Mannes Opera presents “Lysistrata or the Nude Goddess” inspired by Aristophanes’ comedy about the women of Athens and Sparta who, embittered by endless war between the two cities, refuse to have sex with their men until the fighting stops. The opera is not an adaptation but a fantastical riff on the ancient Greek play.

Mannes Opera presents “Lysistrata or the Nude Goddess” inspired by Aristophanes’ comedy about the women of Athens and Sparta who, embittered by endless war between the two cities, refuse to have sex with their men until the fighting stops. The opera is not an adaptation but a fantastical riff on the ancient Greek play.

Kizuna Dance's residency and performance at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College are supported by CUNY Dance Initiative.

For the company's 10-year anniversary in 2024, Kizuna Dance premieres a deeply personal work by Artistic Director Cameron McKinney. A way of processing his father’s death in 2022 – a man Cameron never met -- FATHER ABSENCE | MOTHER MA brings a hyperphysical focus to the Japanese concept of “ma,” or possibilities inherent in the empty spaces between objects and bodies. Through a movement language that blends street dance styles, capoeira, and contemporary floorwork, the work will explore the multiversity of loss and feelings of being left behind.

The White Feather is a Persian ballet tale that follows the inner child in all of us who yearn to express themselves freely and demand sovereignty. In tribute to Persian culture and ballet, through a child's eyes, we witness the evolution of Iran from its ancient roots to the present day. Act One, sheds light on the history of Iran's National Ballet and its untimely final curtain and unsung heroes of Iran’s first revolution. In Act Two, we behold a child's transformation into adulthood under an oppressive regime, and the fire within that sparked a nation's call to freedom, led by women. Original Music by Shahrdad Rohani.