Award-winning contemporary dance company Winifred Haun & Dancers (WH&D) has announced its 2026–27 performance season, featuring world premieres, returning repertory, new work by Chicago-area choreographers and performances by emerging professional dancers.
The season opens October 24–25 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts with How the Light Gets In: dances for these times, featuring two world premieres and the return of Trashed, an award-winning work that combines contemporary dance with circus-inspired movement.
Artistic Director Winifred Haun will premiere The Middle of Forever, a new work for eight dancers exploring the space between knowing and not knowing and the human impulse to seek what lies beyond immediate reach.
Chicago choreographer Regina Charly-Beth will also premiere Traces from Before, a group work centered on memory, inheritance and collective responsibility. Rooted in African-derived movement principles, the work re-centers diasporic physical language as foundational knowledge.
Trashed, choreographed by Haun and Australian circus artist Emma Serjeant, returns with the full company alongside Chicago circus artists Robert “Lion” Bershadsky and Amanda Rodriguez. The MacArthur Foundation Award-winning work uses athletic contemporary dance and circus-inspired movement to examine environmental responsibility, community action and renewal.
The season continues in March with the ninth edition of FIRST DRAFT: New Works by Chicago Area Dancemakers. Taking place March 6–7, 2027, the program will showcase nearly completed works by 12 Chicago-area choreographers selected through an artist application process. The choreographers, who will be announced in November, will have the opportunity to present and refine their work in a professionally produced performance setting.
In May, WH&D will join Chicago Movement Collective (CMC) for the fourth annual Persistent Spring, celebrating emerging professional dancers participating in WH&D’s professional training program, 3rd Coast Contemporary Dance, and CMC’s Claire Bataille Legacy Scholarship program.
The program is designed for experienced dancers ages 17–26 and provides professional-level training and mentorship. According to WH&D, more than 90 percent of program graduates are now dancing professionally throughout Chicago, New York City and the Midwest.
Across the season, WH&D says its programming will explore themes of reflection, resilience and hope.
“We are living in a time when it can be difficult to know what is true and what is hidden. Our work this season asks audiences and community members to look beyond what is immediately visible. Dance has the unique ability to illuminate hidden truths, connect our communities, and remind us of our shared humanity. Even in difficult times, dance helps us see where the light gets in,” shared Winifred Haun, Artistic Director.
How the Light Gets In: dances for these times will be presented Saturday, October 24 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 25 at 3 p.m. at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts in Chicago. Tickets range from $39 for general admission to $70 for a two-ticket package and $128 for a four-ticket package. A pre-performance reception and contemporary dance master class will also be offered October 24–25.
Young dancers ages 9–18 can additionally participate in the Community Dancer Project, which gives participants the opportunity to rehearse and perform Trashed alongside WH&D’s professional cast.
For more information about Winifred Haun & Dancers, its 2026–27 season and upcoming programs, visit WinifredHaun.org.
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