Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in Tivoli, New York, hosts its 2025 festival guided by Michele Steinwald’s artistic vision, a dancer, programmer and longtime advocate for contemporary performance whose work places audiences at the center of the process. “I really consider the audience as an integral part of the performance experience, by not just considering what is being developed on the artist side, but also how, as an organization, we provide a gathering, a collaboration that happens in real time between artists and audiences. The art is the platform for conversation and connection.”
Steinwald’s curatorial approach honors the history and legacy of institutions. “A lot of my work right now involves examining an organization’s history and building on its strengths. I’m focused on creating experiences that feel nourishing and uplifting,” she explains.
The festival opens with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company revisiting The History of Collage, a work created shortly before Zane's passing over 20 years ago. Remounted with new dancers, the dance Collage Revisited, offers audiences a rare opportunity to engage with a work that has not been seen in many years. “It’s a beautiful moment to have those conversations around what it meant at the time and what it means now,” notes Steinwald. Known for provocative choreography that questions who we are, what motivates us, and our place in history, Jones, an acclaimed choreographer and founder of New York Live Arts, continues to push boundaries.
Nichole Canuso’s Lunar Retreat offers a unique, immersive experience, blending movement, imagination, and the full September moon. This journey includes moments of watching dance, traveling to various campus locations, listening through headphones, and opportunities for writing and reflection. The work considers the emotional pull between the earth’s oceans and the moon, drawing a connection between the vastness of the ocean and the intimacy of the Hudson River flowing beside Kaatsbaan. “Being in the Hudson Valley overlooking the river, the environment will amplify what’s happening in the performance,” says Steinwald.
The Porch, a regional version of The Moth, true stories told live, brings storytelling, and readings to the Kaatsbaan grounds. “I love that audiences get to see work before it’s finished. There’s an intimacy in that encounter — the artist is trying things, the audience is responding, and together they’re part of that moment,” remarks Steinwald. Also featured is On Literary Kinship: Reading and Conversation Between Friends Nick Flynn (writer of 12 books) + Marie Howe (2025 Pulitzer Prize-winner in poetry), led by writer Aditi Bhattacharjee.
On this same full weekend, Deborah Hay presents the hybrid Performance Club. In addition to the performance, audience members, according to Steinwald, are invited to “draw, write, roll on the ground, breathe, meditate, vocalize, sing, and dance.” Two films about Hay’s practice will be screened and a conversation with Steinwald will offer insight into their decades-long artistic relationship.
The celebrated Ayodele Casel performs Freedom...In Progress, a challenging tap dance solo set to an improvised 1979 recording by pioneering jazz musicians Max Roach and Cecil Taylor. The electrifying work will continue to evolve during a two-week residency at Kaatsbaan, with the next section of the dance presented during the festival.
Kayla Farrish brings DOCILE, a solo and the duet A Beast, that explores her dynamic physicality. “She has an appetite for voracious physical movement,” states Steinwald. Farrish and Casel perform on the same weekend, and each will moderate the other's artist talk, fostering a rich dialogue between the two.
Wrapping up the festival is a new composition by Lori Goldston, Seattle-based cellist, joined by violinist Gwen Laster and violist Melanie Dyer. Described by Steinwald as “a dream team,” Goldston, accompanying on cello, will also present experimental short films providing a reflective prelude to the final performances.
Extending the festival beyond the stage, free audio experiences offer additional layers of engagement. Visitors are encouraged to bring earbuds or headphones, and a streaming device. Blankets will be provided on-site, and attendees are invited to lie down and linger or stroll the grounds and enjoy the artwork as part of the 2025 Visual Arts Exhibition.
Steinwald’s curatorial approach emphasizes connection—to the land, to time, to Kaatsbaan's legacy, and to one another. This year’s festival presents an unprecedented combination of immersive experiences, site-specific works, and multi-generational collaborations. Audiences are encouraged to pause, explore, and engage fully with the performances, installations, and audio experiences that bring Steinwald’s vision to life.
Catherine Tharin is a choreographer, writer, curator, and educator. Her writing on dance has appeared in The Dance Enthusiast, Interlocutor, Side of Culture, and the Boston Globe. Tharin currently curates The Dance Series at the Stissing Center in Pine Plains, NY, and dance film at The Moviehouse in Millerton, NY. Throughout her career, she has championed both innovative and legacy choreography, supported the work of artists across the field, and brought critical attention to the art form. Her latest dance, In the Wake of Yes, was noted as "powerfully animated, positively fizzy, full of droll wit" (Fjord), “The piece blended dance, art, and language into a layered meditation on love and emotional vulnerability." (Eye on Dance).
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