In Review: Joyce Theater Residency 2026

Members of Pilobolus pose outside of The Joyce Theater in NYC following the 2026 season. Top row, left to right: Hannah Klinkman (Dance Captain), Alexis Cruz-Castro (Dancer), Anouk Otsea (Dancer); Bottom row, left to right: Connor Chaparro (Dancer), Ryan Hayes (Dancer), and Isaac Huerta (Dancer).

Pilobolus premiered Trips at The Joyce Theater in New York City for a three-week residency from June 23 to July 12, 2026. Two stellar programs delighted audiences and included a new format and a new work, Virtuous & Vicious, a quartet inspired by conversations surrounding mental health. The piece features music by Luke Styles, lighting by Thom Weaver, and costumes by Márion Talán de la Rosa.

New work Virtuous & Vicious - Photo by Emily Denaro

A children’s matinee, curtain chat with Couples Therapy’s Dr. Orna Guralnick, plus Pride night to raise support for Dancers Responding to AIDS (DRA) also featured.

PRESS HIGHLIGHTS…

“An accessible program featuring a standout performer who stole the show and strong partnering work that continues to redefine what dance means.”  - Ballet Herald

“A marvelous evening of ideas, imagination, skill and beauty.” -Theater Pizzazz

“Few ensembles can match its breathtaking physical achievements, but fewer still can make those achievements feel so deeply human. More than fifty years after redefining what dance could look like, Pilobolus continues to remind audiences that the body’s greatest feats are rarely accomplished alone.” - Art Fuse

“I’m usually ready for even the most impressive dance performances to wrap up—my attention falters, my energy dwindles. But when the curtain closes, I linger in my seat, not quite ready for this trip to end.” - Broadway World

Additional Coverage:

Pilobolus dance company tests the limits of athleticism, physicality
Interview with Artistic Director Matt Kent and Dancer Anouk Otsea by Dave Carlin of CBS2

Press Coverage: Pilobolus dance company tests the limits of athleticism, physicality

Dancer Anouk Otsea and Artistic Director Matt Kent were featured on CBS News New York while in Manhattan for Pilobolus’s three-week residency at The Joyce Theater in Chelsea. The residency marked both the debut of Pilobolus’s new tour, Trips, and Otsea’s debut on The Joyce stage with the company.

Watch the interview here with CBS2’s Dave Carlin to learn more:

Press Coverage: Pilobolus' 'Trips' is Exactly What Dance Needs Right Now

On the Nature of Things. Photo by Ivan Martinez

From Broadway World’s “Pilobolus' 'Trips' is Exactly What Dance Needs Right Now” by Audrey Pettit:

“Since its founding in 1973 [1971] by a group of Dartmouth undergraduates, the company has prided itself on creating “rebellious dance,” or, put another way, making dance fun again. Yet as audiences grow grey-haired and certain stars dismiss centuries-old art forms as things “no one cares about,” Pilobolus’ mission feels less like counter-cultural subversion and more like a necessary reimagination of what dance—and watching dance—is and can become. 

The company’s 2026 showcase at the Joyce, glibly titled Trips, is an extended imaginative exercise. Before the curtain rises, two “flight attendants” mime a safety briefing and encourage us not merely to silence but to power off our phones: “You can do it,” they coo. Didn’t you come here for a break from the real world, anyway? The program doubles as an aircraft safety card; the intermission becomes a layover. We, the audience, are transformed from passive spectators into fellow voyagers.”

Later in the article:
”I’m usually ready for even the most impressive dance performances to wrap up—my attention falters, my energy dwindles. But when the curtain closes, I linger in my seat, not quite ready for this trip to end. “

READ THE FULL REVIEW OF PROGRAM A AT THE JOYCE

Press Coverage: After Five Decades, Pilobolus Still Moves Like No One Else

On the Nature of Things. Photo by Ivan Martinez

From The Art Fuse’s “Dance Review: After Five Decades, Pilobolus Still Moves Like No One Else” by Christopher Caggiano:

“In Trips, the company’s dancers, as always, possess astonishing strength and precision. But what’s most impressive isn’t individual prowess. Pilobolus has always placed an emphasis on mutual dependence rather than solo virtuosity. Performers become one another’s foundations, counterweights, and extensions, moving with such admirable trust that six separate bodies often appear to function as a single organism. Sculptural balances, gravity-defying lifts, and intricate weight-sharing create living architecture that seems to ignore the ordinary limitations of the human body.

That collaborative spirit gives the choreography an emotional dimension beyond its physical spectacle. The dancers frequently perform in minimal costumes and interact with remarkable intimacy, yet the work never feels prurient. Instead, bodies become instruments of communication, expressing humor, tenderness, vulnerability, and playfulness with equal ease. Even the company’s most astonishing feats avoid empty virtuosity. Every impossible balance or improbable lift serves a larger theatrical or emotional purpose.”

READ THE FULL REVIEW OF PROGRAM B AT THE JOYCE