Curtains Up on the Captivating 2026-27 Northrop Season

Paul Taylor Dance Company nimbly kicks off the 2026-27 Season on Sept. 26 with the Taylor classic “Brandenburgs,” Robert Battle’s “No Longer Silent” and Pam Tanowitz’s new work “Messengers, Maidens and the End of Something Else” — all accompanied by a live orchestra.

On Jan. 30, Limón Dance Company breathes new life into the company classic “Missa Brevis,” a wartime “danced mass,” by uniting the Northrop pipe organ, University Singers and UMN dance program students for the performance. In the company’s most ambitious commission to date, choreographer Akram Khan radically reimagines Limón’s Shakespeare-inspired “The Moor’s Pavane” — a Northrop Centennial Commission and highly anticipated world premiere.

Geometry, nature and humankind collide on April 16-17 at the Walker Art Center in a copresentation of “Il Cimento dell’Armonia e dell’Inventione” (Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”) by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Radouan Mriziga. Tickets (at 20% off for subscribers) to this contemporary choreographic interpretation of a classical music household name go on sale July 22 through the Walker box office.

Back by popular demand, the 2026-27 Season features silent film screenings with live accompaniment and the return of a beloved annual campus tradition. Organist and improvisational genius Aaron David Miller performs on-the-fly accompaniment to a screening of “The Circus” — Charlie Chaplin’s classic romantic comedy — on Feb. 7 (on demand through Feb. 14).

More wordless film unfurls on-screen as The Philip Glass Ensemble performs an existential score live to the 1982 experimental film  “Koyaanisqatsi.” This special 40th-anniversary return copresentation of the event with the Walker (first copresented in 1987) takes place on March 9 at Northrop.

In a blaze of Maroon and Gold glory, the Pride of Minnesota returns on Nov. 14-15 for its 65th Annual Marching Band Indoor Concert, a Northrop favorite resounding with halftime hits that bring Gophers together across generations. Save 20% on this event when you add it to a Create Your Own subscription package.

In October, Emily Johnson / Catalyst’s Overflow Radio brings an immersive, boundary-pushing performance gathering to Northrop. This all-ages, communal experience unfolds over 24 non-consecutive hours across four daily six-hour cycles (noon to 6 p.m. each day) with Pick Your Price tickets. Rooted in deep community care, the event features intimate onstage seating within a massive installation of 84 hand-inscribed quilts designed by Fond du Lac Ojibwe textile artist Maggie Thompson.

Each daily cycle blends art, activism and connection, offering solo dance performances by Catalyst artists Michelle Boulé, Emily Johnson or Brandi Norton alongside collective feasts provided in partnership with local food sovereignty groups. For the “radio” portion, attendees will gather around radios and listen to poetry, essays and stories broadcast by Indigenous writers and story-sharers — including Dylan Robinson, Camille Georgeson-Usher, Joseph M. Pierce, Sonia Guinañsaca, Gwen Westerman, Diane Wilson, Eve Tuck, Hala Alyan, Joan Kane, Princess Johnson and Kai Recollet — speaking from their home territories around the world.

In addition to local community skill shares focusing on themes of body, land and protection, Overflow Radio extends its impact beyond Northrop by engaging local participation to plant and care for 1,000 trees throughout Mni Sota Makoce (Minnesota).

Instead of a simple melody, nearly 7,000 pipes unite to create the monumental wall of sound that defines Northrop’s historic Aeolian-Skinner Opus 892 pipe organ. Northrop Organist Greg Zelek embarks on his third season of curating new collaborations and innovative concerts that showcase the pipe organ’s shapeshifting capabilities.

On Oct. 27, Haunted Harmonies features trumpeter Caleb Hudson in cahoots with Zelek as they jaunt their way through the spooky season with boo-tiful new arrangements of Halloween classics — which will also be available on demand through Nov. 1.

The massive depth of the majestic organ contrasts with the soaring, ethereal glissando of countertenor Reginald Mobley in Songs of Joy and Healing on April 28 (and on demand through May 2). Mobley and Zelek take it up an octave for a powerful performance, beautifully interlacing organ and vocal pipes through gospel spirituals and baroque works.

This season, three high-caliber ballet companies offer exciting opportunities to discover how ballet is leaping forward and expanding the boundaries of what the human body can achieve.

For the classical ballet lover, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (affectionately known as the “Trocks”) make their long-awaited return to Northrop on Feb. 11 for a brilliant homage to tradition with a hilarious twist. The Trocks’ signature blend of drag, parody and dance promises “the funniest night you’ll ever have at the ballet” (The Guardian). 

On March 4, Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández embodies the sparkling soul of Mexico with a spirited tour through the country’s history — brought to life onstage with breathtaking dance, vibrant live mariachi music and dazzling traditional costumes.

In their Northrop debut in March, Complexions Contemporary Ballet takes the stage by storm with nonstop technical prowess and expectation-defying movement — including a kinetic tribute to the iconic women of jazz. Top off your night on March 20 with a ticket to the Encore Gala, our annual fundraiser; meet the Complexions dancers and directors while celebrating and investing in the world-class artistry that inspires us all. The March 21 performance is a Relaxed Matinee with Pick Your Price tickets and sensory-friendly accommodations.

In its third year, the Liquid Music | Northrop Series introduces a trio of genre-busting performances that open “a window into creativity’s beating heart” (MinnPost). On Dec. 8, inti figgis-vizueta: Music for Transitions features the Rothko String Quartet and cellist Andrew Yee performing figgis-vizueta’s debut album, a sonic exploration of trans and Indigenous identity, heritage and future. Organist Aaron David Miller opens the program with an improvisational prelude composed by figgis-vizueta featuring the Northrop organ. 

The Phillip Glass Ensemble performs a live soundtrack to the worldless film “Koyaanisqatsi,” musically commenting on the juxtaposed relationships between humanity, nature and technology in a potent copresentation by Northrop, Liquid Music and the Walker Art Center.

Rounding out this evocative series on April 1 is Kate Wallich & Perfume Genius: “The Lesson,” a provocative Northrop Centennial Commission using experimental pop and visceral choreography to examine what unrequited, repressed desire means for the roles we play in life — inspired by Elfriede Jelinek’s novel “The Piano Teacher.”