Stirrings of the Heart

Lydia Johnson Dance returns for its New York Season 2026 with Stirrings of the Heart, a program of two premieres and two repertory works. Called “a craftsman and a poet” by The New Yorker, Johnson creates dances where music and movement are tightly intertwined, drawing audiences into a world of connection, tension, and emotional depth.

At the center of the program is Ode, a new multi-part work that moves through a range of emotional states—tender, uneasy, and at times almost otherworldly—before arriving in a space that reflects on loss, memory, and the instability of the present moment. In Evening (2025), elegance and formality give way to something more charged, as couples navigate shifting dynamics and buried emotion. Rounding out the evening are Legacy (2024), set to Terry Riley’s In C, and a revival of Undercurrent (2018), set to Henryk Górecki’s 3 Dances.

Across the program, Johnson brings her signature balance of structure and feeling to the stage, creating work that is both musically rich and deeply human.