With all the recent buzz around Pioneer Square’s post-pandemic awakening, a lot of people are claiming that the arts are back. In our opinion, they never went away. Seattle’s dance community has continued building new work, from longtime local creators to internationally known choreographers. This spring brings returning classics, world premieres, and festivals highlighting artists working here right now. Here are the performances worth seeing this season.

Firebird

A much-anticipated trio, Firebird, Red Angels, and Little Mortal Jump return to Pacific Northwest Ballet this March. After 20 years, the classic one-act Firebird, complete with choreography by PNB founding artistic director Kent Stowell and original sets by Ming Cho Lee, is back at McCaw Hall. Ulysses Dove’s Red Angels has been wildly popular with Seattle audiences since its 2005 PNB debut: energetic and highly charged, the choreography showcases the undeniable athleticism of the dancers. The newest work, Little Mortal Jump, by Alejandro Cerrudo, blends dance genres into a highly engaging theatrical experience full of humor, tenderness, and joy. “PNB’s Firebird mixed rep offers three iconic works,” says artistic director, Peter Boal. “If you’re looking for sultry, sleek, and spellbinding—this program is for you.”

Firebird runs through March 13–22 at McCaw Hall.

Again, There is No Other (The Remix) for the Arts

Longtime Seattle creative Amy O’Neal is bringing her choreographic chops back to On the Boards, where her latest work, Again, There is No Other (The Remix), samples concepts from the past two decades of her career. Merging street dance and contemporary movement, O’Neal explores societal notions of what it means to be masculine or feminine, and pushes back against fearfulness of the feminine in a patriarchal society. Performed by six multilingual femme-identified dancers, Again, There is No Other (The Remix) is the reply to Opposing Forces, her evening-length work that premiered at On the Boards in 2014.

Again, There is No Other (The Remix) runs March 26–28 at On the Boards.

2026 BOOST Dance Festival

After receiving a record-breaking number of submissions, BOOST Dance Festival is back for its 12th season. Produced by Exit Space founder and artistic director Marlo Martin, the festival features two programs with 10 dance artists, all of whom are presenting new work. “BOOST is unlike any other Seattle dance festival with its deliberate mission to present both established and emerging choreographers in one program,” says Martin. “This season in particular has an incredible range of choreographers.” Performers include Elia Mrak, Alana O. Rogers, Sally Holloman, and Ieva Bračiulytė. “We are also excited to welcome back several artists who participated in the original production years of the festival,” Martin adds. “What a beautiful testament to Seattle dance and the artists who continue to create here.”

The 2026 BOOST Dance Festival is March 27–29 at Nod Theater.

RoCoCoCoCo

As part of Velocity Dance Center’s Made in Seattle series, choreographer Heather Kravas presents RoCoCoCoCo in a sequence of five unfolding events across several days—each night is different, and audiences are encouraged to mix and match their performance experience. In the program notes, the show is described as a “DIY folk dance that turns into a snowflake, fractals into a vortex, veers into a grocery list, emanates like an aura, aligns like a pinball machine, and collaborates like an ant colony.” In other words, beyond classification, suggesting a new structure for performance. “Kravas’ work is expansive and cerebral, monumental and generous,” says Joseph Hernandez, communications manager at Velocity. “The grandeur of this project is definitely an exciting opportunity for performance and art lovers in the PNW to be confronted with, as Heather puts it, ‘a state of heightened attention, curiosity, and desire.’”

RoCoCoCoCo runs March 26–28 and April 2–4 at 12th Avenue Arts.

Dances to American Music: Soul of America

Mark Morris returns to his hometown this spring with three Seattle premieres. One of the world’s most celebrated dance artists, Morris is known for his inventive approach, extreme athleticism, and sharp musicality. In Dances to American Music: Soul of America, Morris presents four works: Three Preludes, set to a jazzy, iconic piece composed by George Gershwin; Northwest, inspired by the traditional music of the Yup’ik people of western Alaska and the Athabascan people of interior Alaska; Pizzica, an ensemble piece taking cues from the tarantella tradition; and You’ve Got to Be Modernistic, a nod to the ragtime music that flourished in Harlem in the 1920s. The latter three works have never before been staged in Seattle.

Dances to American Music: Soul of America runs May 7–9 at Meany Hall’s Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater.

Spring ’26

An evening of three world premieres performed by Whim W’Him dance company, Spring ’26 looks at the dualities that make up our lives—and the crackling tensions between them. Featuring choreography from three contemporary names: Rena Butler and James Gregg (both of whom have created work for the company before), and Whim W’Him founder and artistic director, Olivier Wevers. “This kind of program is why we create new work,” says Wevers. “You start with an idea, and then the dancers take it somewhere unexpected. These premieres are crafted with care and confidence, and they’ll move you in ways that only live performance can.” In Butler’s untamed new piece, themes of shedding skins, reclaiming power, and redefining intimacy on one’s own terms crop up in every move; Gregg doubles down on dualities, and Wevers turns down the volume for a contemplation of centeredness and grounding.

Spring ’26 runs May 8–16 at Cornish Playhouse, and May 14 at Vashon Center.

This story is part of Seattle magazine’s Spring Arts series, which highlights theater, dance, film, and visual arts across the city.