2026 Indy Dance Festival Announces Full Performance Line-Up

Indy Dance Council is excited to announce the full line-up of performances at this year’s Indy Dance Festival, a weekend inviting the whole community to learn, grow, connect, and be inspired together through dance. 

On July 18-19, the Indy Dance Festival will showcase some of the best dance organizations across Indiana with performances at The Tobias Theater at Newfields. This mix of local and visiting performers highlights the diverse talent within the city while positioning Indianapolis as an artistic hub for dance professionals and organizations from across the country. 

This year’s performances at The Tobias Theatre include: 

Saturday, July 18th (7 p.m.):

Saraswati School of Dance (youth opener): Founded by Vimina Bagavath and based in Columbus, IN, Saraswati School of Dance cultivates artistry, confidence, and cultural connection through the timeless tradition of the Indian classical dance form, Bharatanatyam.

Eduardo Zambrana / EZO Dance Works (visiting performers): Eduardo Zambrana is a dancer, choreographer, and educator based in Chicago, IL, and a company member with Giordano Dance Chicago. 

Elizabeth Shea Dance: Elizabeth Shea is the Director of Contemporary Dance at Indiana University and founder of this chamber ensemble that seeks new ways to tell human stories. 

Action League: Action League is a collective of BSU dance students and alumni dedicated to creating highly physical, rhythmic, and expressive contemporary dance works under the artistic direction of Jennifer Meckley.

Crossroads Dance Indy: Crossroads Dance Indy (CDI) was created in May 2015 and is dedicated to creating thoughtful, original works and making modern dance accessible to a wide range of audiences.

The Indy Project: The Indy Project is a collective of dancers from Indianapolis that strives to build dance communities through providing workshops and giving back to communities in need (local and abroad). 

Dance Kaleidoscope: Indiana’s longest-performing professional dance company, Indianapolis-based DK showcases athleticism and technical expertise with diverse work created by industry-leading choreographers, leaving the audience feeling invigorated and moved every time they take the stage.

Laura Hendrickson: Laura Hendrickson is a local tap dancer out of Franklin, IN. She has been dancing for 13 years and has recently started her own tap company to help younger dancers grow to love the art form. 

Flourish: Flourish supports Indianapolis' thriving arts scene by providing independent dancers and choreographers with opportunities to perform, create, and collaborate. 

Phil “Phree” Wood & Dancers: Phree is a dancer, choreographer, and digital artist that resides in both Chicago and Indianapolis. He is Educational Outreach Coordinator for Chicago Dance Crash and a member of ICNH, one of Indiana’s most active street dance crews over the past 10 years.

Baba Stafford & Company: The director of the African American Dance Company at Indiana University Bloomington, Baba Stafford is an artist, educator, activist, and scholar of African-rooted dance, theatre, and aesthetics with an extensive background in arts and education.

31SVN Crew: Indiana’s premier street dance crew and Fishers-based studio that specializes in breakin’, popping, locking, and house while connecting to the deeper purpose behind the movement: authenticity, self-expression, and community.

Sunday, July 19th (6 p.m.):

ADA/Dance Abilities (youth opener): Dance Abilities is an adaptive style program, within Academy of Dance Arts, for kids and adults with special needs that provides a social outlet to build community and enable expression beyond words through movement. 

Ballet INitiative: Ballet INitiative is a project-based dance collective including multiple styles with roots in ballet serving the greater Indianapolis area.

Nell Ritchey & Picabo Saunders: Picabo Saunders and Nell Ritchey are collaborative choreographers and contemporary dance artists whose shared foundation at Indiana University sparked an ongoing creative partnership rooted in curiosity, cultural exploration, and human connection.

Seda Negra/Black Silk Dance Company: SNBSDC utilizes a fusion of dance genres and expressions to tell stories and explore political, social and cultural narratives, as well as lived experiences of people in the African Diaspora.

Indianapolis Ballet: The first professional resident ballet company to be based in Indianapolis in over a decade, IBC focuses on making extraordinary ballet accessible to all and serves as a home to exceptional talent with local, national and international ties.

Pulse Dance Theater: A contemporary dance collective based in Fishers, Pulse Dance Theater’s choreography and dancers speak authentically to the human experience while beautifully engaging the community in athletic, inclusive, and entertaining dance. 

ANDANCESTUDIO: ANDANCESTUDIO is the adult dance team of Carmel’s Dance Class Studio.

Relevations Dance Theatre: Relevations Dance Theatre exists to inspire, educate, and heal through movement, creating inclusive and affirming spaces for artists and audiences across dance, theatre, pageantry, and film.

Will Brighton & CJ Burroughs (visiting performers): Will Brighton and CJ Burroughs are choreographers and dancers based in St. Louis that have performed as company members with Saint Louis Dance Theatre (formerly The Big Muddy Dance Company). 

7 to Smoke: A hip-hop dance battle between eight artists competing for audience applause, featuring artists selected through a preliminary battle at the Community Improv Jam on Sunday, July 12.

The 2026 Indy Dance Festival will take place at The Tobias Theatre at Newfields (4000 Michigan Rd.) on Saturday, July 18, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, July 19, at 6 p.m. Early Bird tickets are $25 through July 15, General Admission is $30. Indy Dance Council also offers $50 Buy One Give One tickets, where generous dance lovers can make a tax-deductible donation of a community ticket that will help spread the magic of dance to kids in the Indy community! Tickets can be purchased from Indy Dance Council online.