On April 27, friends from across the dance community gathered in Harlem at The Apollo Stages at The Victoria for the fourth annual 25 to Watch Live. The springtime energy outside felt in keeping with the performance inside: a celebratory showcase for 11 of our 2026 “25 to Watch” picks. These talented artists’ careers are […]

To continue our recent celebration of 25 to Watch Live, this week we’re featuring three dance films from artists featured in 2025’s “25 to Watch” in a mini Friday Film Break Festival. On BLUSH, directed and choreographed by Dava Huesca and danced by Charrie Burke, Huesca says: “As a Black woman I am consistently navigating a world […]

To continue our recent celebration of 25 to Watch Live, this week we’re featuring three dance films from artists featured in 2025’s “25 to Watch” in a mini Friday Film Break Festival. On his dance film Ballroom Dancing, choreographer Loughlan Prior explains: “I’d been creating a lot of large-scale narrative work for the stage, and so […]

To continue our recent celebration of 25 to Watch Live, this week we’re featuring three dance films from artists featured in 2025’s “25 to Watch” in a mini Friday Film Break Festival. On SEX MYTHS, danced by Susie Buisson and Pierre-Émile Lemieux-Venne, choreographer Brett Fukuda explains: “SEX MYTHS represents my commitment to challenging preconceptions about gender. It […]

On April 28, Dance Magazine’s third annual 25 to Watch Live provided a burst of springtime energy as artists from a range of genres and locations gathered for an evening of dance and community.

25 to Watch Live returns to New York City this spring, and you’re invited!

I teach an improvisation class called “Forget How to Dance.” In it, I ask participants to enter the unknown—to risk moving sensitively rather than sensibly. We embrace being “the worst dancer in the room”—breaking from technique, convention, and expectation to uncover what actually stirs us. Participants take a variety of approaches to this prompting. Some […]

To celebrate the 25th “25 to Watch” feature, here’s a look back at some of our favorite January covers since the list’s 2001 inception.