EVENTS
The Dance Centre announces its 2025-2026 season
The Dance Centre’s 2025-2026 season presents a comprehensive program of exciting performances, accessible community programs, and creative residencies, featuring a diverse roster of artists working in a variety of dance genres. The Global Dance Connections series features Co.ERASGA, Action at a Distance/Vanessa Goodman, James Gnam/Plastic Orchid Factory, Justine A. Chambers, Ame Henderson + Matija Ferlin, Corporeal Imago and FakeKnot. The Discover Dance! noon hour series includes Sujit Vaidya, Flamenco Rosario, Idan Cohen/Ne. Sans Opera & Dance, and Danny Nielsen. Choreographic research is supported through residencies and labs, and residency exchanges with partners in Montreal, Toronto and New Zealand will support artistic growth and creative exchange. Community programs include the annual Scotiabank Dance Centre Open House and International Dance Day events, and The Power of Dance program workshops for schools, youth and seniors.
(Scotiabank Dance Centre, 677 Davie St, Vancouver, September 2025 – June 2026)
The Mush Hole
The Cultch & Urban Ink present: The Mush Hole, a theatrical dance performance about Canada’s first Indian residential school, The Mohawk Institute, a.k.a. The Mush Hole. From 1828 to 1970, State and Church systems worked to sever Indigenous children from their families, culture, and language. Through the eyes of two generations of Survivors, The Mush Hole evokes the raw, unflinching realities of this legacy. Featuring a powerhouse all-Indigenous cast, the performance fuses visceral movement, haunting cinematic imagery, and a stirring original score to summon the experiences still held within the school’s bricks and mortar. Inspired by Survivors’ testimonials, the show is both a reckoning and a radiant story of resistance, remembrance, and courage.
(Historic Theatre, The Cultch, 1895 Venables St. Vancouver, BC V5L 2H6, Nov. 14 (7:30 pm), Nov. 15 (2:00 pm, 7:30 pm), Nov. 16 (2:00 pm))
The Dance Centre presents Flamenco Rosario
The Dance Centre’s popular Discover Dance! noon series highlights the art of flamenco with a performance by Flamenco Rosario. A trailblazing force in Vancouver’s flamenco scene for over 35 years, Flamenco Rosario honours the authentic traditions of flamenco while nurturing its evolution, crossing boundaries of history and cultures. Led by its celebrated Artistic Director Rosario Ancer, the company will share a powerful program of electrifying dance, emotional intensity, and stirring music. The show includes an artist talkback.
(Scotiabank Dance Centre, 677 Davie St, Vancouver, Nov. 20, 2025 at 12PM)
DanceHouse presents Hung Dance’s Birdy
DanceHouse presents the Vancouver premiere of Taiwan’s award-winning Hung Dance’s striking interplay of freedom and restraint in Birdy, on stage November 28 & 29, 2025, at 8pm at the Vancouver Playhouse. Employing an exquisite headpiece called “Ling Zi,” featuring four-foot-long pheasant tail feathers worn in traditional Chinese opera to represent a warrior’s power and skill, Birdy embodies bright bursts of freedom against the weighted cage of history. Set to a mix of electronica and Chinese classical music, Birdy reinterprets percussion and blends Tai-chi with contemporary dance to create a universal cry for freedom.
(Vancouver Playhouse, 600 Hamilton St., Nov. 28–29)
Dance Into Christmas
This concert is created for everyone's pleasure and will put you into a holiday spirit like no other. Featuring excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker with special Guest Artists from Les Grands Ballets Canadiens performing the Nutcracker Pas de Deux, plus holiday classics and live music from Mikey Jose and his band. Alongside specially choreographed works by the Academy’s dancers and vocalists, it’s sure to be a magical tradition for the entire family!
(Massey Theatre, 735 Eighth Ave, New Westminster BC, Dec. 5)
Ballet Victoria: The Nutcracker
Christmas has finally arrived at the Stahlbaum home. Family and friends are gathered around the Christmas tree in a festive night of dancing, gifts, and celebration. Young Clara receives a special gift from her mysterious Uncle Drosselmeyer—a toy Nutcracker, which comes to life and takes her on a magical journey.
(The ACT Arts Centre, 11944 Haney Place, Maple Ridge, Saturday, December 13, 2025 @ 3:00 PM / Sunday, December 14, 2025 @ 3:00 PM)
Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet presents T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods and Carmina Burana
Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) presents a striking double bill of the evocative West Coast premiere of T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods, featured alongside the celebrated favourite Carmina Burana, on stage January 27, 2026 at Evergreen Theatre. T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods, created and choreographed by RWB School alumnus Cameron Fraser-Monroe, is an historic collaboration of Indigenous artists that fuses storytelling, contemporary ballet, and classical music – honouring the richness of oral tradition. Narrated in both English and Ayajuthem by Elder Elsie Paul and scored by JUNO-nominated Cris Derksen, this stunning work marks a bold new chapter in the RWB’s repertoire. Carmina Burana fuses bold, athletic movement with Carl Orff’s thunderous and evocative score to create a visceral experience that transcends traditional storytelling. Tickets: Ticketmaster.ca | Info: RWB.org
(Evergreen Theatre, 5001 Joyce Ave, Powell River, Jan. 27)
Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet presents Carmina Burana and T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods
Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) presents a striking double bill of celebrated favourite Carmina Burana, featured alongside the evocative West Coast premiere of T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods. Carmina Burana fuses bold, athletic movement with Carl Orff’s thunderous score to create a visceral experience that transcends traditional storytelling. Hailed by critics and audiences alike, T’əl, created by RWB alumnus Cameron Fraser-Monroe, is an historic collaboration of Indigenous artists that fuses storytelling, contemporary ballet, and classical music, narrated in both English and Ayajuthem by Elder Elsie Paul, and scored by JUNO-nominated Cris Derksen.
(The Centre Vancouver, Feb. 9–10, 2026)
