An unused concrete loading area becomes an outdoor runway stage. A century-old warehouse transforms into a center for cutting-edge contemporary dance. Hip-hop is reinvented to express the energy and diversity of French urban youth. This fall, dance will appear in many forms, showing that it’s adaptable and capable of fostering new connections across cultures and among artists both local and global.
Tanz Farm (Oct. 29-Nov. 3, tanzfarm.com) is arguably the season's most ambitious dance initiative. A joint effort of choreographer Lauri Stallings' group gloATL and the Goat Farm Arts Center, it aims to make Goodson Yard, the 100-year-old warehouse turned performance venue that is gloATL's home, an international destination for contemporary dance and performance art. A four-part subscription series featuring nationally and internationally noted artists with a focus on experimental and cutting-edge work kicks off this fall with performances by choreographer Pierre Rigal, Atlanta-based French-language theater troupe Théâtre du Rêve, modern dance company Sidra Bell and singer Eliza Rickman.
Crossover Movement Arts (www.crossovermovementarts.com), a Decatur-based troupe that blends dance with martial arts and other forms of artistic experimentation, will appear at various locations on the Atlanta Beltline as a "mysterious band of shamanic engineers" who keep the chain of trails alive with human activity.
Crossover’s “Your Footsteps Bring Life,” a three-part series of free, site-specific works, invites audiences to follow parts of the performers’ virtual journey, beginning Sept. 9 with “Emergence” at the intersection of the Beltline with Allene Avenue, in the Adair Park neighborhood. Part II, “Flotilla,” will start at the Legacy Fountain in Piedmont Park on Oct. 7. Part III, “Daedalus Revisited,” is Oct. 14 on the lawn next to Old Fourth Ward Skate Park.
Atlanta Ballet (www.atlantaballet.com) has postponed its fall production until April, but the company's exquisite dancers will perform during Cocktails in the Garden at the Atlanta Botanical Garden for its Wabi Sabi (Sept. 20) initiative that pairs emerging choreographers and outdoor spaces.
Georgia Ballet (www.georgiaballet.org) re-stages George Balanchine's "Serenade," ( Oct. 20-21), illustrating how the Russian choreographer adapted a European dance tradition to the needs of his first American students. It's one of the 20th century's most important works. Set to Tchaikovsky's "Serenade in C major for String Orchestra," it's also one of the most beautiful.
Choreographer Pierre Rigal (Oct. 28, www.rialtocenter.org) and his Compagnie Dernière Minute is a troupe of hip-hop dancers – from France. As part of France-Atlanta 2012, they'll perform "Standards" at the Rialto Center for the Arts. Rigal's newest vision draws from hip-hop's social codes, images of the French flag and is colored by Rigal's fascination with the interplay of dance and technology.
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