Forward Motion Dance festival May 16

Forward Motion returns to Miami on Saturday, May 16, with Karen Peterson and Dancers presenting the festival’s seventh edition at Sandrell Rivers Theater. (miamidadecountyauditorium.org) (cultureshockmiami.com) The schedule lists two May 16 performances, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., with tickets priced at $20 to $25. (miamidadecountyauditorium.org 1) (miamidadecountyauditorium.org 2) The festival is built around physically integrated dance, a form that puts dancers with and without disabilities on the same stage and treats access as part of the choreography and audience experience. (karenpetersondancers.org) (miaminewtimes.com) This year’s guest companies are REVolutions Dance Company from Tampa and Infinite Flow Dance Company from Los Angeles, alongside Miami-based Karen Peterson Dancers. (miamidadecountyauditorium.org) (communitynewspapers.com) Organizers say the three-company lineup will present five world premieres across the May 16-17 festival weekend. The choreographers named in listings include Frank Chavez, Merry Lynne Morris, Leymis Bolaños Wilmott, and Infinite Flow artistic director Marisa Hamamoto. (communitynewspapers.com) (cultureshockmiami.com) Karen Peterson and Dancers will also bring back repertory works including “In The Blink of an Eye” and “Duets for Six” for a company of 10 members. (cultureshockmiami.com) The event stretches beyond the stage on Sunday, May 17, when Forward Motion adds workshops, a roundtable discussion, and a conference session led by Silva Laukkanen of Art Spark Texas. (communitynewspapers.com) (cultureshockmiami.com) The 2026 festival lands during a milestone year for the host company: Karen Peterson and Dancers says it is marking 35 years, and Peterson-Corash recently received the Dance Miami Choreographer’s Award. (communitynewspapers.com) (karenpetersondancers.org) The venue choice also reflects a local arts system in transition. Miami-Dade County Auditorium is presenting the festival through its Away From Home series while its main building undergoes renovation, shifting performances to partner spaces such as Sandrell Rivers Theater. (miamidadecountyauditorium.org) Forward Motion began in 2018, and Miami coverage has framed it as one of the few U.S. festivals centered specifically on physically integrated dance. On May 16, that mission returns in a two-show program built around access, new work, and national guest artists. (miaminewtimes.com) (karenpetersondancers.org)