Every August, Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park in Battery Park City becomes an open-air stage for New York City’s longest-running free public dance festival. You can see different programs every night against a stunning New York Harbor backdrop.
Battery Dance Festival has spent decades bringing dance traditions from around the world to the waterfront at the tip of Manhattan, and this year’s edition marks a major milestone: the festival’s 45th year, honoring 50 years of Battery Dance under founder and Artistic Director Jonathan Hollander.
45th Battery Dance Festival 2026
Free international contemporary dance festival with a stunning New York Harbor backdrop
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park
Battery Park City, Manhattan
Mon-Sun, August 10-16, 2026 | 7pm
FREE
Performances run Tuesday, August 11 through Sunday, August 16, each night starting at 7:00pm, with community workshops kicking things off on Monday, August 10. Every performance is free and open to the public.
Latin and Global Roots Artists at the 45th Battery Dance Festival 2026
Cía Elías Aguirre
Contemporary dance company from Madrid, Spain, presenting Flowerheads, a US premiere
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park
Battery Park City, Manhattan
Tue, August 11 and Wed, August 12, 2026 | 7:00pm
Free
Madrid’s Elías Aguirre Company brings a strikingly original vision to the festival with Flowerheads, a piece that dissolves the line between the natural and the fantastical. Founder Elías Aguirre draws on his background in contemporary dance, urban movement, and physical theater to build a stage world populated by insects, amphibians, and blooming, breathing plant life, all rendered with the precision of a company built on “invisible nature.” Supported by the Consulate General of Spain in New York, this US premiere is a rare chance to see a Madrid-based company on New York soil.
Movimento em Foco
Brazilian dance company presenting Voices That Echo Within Us, a US premiere set to MPB (Brazilian Popular Music)
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park
Battery Park City
Wed, August 12, 2026 | 7:00pm
Free
Led by choreographer Lucas Mendes, Movimento em Foco brings the sound and soul of Brazilian Popular Music to Battery Park City with Voices That Echo Within Us.
The piece moves through iconic songs by legends like Maria Bethânia, Caetano Veloso, Elis Regina, and Chico Buarque, turning decades of Brazilian musical memory into a full-company dance work.
It is a vivid, emotionally charged US premiere from one of Brazil’s award-winning dance studios, making its New York debut at the festival.
Allpayana Ecuadorian Traditional Dance
NYC-based Ecuadorian folkloric company presenting Otavalo Wedding, an NYC premiere rooted in Indigenous Kichwa tradition
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park
Battery Park City
Fri, August 14, 2026 | 7:00pm
Free
Founded in New York City by Christian Pérez and Gabriela Pizarro, Allpayana takes its name from the Kichwa words for “black earth,” and its mission is preserving the festive traditions of Ecuador’s Otavalo culture.
Otavalo Wedding stages the courtship and celebration rituals of an Otavaleño marriage, including the fandango, a couples’ dance performed only at wakes and weddings.
It is a rare, deeply researched look at Andean and Kichwa performance tradition, staged by a company built to keep that heritage alive in New York.
Give a shoutout to Ecuadorian Independence Day, August 10, 1809.
Indian Independence Day at Battery Dance Festival
Every year, Battery Dance Festival devotes an evening to a dedicated program of Indian dance timed to Indian Independence Day. This year that program lands on Saturday, August 15.
The Caribbean and Latin American countries of Trinidad, Guyana, and Suriname have important communities of Indian descent. It’s amazing how well classical Indian dance traditions blend with contemporary and percussive dance. What’s old is new, and what’s new is old.
Sindhoor Natya
Indian dance company presenting excerpts from Encounter, choreographed by Aparna Sindhoor and Anil Natyaveda, an NYC premiere
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park
Battery Park City
Sat, August 15, 2026 | 7:00pm
Free
Sindhoor Natya brings Navarasa, excerpts from Encounter, to this year’s Indian Independence Day program, marking its New York City premiere at the festival.
Tanveer Alam
Toronto-based Kathak dance artist presenting Zikr, a US premiere
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park
Battery Park City
Sat, August 15, 2026 | 7:00pm
Free
Toronto-based Tanveer Alam trained in Kathak under Sudeshna Maulik and Sandhya Desai before completing his contemporary dance training at Ontario’s Dance Arts Institute of Canada. He has performed in works by Rina Singha, Lata Pada, and Padmini Chettur, among others, and brings his piece Zikr to Battery Dance Festival as its US premiere.
Company led by Nadhi Thekkek presenting Rogue Gestures/Foreign Bodies, a New York premiere
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park
Battery Park City
Sat, August 15, 2026 | 7:00pm
Free
Nadhi Thekkek brings Nava Dance Theatre to the festival with Rogue Gestures/Foreign Bodies, making its New York premiere as part of this year’s Indian Independence Day program.
Mesma Belsaré
Indian classical dance artist presenting SIREN, a New York premiere
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park
Battery Park City
Sat, August 15, 2026 | 7:00pm
Free
Mesma Belsaré, a longtime presence at Battery Dance Festival’s Indian dance programs, returns this year with SIREN, a New York premiere.
Jeevika Bhat
Manhattan-based Odissi dancer and choreographer presenting Clothesline
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park
Battery Park City
Sat, August 15, 2026 | 7:00pm
Free
Jeevika Bhat is a Manhattan-based dancer and choreographer who explores the confluence of her cultures through a contemporary Indian American lens. She trains in Odissi, the East Indian classical dance form known for its nuanced storytelling and graceful fluidity, under Guru Jyoti Rout.
About Battery Dance Festival
Founded by Jonathan Hollander in 1976, Battery Dance has spent half a century using dance as a tool for cultural exchange, building programs in 75 countries and turning its home turf in Lower Manhattan into an annual meeting point for the world.
Battery Dance’s “Dancing to Connect” program uses dance to strengthen social connections and resolve conflict around the world. Dance is a universal form of expression that brings out our common humanity.
The Battery Dance Festival is the most visible expression of that mission: a free, multi-night showcase where companies from Spain, Brazil, Ecuador, Taiwan, Romania, Italy, and beyond share a single outdoor stage with New York’s own dance community.
Each year the festival draws a combined audience of more than 12,000 in-person attendees and 35,000 virtual viewers, cementing its place as one of the city’s essential summer cultural traditions.
The New York Harbor backdrop is one of NYC’s most stunning stages. At times the boats move with the dancers, and the Statue of Liberty watches over all.
If you have kids, take a soccer ball so they can run around in the grass while you enjoy the performances.