It's Good Dance, It's Free, It's Got the World's Best Backdrop: Next Week's Battery Dance Festival
August 11, 2017

Summertime in New York City is premium outdoor time—which can make attending indoor events a bit of a drag. That’s why the Battery Dance Festival is such a treat: Nearly all of its performances—over a full week—take place outside, with a choreographer’s dream backdrop, the Hudson River (see if you can spot the Statue of Liberty!). Even better, all outdoor performances are FREE.


The festival has been an annual event since 1982 (when it was originally called the Downtown Dance Festival), and Battery Dance Company has made a commitment to featuring international performers as part of the festival’s lineup. This year is no exception: Companies from the Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, Spain, Botswana and Belgium are all performing. (Plus plenty of NYC-based troupes, many of whom we’ve featured in our magazine—SLK Ballet, Janis Brenner and Dancers, the Martha Graham School, Buglisi Dance Theatre).

Photo by Darial Sneed, from last year’s festival, courtesy of Battery Dance Festival

It all happens at the southern tip of the city in Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park (here’s a helpful map), beginning at 7 pm, Sunday through Friday. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather!

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