NEW YORK CITY CENTER has played a defining role in the cultural life of the city since 1943. The distinctive Neo-Moorish building was founded by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia as Manhattan’s first performing arts center with the mission of making the best in theater, dance, and music accessible to all audiences. This commitment continues today through celebrated dance and musical theater series like the Fall for Dance Festival and the Tony-honored Encores! series; the annual season by Principal Dance Company Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; and new dance series Artists at the Center.
City Center welcomes audiences to experience internationally acclaimed artists including Kyle Abraham, Matthew Bourne, Ayodele Casel, Manhattan Theatre Club, Nederlands Dans Theater, and Twyla Tharp, on the same stage where legends made their mark. Dedicated to a culture built on the values of curiosity, collaboration, accessibility, and inclusivity, City Center’s dynamic programming, art exhibitions, and studio events are complemented by education and community engagement programs that bring the performing arts to thousands of New York City students, teachers, and families every year, in all five boroughs.
80 years ago, this City got its center. As Manhattan’s first performing arts hub, we opened our doors to offer audiences world-class art at affordable prices.
30 years ago, the first Encores! revivals welcomed musical theater fans to a new kind of performance series, breathing brilliant life into a quintessentially American art form.
20 years ago, the Fall for Dance Festival made a bold promise to New York: international and local dance works in a variety of styles, with every single seat $20.
This year, you’re invited to join us as we celebrate the breadth and vitality of the place we all call home.
For this landmark season, we’re extending our Encores! runs to two weeks to give you more opportunities to see these here-and-gone productions. And for the first time ever, we’ve expanded our Lynne and Richard Pasculano Student Matinees to welcome thousands of young New Yorkers to experience dedicated school-time Encores! performances.
We’re welcoming back the breathtaking artistry of Nederlands Dans Theater and inviting 12 other international artists and companies to grace our stage—including an exciting evening-length debut from Lyon Opera Ballet and a special two-week engagement of Message In A Bottle featuring 27 of Sting’s most-beloved songs.
And we’re expressing our appreciation for you, our audiences, with every affordable ticket, every Community Night event, every opportunity we get. Thank you for making us your New York City Center.
We can’t wait to celebrate this remarkable year with you—in the theater, in the lobby, and in classrooms and community centers across the city.
