HTP Mainstage

HTP Mainstage dance opens in October with the Chicago premiere of Carnival of the Animals, an evening-length work by spoken word artist and activist Marc Bamuthi Joseph, renowned dancer Wendy Whelan, and choreographer Francesca Harper, set to a vivid reimagining of Camille Saint-Saëns’ composition of the same name. The following month, Philadelphia’s premier contemporary ballet company, Ballet X, brings a mixed repertory program that expands the vocabulary of ballet with works including Jennifer Archibald’s Exalt, a dynamic fusion of traditional ballet and pulsating house music. In 2025, Ragamala Dance Company returns to the Harris Theater with Children of Dharma, a visceral response to global crises that reveals how our connections to ancient cultures can help harmonize, heal, and reaffirm the existence of beauty and truth. The HTP Mainstage dance season concludes with a 60^th anniversary diamond jubilee celebration of the legendary Twyla Tharp, featuring two works  — the classic Diabelli Variations and the new piece Aguas da Amazônia, which is set to a rearrangement of Philip Glass’s composition, performed live by Third Coast Percussion — that cement Tharp’s place among the greatest artists of our time. 

4-performance package starting at $91.

The HTP Mainstage music season begins with Grammy Award-winning musical ensemble and social organization Silkroad’s American Railroad, featuring new and original music that highlights the often-untold stories of the immigrant communities that played a pivotal role in creating the United States’ transcontinental railroad. In December, acclaimed mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato joins forces with the dynamic a cappella group Kings Return and brilliant pianist Craig Terry for Kings ReJOYCE!, a special program that blends sacred and popular repertoire. In May, the Harris Theater hosts the Toronto-based company Volcano for the U.S. premiere of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha, an inventive production of the sole surviving opera created by the “King of Ragtime,” performed by an all-Black cast. 

3-Performance Package starting at $66.