Read here about the first-ever Northern Michigan Dance Festival: When we first imagined what would become the Northern Michigan Dance Festival, it started, as so many ideas do, with a few late-night conversations over coffee and a shared belief that dance could bring people together in new and meaningful ways. For years, Traverse City Dance Project had been touring free outdoor performances across Northern Michigan—transforming beaches, barns, and community greens into open-air theaters. We saw firsthand how deeply people connected to live art when it was accessible, intimate, and rooted in place.

The dream was to take that same spirit of accessibility and artistic excellence and bring it indoors—to create a festival that would celebrate both the artists who call Michigan home and the dancers who travel here from major companies across the country. We wanted to give our region something it had never seen before: a curated weekend of performances, conversations, and creative collaborations that would showcase the incredible range of what dance can be.

This festival has been a reflection of a community that believes in the arts and in each other. This first year is a snapshot of a beginning: the start of a new Northern Michigan tradition rooted in creativity, collaboration, and possibility.

To every dancer, collaborator, supporter, and audience member—thank you for helping make this vision real. May these pages remind us all of what’s possible when creativity and community come together.

Learn more about our programs by visiting our website. tcdanceproject.org

Streaming Now-Northern Michigan Dance Festival

By Traverse City Dance Project

Streaming Now-Northern Michigan Dance Festival