Dance NOW! Miami with the Jon Lehrer Dance Company perform at the Coral Gables Sanctuary of the Arts on Friday, Dec. 19. (Photo from Dance NOW! Miami)
The sun may be shining, but Dance NOW! Miami (DNM) welcomes the chill of the South Florida holiday season with an evening of remembrance and celebration at the Sanctuary of the Arts. Their one-night-only Program I features "Winter’s Breath alongside special guest Jon Lehrer Dance Company (JLDC) from New York.
"Winter’s Breath," set to Antonio Vivaldi’s music reimagined by Max Richter, is a collaborative creation by DNM Co-Artistic Directors Hannah Baumgarten and Diego Salterini from 2015.
Dancers Cristiana Cavallo and Ricardo G. Barret, from Jon Lehrer Dance Company, in Jon Lehrer's "Here in Eden." (Photo by Kiesha Stephens)
Joining DNM is JLDC with their duet "Here in Eden," featuring Ricardo G. Barrett and Cristiana Cavallo. Lehrer describes it as “a classic love duet about two people who want to be right where they are, at this moment, with this person—creating their own Eden.” DNM also welcomes former dancer and rehearsal director Jenny Hegarty for a special guest appearance performing the solo "There I am, Here."
The concert opens with "Ave Maria" (1914) created by modern dance icon Isadora Duncan and staged by Andrea Mantell Seidel. Allyn Ginns Ayers, Amanda Davis, and Julia Faris perform.
Dancer Jenny Hegarty in "There I am, Here" by Hannah Baumgarten. (Photo by Simon Soong)
Following this, Austin Duclos, Sophia Pfitzenmaier, and Kirsten Velasco perform "Deco-de" (2025), a seven-minute trio by Salterini set to George Gershwin’s "Lullaby." Inspired by Art Deco design and Jungian archetypes, the work captures modernity, optimism, and boldness.
The program continues with another Duncan solo, staged by Mantell and set to Schubert’s "Harp Etude" (1917), performed by Allyn Ginns Ayers.
Dancers Hunter Hoffman and Julia Faris, from Dance NOW! Miami, in the love duet from "Havisham!" by Hannah Baumgarten, which will be performed as part of the program "Winter's Breath" at Coral Gables' Sanctuary of the Arts. (Photo by Simon Soong, courtesy of Dance NOW! Miami)
Baumgarten’s works featured in addition to “There I am, Here (2008) are "Love Duet from Havisham!" (2024), performed by Julia Faris and Hunter Hoffman and "1933," a cabaret-inspired work-in-progress addressing the rise of Adolf Hitler, performed by Alexander Campbell, Sophie Leung, and Julia Faris
Salterini’s "Point of Departure" (2010), featuring Amanda Davis and music by Jennifer Bernard-Merkowitz, and JLDC’s "Here in Eden" follow, leading into the final piece.
The evening concludes with "Winter’s Breath" (2014), staged by Allyn Ginns Ayers and Julia Faris, featuring Alexander Campbell, Austin Duclos, Hunter Hoffman, Sophie Leung, Sophia Pfitzenmaier, and Kirsten Velasco.
Dancer Allyn Ginns Ayers in "Harp Etude," a choreography by Isadora Duncan, staged by Andrea Mantell Seidel. (Photo by Simon Soong)
Recently, both companies participated in the Men Who Dance Festival at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, organized by the Inter-American Choreographic Institute under Artistic Director Rafi Maldonado. Maldonado also serves as Principal Managing Director of Sanctuary of the Arts, where DNM is company-in-residence, in addition to residencies at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex and the Miami Beach Bandshell.
“We’re not only excited to revive some of our repertory works, but also to have Jon’s company join us,” Salterini says. “We know they will excite South Florida audiences—and their entire company will be back in May to present a full concert!”
IF YOU GO
- WHAT: "Winter’s Breath," a dance concert by Dance NOW! Miami with special guest Jon Lehrer Dance Company
- WHEN: Friday, December 19, 2025, at 8:30 PM
- WHERE: Sanctuary of the Arts, 410 Andalusia Avenue, Coral Gables, FL 33134
- TICKETS: $28 General Admission, $18 includes fees.
- More information at dancenowmiami.org/events/wb
