DanceHouse’s 2026/27 season promises powerful contemporary works | Georgia Straight Vancouver’s source for arts, culture, and events

1 of 1 2 of 1 Get the best of Vancouver in your inbox, every Tuesday and Thursday. Sign up for our free newsletter.DanceHouse has announced five dynamic shows for its globe-trotting 2025/26 season, all showing at the Vancouver Playhouse. The celebrated arts organization is marking its 19th year with a number of firsts: two B.C. premieres, a Canadian premiere, a North American premiere, and its first show from an Indian company.“We are delighted to present our 19th season of boundary-pushing works to Vancouver audiences,” says Jim Smith, artistic and executive director of DanceHouse, in a statement. “Together, these performances offer audiences a dynamic season of virtuosity, imagination, and deeply contemporary perspective.”First off is ODE, a new work from Montreal choreographer Catherine Gaudet that is getting its B.C. premiere. The group performance examines the industrial happiness complex and how shared experiences can create cultural groupthink and burnout. The first show of 2027 is Knitting Peace, a Canadian premiere from Sweden’s renowned Cirkus Cirkör co-presented with the Cultch. The contemporary circus show promises to be a literal interpretation of “hanging by a thread”: delicately balanced ropes, yarn, and thread weaving together a story of cooperation. In February, DanceHouse and Indian Summer Festival team up for the North American premiere of Forbidden. The carnal work from Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company draws inspiration from the Kama Sutra and traditional Kathak dance to explore sensuality and pleasure without shame. Following that is a remount of Kidd Pivot’s astounding Assembly Hall. The work from Vancouver’s own Crystal Pite premiered in DanceHouse’s 2023/24 season and returns to local stages for the first time in four years. Eight performers examine the need for belonging through the improbable lens of medieval reenactors. Finally, the season closes out with Deepstaria. British choreographer Wayne McGregor helms a performance named for elusive jellyfish that live in the depths of the ocean, with the push and pull of the abyss demonstrated through the dancers’ peristaltic movements. Sink into the unknown in this B.C. premiere. DanceHouse 2026/27When: October 23 to April 17, 2027Where: Vancouver Playhouse Tickets: Subscriptions from $232 available here; single ticket shows on sale from May 19 Join the discussion Facebook comments not loading? Please check your browser settings to ensure that it is not blocking Facebook from running on straight.com