CHICAGO (June 16, 2025)—Red Clay Dance Company, Chicago’s premier Afro-contemporary dance company, has announced its Season 17 programming, including a world premiere by Founding Artistic Director and CEO Vershawn Sanders-Ward at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago in September and the return of Red Clay Dance Company’s La Femme Dance Festival at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in March 2026. For more information and program updates, visit redclaydance.com/season17.
This is an exciting moment for Red Clay Dance Company as it expands its touring repertoire and national profile. Next month, the company makes its performance debut at both Jacob’s Pillow and The Yard at Martha’s Vineyard, presenting works by Vershawn Sanders-Ward at two of the most acclaimed performance festivals in the U.S. In August, Red Clay Dance Company will perform Sanders-Ward’s Rest.Rise.Move.Nourish.Heal at the Africatown Culture Festival hosted by the Africatown Heritage House museum in Mobile, Alabama.
Season 17 kicks off with the Paint the Town Red Fundraiser on Friday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. at the Red Clay Dance Company Center for Excellence, 808 East 63rd Street in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood. Advance tickets are now on sale starting at $150. This evening of entertainment, community engagement and philanthropy supports Red Clay Dance Company’s mission to awaken Glocal Artivism and empowerment through dance.
Also in September, Red Clay Dance Company presents the world premiere of Founding Artistic Director and CEO Vershawn Sanders-Ward’s Freedom Square: A Blackgirlhood Altar during the Chicago Performs festival at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 21 at 2 p.m. This annual MCA festival showcases groundbreaking works by Chicago artists pushing the boundaries of what live performance can do. Freedom Square: The Black Girlhood Altar is an immersive interdisciplinary project designed to envision a utopia of freedom for Black women and girls, blending dance, song, digital media, and built environment to create a profound and resonant experience. Tickets will go on sale later this summer.
Red Clay Dance Company’s La Femme Dance Festival returns to the Harris Theater for Music and Dance on Saturday, March 28 at 7:30 p.m. The biennial festival celebrating women in dance brings choreographic works created by women of the Black/African diaspora to Chicago audiences. Programming kicks off with a master class at Red Clay Dance Company on March 27, followed by the Harris Theater performance on March 28 featuring the premiere of choreographer Rena Butler’s new work A SEAT for Red Clay Dance Company, along with a reprise of Founding Artistic Director and CEO Vershawn Sanders-Ward’s Written on the Flesh.
Season 17 concludes with a Summer Intensive from June 1–June 12, 2026, at the Red Clay Dance Company Center for Excellence, 808 East 63rd Street in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood.