Saint Louis Dance Theatre (STLDT) closes its Love Languages season with an organization premiere of Stephanie Martinez’s Kiss, a piece hailed by the Idaho Statesman as “enthralling twists in music and motion,” working Might 29-31, 2026, at COCA’s Catherine B. Berges Theatre.
Martinez, named one among Dance Journal’s “25 to Watch” in 2022, has created greater than 70 works for firms together with the Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Hispánico, BalletX and Cincinnati Ballet. A choreographer of Mexican and Native American heritage based mostly in Chicago, she based PARA.MAR Dance Theatre in 2020 and have become the primary Chicago girl of colour to choreograph for the Joffrey’s foremost firm.
Kiss world premiered in October 2020 on an industrial crimson carpet laid throughout a car parking zone in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood, the place 9 masked dancers carried out for socially distanced audiences seated on camp chairs. Born out of pandemic necessity, the work has since been staged by Cincinnati Ballet, introduced on the Carmel Dance Competition and expanded right into a full-length collaboration with Ballet Des Moines. STLDT marks the primary St. Louis firm to carry out the work.
Martinez has a historical past with STLDT, having created Destino, Roto for the corporate in 2017 as a part of Dance St. Louis’ “New Dance Horizons V: Ladies Who Encourage” on the Touhill Performing Arts Middle.
“Stephanie’s work embodies every little thing we imagine about dance at STLDT – that it belongs to everybody, not simply the live performance corridor,” stated Erin Warner Prange, STLDT’s govt director. “A piece that started in a neighborhood car parking zone, supplied to the neighborhood, now arrives on our stage as a part of a season devoted to human connection. Stephanie and STLDT share a core worth: world-class dance needs to be accessible to everybody. Our Champions for Neighborhood initiative which incorporates our Senior Embrace program, Neighborhood Night time, Youth Entry Program, and Youngsters Circle programming are prime examples of how we reside that out in St. Louis.”
The Spring Collection program additionally options further repertoire alternatives, with the total lineup to be introduced at stldancetheatre.org.
Tickets begin at $25 (scholar) and can be found at stldancetheatre.org
