Lincoln Center unveils Summer for the City lineup, with dance taking center stage
Credit: Sachyn Mital
Lincoln Center on Thursday revealed the lineup for its fifth annual Summer for the City festival, which brings hundreds of free events and performances to the iconic arts campus. Running from June 10 through August 8, the festival transforms the 16-acre campus into a vibrant cultural hub, activating both indoor and outdoor spaces with dance, music, and multidisciplinary performances. This year’s edition places a particular emphasis on dance, including the debut of the first Lincoln Center Contemporary Dance Festival.
“Summer for the City carries forward Lincoln Center’s founding promise to enliven New York with arts for all—inviting everyone to experience the fullest expression of art and community,” Shanta Thake, Ehrenkranz chief artistic officer of LCPA, said.
“This year, that energy feels more alive than ever, with dance at the center, artists from around the world, and moments of connection unfolding across our campus. We look forward to welcoming New Yorkers and visitors alike to discover something new and experience the joy, creativity, and community that make this global city extraordinary.”
As part of the launch of the Pasculano Collaborative for Contemporary Dance, the inaugural dance festival will take place in Alice Tully Hall, showcasing five international companies, with two making their United States debut and two making their New York debuts.
Dance Encounters, a new outdoor contemporary dance series, will debut at Hearst Plaza, featuring choreographic works that respond to the campus’s signature Modernist architecture. The series will present several free performances each week for eight consecutive weeks.
To underscore this year’s focus on dance, opening night on June 10 will feature a triple-header of dance events, including KEIGWIN + COMPANY’s “Rhapsody,” a community dance work featuring 30 New Yorkers; “Inayat: A Duet for Four,” which blends two ancient North Indian performance traditions; and a swing dance party with Caleb Teicher & Company and the Eyal Vilner Big Band.
Josie Robertson Plaza’s vibrant dance floor will also return, transforming the space into a colorful open-air disco.
This summer, the BAAND Together Dance Festival, a popular social dance series spanning swing, hip-hop, salsa, and ballroom, returns.
International artists are also a key feature of this year’s festival, with New Yorkers invited to experience a series of events celebrating artists and cultures from around the world. This includes K-Pop Dance Night on July 1, Brazil Day on July 9, Ruidosa Fest on July 12, Chinese Arts Week from July 22–29, globalFEST on August 1, and Jamaica Day on August 8.
The World at Play will celebrate the global spirit of soccer and the intersection of arts and sports as the FIFA 2026 World Cup arrives at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The series will feature live concerts and dance parties honoring soccer culture, while freestyle soccer performers showcase their skills and lead family-friendly workshops.
The Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center will return for its third year under Renée and Robert Belfer Music and Artistic Director Jonathon Heyward, featuring three commissions, including a world premiere, alongside traditional classics.
“This summer’s focus on international artistry reflects our global city, as well as our commitment to collaboration and artistic exchange,” Mariko Silver, president and CEO of LCPA, said.
“Lincoln Center is a place for community, for belonging, for experiences that help us feel vividly connected to each other and to something larger than ourselves—a reminder of how truly joyful it is to be together,” she added.
Clint Ramos, artist-in-residence and visual director of Summer for the City, will debut an entirely new design for this year’s festival. Inspired by the season’s focus on dance, the design will feature a newly commissioned fountain show with the dance floor as its centerpiece, with lighting design by David Weiner. The reflecting pool will be home to nearly 900 candelabras.
Most events are free on a first-come, first-served basis, with select performances available at choose-what-you-pay pricing starting at $5.
Summer for the City debuted in 2022, bringing together more than 1,000 artists across 10 outdoor stages for 300 unique events. It has since established itself as a popular summer destination, welcoming more than 1.6 million visitors since its launch.
This year’s festival comes as Lincoln Center continues a major renovation of its western edge aimed at removing longstanding barriers between its campus and Amsterdam Avenue and improving access to surrounding neighborhoods. A colorful mural was unveiled this week on the construction fencing surrounding Damrosch Park.
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