Lake Tahoe Dance Collective Presents The 13th Annual Lake Tahoe Dance Festival

Lake Tahoe Dance Collective is delighted to present the 13th Annual Lake Tahoe Dance Festival from July 22 - 25, 2025, featuring artists from New York City Ballet, Broadway, Boston Ballet, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, and more. An opening night gala in Tahoe City at William B Layton Park marks the beginning of the Festival, followed by Tahoe City Community Night, Kings Beach Community Night, and a closing night benefit in Incline Village.

With a mission to present the finest quality professional dance and dance instruction in North Lake Tahoe, Christin Hanna and Constantine Baecher started The Lake Tahoe Dance Festival in 2013, now in its second decade. Lake Tahoe Dance commissions new works, preserves the legacy of rarely-seen classics and fan favorites, while offering the highest caliber artists a creative platform.

Some of the artists featured at the 2025 Lake Tahoe Dance Festival include Lia Cirio and Paul Craig (Boston Ballet); Melody Mennite Walsh (Houston Ballet), Dwayne Brown (Metropolitan Opera Ballet); Amber Neff (New Chamber Ballet), Taylor Stanley and Indiana Woodward (New York City Ballet); and Stephen Hanna (New York City Ballet / Broadway).

Tarantella, George Balanchine

dancers: Daniel Ulbricht, Indiana Woodward

This sprightly music, despite its Italian air, was composed by Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869), a New Orleans­–born composer and pianist who made a large impact in his brief life. Gottschalk was a true American original, and his achievements had a great impact on composers and performers who followed. Balanchine admired this particular composition and choreographed a pas de deux for Patricia McBride and Edward Villella - two virtuosic dancers - in 1964. In his Complete Stories of the Great Ballets, Balanchine wrote of the music, “It is a dazzling display piece, full of speed and high spirits. So, I hope, is the dance, which is ‘Neopolitan’ if you like and ‘demi-caractère.’ The costumes are inspired by Italy, anyhow, and there are tambourines.”

New Commission, Holly Curran

dancers: Amber Neff & Dwayne Brown

This will be Holly Curran’s second commission for the Lake Tahoe Dance Festival.

Floreciente, Melody Mennite

dancers: Melody Mennite, & Stephen Hanna + workshop students.

Floreciente means to flourish or bloom. There was a time, not long ago, when we were closer to the rhythms of the natural world. We more intimately belonged to this Earth and simultaneously to each other. Finding ourselves out of balance in a modern era, we have become disoriented and searching for clearer path forward. We look back and see that despite all our distractions, natures rhythms, cycles, and wisdom continue to hold and sustain us. Listen to the song of nature, that rhythm of your own heartbeat, it is the deepest place in you that says you are home.

May we bloom.

Chaptered in Fragments, Lia Cirio

dancers:

Chaptered in Fragments was Lia Cirio's first piece for Boston Ballet’s main stage. She began choreographing it during the pandemic and completed it as they were emerging from that time. It premiered in 2022. Lia chose the title because the piece felt like it had grown alongside the different chapters of our lives…the dancers and she were not the same people they were when we started creating it, and by the time it was performed, they had changed. The main pas de deux couple (particularly the woman) in the piece goes on an emotional journey, but Lia always felt there was more to their story. When Christin Hanna invited her to create something for the festival, it felt like the perfect opportunity to add a new fragment to that chapter. Lia is excited to dive into it again, both as a person and as a choreographer, she is constantly evolving.

“Thank you, Christin Hanna and Constantine Baecher, for founding this festival of living dance history, and keeping going. You are keepers of humanity and hope.” — Fjord Review

SPECIAL PROGRAMS:

Opening Night Gala

Tuesday, July 22, 2025 at 8pm at William B. Layton Park, Tahoe City

The Lake Tahoe Dance Festival's Opening Night Gala celebrates bringing the finest in Dance to the shore of Lake Tahoe! Artists from New York City Ballet, Broadway, Boston Ballet and more grace the stage following the pre-performance reception with food, wine, and silent auction.

Tahoe City Community Night

Wednesday, July 23, 2025 at 9pm at William B. Layton Park, Tahoe City

We believe strongly in making sure that the finest in dance is accessible to the whole community - so join us for Community Night in Tahoe City, where all tickets are just $30!

This event is perfect for the whole family, so bring your loved ones along for a memorable evening. Don't miss out on this exciting opportunity to experience the beauty of dance in the heart of Tahoe City with artists from Boston Ballet, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, New York City Ballet and more gracing our dance festival stage. See you there!

Kings Beach Community Night

Thursday, July 24, 2025 at 9pm at Kings Beach State Recreation Area

Bring your friends, a picnic, and join Lake Tahoe Dance Festival’s first ever community night in Kings Beach! Tickets are just $30!

Closing Night Benefit

Friday, July 25, 2025 at 8m at Private Residence, Incline Village

Close out the 2025 festival by helping Lake Tahoe Dance Collective present its year-round programs, educational outreach and school of dance. $135 ticket includes bountiful hors d’ouvres by celebrated chef Alex Tolger, an open wine, beer, and kombucha bar. Seating will be provided for the performance.

Exact location will be shared with ticket holders only, 48 hours prior to the event.