts Building, Massee Performance Lab (128), 3203 S.E Woodstock Blvd., Portland

Lecture Demonstration – Griot Traditions of Senegal with Massamba Diop
5:00 pm September 12
Reed College Performing Arts Building, Massee Performance Lab (128), 3203 S.E. Woodstock Boulevard, Portland

Opening night reception 
September 12, following the performance 
Reed College Performing Arts Building, Massee Performance Lab (128), 3203 S.E. Woodstock Blvd., Portland

Join Rejoice! Diaspora Dance Theater as they trace the Griots from Senegal to Brazil and the American South and the impacts they have had on communities, lineage, and culture. A Griot is the memory keeper of a community, a hereditary position passed down through generations in traditional West African communities. The Griot’s job is to preserve the community’s history and culture through singing, music, and dance. 

Oluyinka Akinjiola and Michael Galen’s choreography features music developed and performed with Tama master and Griot Massamba Diop. The performance also includes an immersive score by Galen, which incorporates field recordings from Brazil and Senegal.

Rejoice! Diaspora Dance Theater is a Portland-based contemporary dance ensemble led by Artistic Director Oluyinka Akinjiola. The company draws inspiration from the folklore of the African diaspora, weaving stories of adversity and hope through dance, music, and storytelling.

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The Immigrant Story
7 p.m. September 13
U.S. Bank Main Stage at The Armory, Portland
Free – Reserve Your Spot

Join “The Immigrant Story” live at Portland Center Stage for an evening of impactful storytelling, mariachi music, and traditional dance that celebrates the experiences and traditions of immigrants that make Oregon home. Hear the resilience, dreams, and cultural richness in their stories, followed by a vocal performance by Gemanereida Barragan-Cruz — finalist in the 26th Annual Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza National Vocal Competition — accompanied by the award-winning Mariachi Tradición, under the direction of Leslie Núñez. Content Advisory: Some of the stories contain adult language, references to trauma, and drug use.

Founded in 2017 by Sankar Raman, who immigrated to the U.S. from India, The Immigrant Story is a volunteer-run nonprofit with a mission to foster empathy and build a more inclusive community by sharing stories of immigrants and refugees, who often overcame tremendous odds to reach the United States. 

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Season Sampler
Presented by BodyVox
September 16-17
BodyVox Dance Center, 1201 NW 17th Avenue, Portland 

Building on the belief that a vital performing arts scene is essential to a city’s health, Season Sampler brings seven performing arts organizations together on stage for two nights, presenting excerpts from their upcoming seasons. Featured performances include works from BodyVox, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Profile Theatre, Third Angle New Music, Portland Opera, Chatter PDX, and Open Space Dance.

Season Sampler is BodyVox’s response to the historic silo-ization of Portland’s arts organizations, offering a collaborative platform to showcase and invigorate the city’s upcoming performing arts season.

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Disney’s The Lion King
Presented by Broadway in Portland
September 17-28
Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay St., Portland

Based on the Disney animated film, The Lion King is Broadway’s third-longest-running and highest-grossing show, with 70 major awards, including a Tony for choreographer Garth Fagan. It tells the story of Simba, a young lion destined to be king, who must face betrayal, exile, and self-doubt to reclaim his throne. Fagan’s choreography blends Caribbean and African dance with modern, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, and stilt work. Julie Taymor, the first woman to win a Tony for Best Direction of a Musical, co-designed the masks and puppets with Oregon designer Michael Curry, wrote additional lyrics, and designed the Tony-winning costumes. With music by Elton John, sets that rise from the floor, songs in six African languages, colorful animal costumes, intricate puppetry, and a shimmering silk sun, The Lion King is a feast of movement, color, and sound.

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Portland Dance Film Fest
September 19-21
Tomorrow Theater, 3530 S.E. Division St, Portland

Portland Dance Film Festival returns to the Tomorrow Theater for three nights of screendance, a powerful art form that brings audiences closer to the human body in motion. The camera transports viewers to unexpected spaces, creating intimacy and a shared experience while exploring environments not normally accessible.

This year’s festival features 25 films from 14 countries, capturing moments of grief, joy, love, and rage. Join the filmmakers and fellow dance lovers for three unique evenings celebrating the artistry, innovation, and emotional impact of dance on screen.

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Swan Lake
Grand Kyiv Ballet Presents
7 p.m. September 24
The Patricia Reser Center For The Arts, 12625 S.W. Crescent Street, Beaverton

Immerse yourself in lavish costumes, physical feats, and the magic of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s melodic music in the myth-drenched ballet Swan Lake. The dancers of the Ukrainian National Opera and Ballet Theater bring to life the battle between light and darkness in the tale of a bewitched swan whose chance at love and becoming a human woman is thwarted by evil. Click here for a play-by-play telling of the story. 

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Standing Together
A Culmination of 7 years of Seeing and Being Seen
Directed by Wendy Hambidge, in collaboration with Jorge Samuel and Damaris Webb
September 26-28            
Dekum Street Theater, 814 N.E. Dekum St., Portland
The Sunday matinee will be followed by a conversation with the artists and a reception. Friday and Saturday attendees are welcome.

Part dance, part theater, and part oral history, Standing Together explores race and ancestry through the somatic investigations of Body-Mind Centering®. It brings together Portland dance artist Wendy Hambidge, whose lineage traces to early colonial plantation owners; Damaris Webb, a descendant of African slaves and Scandinavian immigrants; and Jorge Samuel, a Black Brazilian dance specialist whose family experienced racial and economic injustice. Together, they create space for difficult conversations through movement, storytelling, and love.

Hambidge’s work is informed by her family history, documented in The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White by Henry Wiencek. Webb works at the intersection of dance, theater, and social justice and co-founded The Vanport Mosaic. Samuel is a movement, music, fashion, and translation artist from Brazil, performing as Salve Samuca.

Deborah Hay: Performance and Lecture
ProLab Dance and BodyVox present 
6 p.m. September 27
BodyVox Dance Center, 1201 N.W. 17th Ave., Portland

Hay will also be teaching an intensive dance workshop September 22-26 at ProLab Dance Studios. For more information and to register go to prolabdance.com/workshops.

Legendary choreographer Deborah Hay, whose work has helped shape the postmodern dance landscape, will give a performance and lecture at BodyVox Dance at the end of a five-day dance intensiv,e which you can sign up separately for at prolabdance.com.

Emerging from the radical Judson Dance Theatre in the 1960s, Hay challenged traditional movement by encouraging dancers to explore beyond learned behaviors. Initially creating large group works with untrained dancers, she later transitioned to choreographing solo pieces for renowned artists including Mikhail Baryshnikov. Hay’s numerous accolades include a NYC Bessie Award in 2004 and the Doris Duke Artist Award in 2012; and in 2015 she was honored as a Chevalier de L’ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France’s Minister of Culture.

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October dance

October 2-4, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Presented by White Bird
October 10-11, The Fantastical Power of Two, Maya Dalinsky, claire barrera, and Rory Cowal
October 10-18, Dracula, Oregon Ballet Theater
October 19, Philippine Ballet Theater’s Sarimanok + Pinamulan Exhibit + Iconic Filipino Designers Exhibit, Filipino American Association of Portland and Vicinity, Inc. 
October 20, Crónica de un Suceso – A Flamenco performance by Rafael Ramírez, Presented by Spain Flamenco Arts and Espacio Flamenco Portland
October 22, Limon Dance Company, Presented by White Bird
October 23-26, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Ballet Fantastique
October 26, Kathakali-Keechaka Vadham, Presented by the Portland Balaji Temple
October 24-25, Carmen+, NW Dance Project
October 29-30, BloodyVox, BodyVox
October 31, Beauty of Korea 2025, Presented by Oregon Korean Performing Arts