Jazz dance in 2024 looks nothing like the Fosse revivals of the 1990s. Today's choreographers are merging street styles, Afro-Brazilian techniques, and postmodern release work into a hybrid form that challenges easy categorization. These five performances—running from January through December—represent the field's most vital currents, from legacy institutions reimagining their reperitories to independent artists breaking new ground.
Complexions Contemporary Ballet: From Then 'Til Now
March 14–24, 2024 | The Joyce Theater, New York
Dwight Rhoden's 40th-anniversary retrospective traces the evolution of jazz fusion since the company's 1994 founding. The program spans Rhoden's 1992 Hissy Fits—all sharp angles and driving house music—to new commissions set to contemporary R&B artists. What distinguishes Complexions is their refusal to separate "commercial" and "concert" dance; company members move between Beyoncé tours and the Joyce stage with the same technical precision. The 2024 season features a world premiere by associate director Desmond Richardson, the former Ailey star whose muscular, fluid style defined a generation of male jazz dancers.
Philadanco: The Continuum
April 5–7, 2024 | Kimmel Center, Philadelphia; touring nationally through November
Since its 1974 founding by Joan Myers Brown, Philadanco has served as the primary bridge between concert jazz dance and Black social dance forms. Their 50th-anniversary program, The Continuum, commissions four choreographers to respond to the company's archive. Standout: Rennie Harris's Lazarus (excerpt), which translates the rhythmic complexity of Philadelphia's club scene—specifically the "jacking" style of the 1980s—into proscenium-ready ensemble work. The company performs with the speed and attack that jazz dance demands but rarely achieves; their national tour includes stops in Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Camille A. Brown and Dancers: ink (Revival)
May 3–18, 2024 | Brooklyn Academy of Music
The New York Times called Brown's 2017 work "a reclamation of Black joy that refuses sentimentality." ink completes her trilogy on Black identity (Mr. TOL E. RAncE, BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play), using the gestural vocabulary of Black social dance—hand games, double dutch, the ring shout—to build a contemporary jazz language. Brown's choreography operates at the intersection of theater and dance; she draws from her Broadway credits (Choir Boy, Once on This Island) without diluting the formal rigor of her concert work. The BAM engagement marks the final performances of this repertory staple before Brown transitions to full-time directing.
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago: Summer Series
June 13–16, 2024 | Harris Theater, Chicago
Hubbard Street remains the definitive American company for jazz-inflected contemporary dance. Their Summer Series pairs founder Lou Conte's 1979 The 40s—a smart, sardonic take on swing-era social dance—with new works by Robyn Mineko Williams and a U.S. premiere by Israeli choreographer Sharon Eyal. The company's strength is repertory breadth: on any given night, you might see Tharp's Nine Sinatra Songs, a Crystal Pite installation, and something forged last month in the studio. For jazz dance specifically, Conte's legacy persists in the company's emphasis on musicality—dancers who can hear the off-beat, the break, the blue note.
Lula Washington Dance Theatre: 40 Years of Movement
September 20–22, 2024 | The Wallis, Los Angeles; additional dates TBA
Lula Washington founded her company in 1980 with a clear mission: to create concert dance that reflected African American life and history without pandering to white audiences. Her 2024 retrospective includes The Movement (2011), a visceral response to police violence set to Coltrane, and Reign (2019), which pairs South African gumboot dance with L.A. street styles. Washington's choreography retains the grounded, pelvic-centered movement that jazz dance abandoned during its Broadway commercialization; her dancers move from the core outward, generating power through weight rather than against it. The Wallis engagement coincides with the company's educational residency in South Central schools.
How to Approach These Performances
If you're new to concert dance, start with Complexions or Hubbard Street—both companies prioritize accessibility without sacrificing ambition. For viewers interested in the political dimensions of jazz dance, Philadanco and Lula Washington offer essential context. Camille A. Brown demands the most from
