Current Season

WINTER 2026

A Winter Studio Residency performance with PaperHand Puppet Project from January 22-25, 2026.

Show Times:

January 22nd-24th - 7:30pm
January 24th at 4:00PM
January 25th at 2:00pm
Yulman Theater

Tickets available on eventbrite or in person at our box office open monday-friday 1-2pm and one hour before each performance. The money from ticket sales will go directly into supporting the Theater and Dance Department. We would like to make sure our productions are accessible to all, if you need a ticket at a price that is not listed on the website, they are available in person at the box office starting one hour before each performance.

Do you recall the myths you were told as a child, or the memories you made with friends and family, those pieces of life small and large that make an impact on who you are and how you are part of a larger story? Come with us as we explore how myths and memories can be retold, reinterpreted, and take on new meaning and context throughout the course of a life. In a series of pieces using movement, music, and puppetry, students, faculty, and members of the Paperhand Puppet Project will come together during a two week residency at Union College to imagine, create, and perform a collection inspired by the idea of Myth and Memory.

Alan Gnessin(‘76), who also funded the Fall 2025 new works series, is supporting a two week residency with the Paperhand Puppet Project, based out of North Carolina. Paperhand works in a way that some may find familiar if they attended last year’s visit on campus from the Bread and Puppet Theater. Drawing on a similar tradition of using found materials and oversized puppets to frame meaningful stories and illuminate timely conversations since their founding in 1998, Paperhand will be bringing their expertise and creativity to train and work alongside our students across multiple disciplines. Their residency with Union College Theater and Dance will culminate in performances in the Yulman Theater Studio space. We hope you will join us to experience, as they describe, “Paperhand’s parades, pageants, and award winning performances aim to be an inspiration, a call to action, and a celebration for everyone to enjoy!”

While this event is not created specifically for young audiences, we welcome people of all ages to attend the performance. Please note that there are some pieces that will reference aging/death, and some fantastical monsters that you will see throughout the course of the show.

In the news

Friday, February 13, at 7pm
Guest Artist Barkha Patel
Yulman theater

Free admission; donations accepted

Reservations recommended

New York City based classical Indian Kathak dancer barkha patel will present a solo evening of performance including both current and emerging works. Lauded by The New York Times for her "brilliant virtuosity and bewitching charm," she has toured India, Canada and the United States and is both the Juried Bessie Award winner (2023) and a Princess Grace Dance awardee (2024).

This performance is made possible with funds from the New York State DanceForce, a partnership program of the NYS Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the NYS Legislature.

In the news

Show Times:

March 4th-7th - 7:30pm
March 7th at 2:00PM
Yulman Theater

Ticket info coming soon.

Union College Dance Program presents On the Edge

On the Edge unites faculty, student, and guest choreographers with 29 student performers in an evening of dance that moves between certainty and change, exploring the edges of culture, conflict, truth, and becoming. The works are brought to life with original lighting and costume design created in collaboration with the Theatre and Dance Department.

FALL 2025

Show Times:

November 5th - 8th at 7:30pm
November 9 at 2pm
Yulman Theater

Union College Theater and Dance Department and Union College Music Department presents Pippin, book by Roger O. Hirson, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, directed by Gabriel Thom Pasculli, choreography by Hettie Barnhill, music direction by Jin Byun.

A group of musical players tells the story of Pippin on his wayward journey through life. Full of high hopes, false starts, and the victories and defeats of trying to find one's place in the world, Pippin is driven by his desire for complete fulfillment. The players, on the other hand, take a mischievous delight in denying him such fulfillment, while at the same time providing endless entertainment for the rest of us. Originally directed by Bob Fosse with music by Stephen Schwarz (composer of Wicked), the story of Pippin continues to be retold again and again as we seek those consistent truths in an ever-changing world.

Tickets are available on eventbrite or in person at our box office open monday-friday 1-2pm and one hour before each performance. The money from ticket sales will go directly into supporting the Theater and Dance Department. We would like to make sure our productions are accessible to all, if you need a ticket at a price that is not listed on the website, they are available in person at the box office starting one hour before each performance.

October 29
Guest Artists Amadi Washington and Sam Pratt
Artistic Directors and Founders, Baye & Asa

• Master Class with Dance Experience and Act I classes, 3:05–4:30 p.m. Henle Dance Pavilion
• Contemporary Master Class, 5:00–6:30 p.m. Henle Dance Pavilion
• Screening of Second Seed, and moderated discussion with James A. De Sève. 7:30 p.m. Old Chapel.

Soles of Duende

Soles of Duende, a NYC-based percussive dance ensemble brings their vibrant intercultural collaboration to campus.

On Campus Events
Thursday, October 16th, Old Chapel, free and open to the public.
6-7:15pm - Percussive Dance & Music Workshop (sign up details coming soon)
7:30-8:30pm Lecture/Demonstration

Performance at Proctors
Friday, October 17th
7:30pm Performance

Free tickets will be available for Union students, staff & faculty starting Oct.1 at Feigenbaum Center for Visual Arts 102 Main Office. The Main Office is open M-F 10am-3:00pm.

These events are part of the Stephanie C. Davis Dance Residency made possible by a major gift to Union College from Gus (class of ’59) and Sue Davis in memory of their daughter. The NYS DanceForce, a
partnership program of the NYS Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul & the NYS Legislature, is proud to provide funding support to the artists involved in this residency.

Friday, September 26th 5-9pm, Saturday 27th 10am-5pm, Sunday 28th 10am, 3pm.

Henle Dance Studio.

Artistic Director, Eisenhower Dance Detroit
Stephanie Pizzo will set a new work on our dancers for performance in the Winter Dance Concert 2025 On the Edge. Sign up here!

Check out our past seasons here.