White Bird, Portland’s presenter of leading dance companies from around the world, has announced its 2025/2026 season. Starting this fall, the 28-year-old nonprofit organization will feature a powerhouse roundup of some of the most nationally and internationally celebrated companies.

White Bird — named after a beloved pet cockatoo named Barney — was founded in 1997 by Walter Jaffe, former Paul Taylor Dance Company board member, and Paul King, recipient of the 2011 Jerry Willis Achievement Award for Artistic Excellence.

The organization is now headed by Executive Director Graham Cole, University of North Carolina School of the Arts graduate and former Gibney administrator, as it heads into its fourth revival season since the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered theater doors in 2020.

White Bird’s 28th season kicks off with Complexions Contemporary Ballet from New York City, founded in 1994 by master choreographer Dwight Rhoden and the legendary Desmond Richardson. The contemporary ballet company will present a mixed repertoire program featuring Dwight Rhoden’s FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, set to U2 songs from their latest album Songs of Surrender, Oct. 2-4. The performance on Friday, Oct. 3, will be followed by a talkback.

Later in October, Limón Dance Company, the New York City-based American modern dance company founded in 1946 by José Limón and Doris Humphrey, will present a mixed repertoire evening. The company is set to perform Limón’s A Choreographic Offering, described as “powerfully suggesting a sense of family or community or humanity” by the Los Angeles Times in 1987. The dancers will also perform works by modern dance pioneer Doris Humphrey and contemporary choreographer Kayla Farrish. Wednesday, Oct. 22.

Lali Ayguadé Company, a modern dance company from Barcelona led by Lali Ayguadé, will make its White Bird debut just before the holiday season. The company will perform an award-winning duet, RUNA, Nov. 13-15, with a post-performance talkback on Friday, Nov. 14.

Compagnie Hervé KOUBI, from Calais, France, rings in the new year with director Hervé Koubi’s newest work, Sol Invictus, named after the “Invincible Sun” or “Unconquered Sun God” of the Roman Empire. The martial arts, breaking, acrobatics, and modern dance company will perform its third production with White Bird on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026.

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Brooklyn’s Urban Bush Women, a nonprofit troupe founded in 1984 by choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and called “expressive ritualistic dance of extraordinarily delicate nuance” by The New York Times in their debut year, comes to Portland as part of the troupe’s 40th Anniversary. The company, whose aim is “to amplify the unheard stories of Black Women+”,  will perform THIS IS RISK Feb. 5-7, a mixed repertoire celebration of storytelling through dance, accompanied by live music. It will hold a post-performance talkback on Friday, Feb. 6.

On Feb. 26-28 comes Gibney Company, a New York City-based rep company that commissions and performs works by choreographers from across the U.S. and internationally. With a focus on “artistic excellence and social integrity,” the troupe aims to bring physicality to the stage by championing established and emerging choreographers. A post-performance talkback will occur on Friday, Feb. 27.

Versa-Style Street Dance Company is a Los Angeles-based company formed by co-artistic directors Jackie Lopez, aka Miss Funk, and Leigh Foaad, aka Breeze-lee, “to promote, empower, and celebrate the artistry of Hip Hop and street dance culture.” Named “Los Angeles’ Best Dance Troupe for Hip Hop Empowerment” by LA Weekly, the company will perform at the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts on March 19-21, with a talkback on Friday, March 20.

White Bird favorite Dance Theatre of Harlem will visit from New York on Sunday, April 19, to present a repertoire program showcasing the company’s legacy and future. Founded by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook at the height of the civil rights movement in 1969, the ballet-based company was later led by Artistic Director Virginia Johnson, who announced her retirement in 2023. She was followed by the appointment of Robert Garland as Artistic Director. Many are hoping that the company, described as “spectacular” by Oregon ArtsWatch’s Martha Ullman West in a 2022 review of Passage, will hold a community workshop class when it comes to town.

Closing out the season will be Ballets Jazz Montréal from Montréal, Quebec, on Wednesday, May 20. The contemporary ballet dance company will perform Dance Me – Music by Leonard Cohen, an evening-length tribute to the iconic Canadian musician’s life, featuring choreography by Andonis Foniadakis, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Ihsan Rustem, who is also resident choreographer of Portland’s NW Dance Project.

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Check the White Bird website for ticket and subscription information on the 2025/26 season. More information will be available on the website soon, including workshop dates, special events, and more.

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White Bird’s 2025-26 season is supported by the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation, Creative West, Trust Management Services, the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. White Bird receives support from the Oregon Arts Commission, a state agency funded by the State of Oregon, and the City of Portland’s Office of Arts & Culture.