Asbury Park Dance Festival

DANCE IS LIFE is back! - Asbury Park Dance Festival’s FREE Illuminated Hustle Dance Party as part of the 2026 North to Shore Festival. Friday, June 19! For two hours from 7:00-9:00PM, everyone — regardless of whether they have ever danced a step in their life — is invited to MOVE! The night begins with a spotlight performance by celebrated duo, Abdiel and Kristine Bendul, who became Disco America’s 1st place Champions with their Hustle choreography for the Professional Dance-Off Division. They made history by becoming America’s first professional ballroom duo to compete in DanceSport as gender-neutral, equally exchanging roles of lead and follow within all five American Rhythm dances. Abdiel then guides everyone - newcomers and experienced dancers alike - through a basic Hustle lesson before the dance floor comes alive to the music of world renowned DJ, Natasha Diggs. Luminous Abstract layers the space with immersive visual projections that illuminate the historic Asbury Park Carousel Building. This event is FREE and open to all and is presented by Asbury Park Dance Festival, Dance Is Life, Luminous Abstract, and Wooden Walls Project — organizations that believe in the power of dance - ART - to bring community together!

NEWS! Save the Date! August 29, 2026. Our 7th annual festival will once again be an evening of phenomenal dances and dancers in support of the important work of @artsednj Consider becoming an APDF’26 SPONSOR which not only helps us continue to present world class dancers but also guarantees you a seat at what is always a sold out event. Sponsor info in link in bio. 📷 @taylor___stanley Photo: John Herr

Fall 2025 is filled with some of your favorite APDF alums! Right here on the Jersey Shore, New Jersey Ballet brings their phenomenal dancing to Two River Theater in Red Bank with a visionary program of works by the award winning choreographer, Justin Peck alongside new works by Lauren Lovett and Harrison Ball. Opportunities also abound for you to see many of your favorite APDF alums on stage in NYC before 2025 takes its bow. The Joyce theater will play home to some of the world’s greatest companies and dancers. See New York City Ballet, and especially the magnificent APDF’25 alum, Taylor Stanley, and revel in the power and breadth of Limón Dance, the virtuosity of GALLIM, and the pure joy of Ephrat Asherie Dance in collaboration with Grammy award-winning pianist and composer Arturo O’Farrill. Delight in the festive brilliance of Caleb Teicher and the all star cast of A Very SW!ING OUT Holiday, and be dazzled by MOMIX. And the not to be missed world premiere work ‘Of Dishes and Dreams' by Keerati Jinakunwiphat at Baryshnikov Arts this October! New York City Ballet Koch Theater - Now through October 11 (and beyond) Limon Dance Joyce Theater - Oct 14 - 19 Gallim Joyce Theater - Nov 5 - 9 NJ Ballet Two River Theater - Nov15 - 16 Ephrat Asherie Dance Joyce Theater - Dec 3 - 7 A Very SW!NG OUT Holiday Joyce Theater - Dec 9 - 14 MOMIX Joyce Theater - Dec 16 - Jan 4 AND...be sure to mark your calendar and get tickets for what will be one of the most important dance events of the year - the Centennial Celebration of the Martha Graham Dance Company, who we’ve been so proud to present 3 times over our 6 festivals, at NY City Center from April 8-12, 2026. @njballet @limondance @gallimdanceco @nycballet @ephratasheriedance @momixofficial @marthagrahamdance @calebteicher @thejoycetheater @thekeeratikid @taylor___stanley

🌟It’s National Arts in Education Week! We’re celebrating the creativity, joy, and growth that arts education brings to our community. This year’s workshops have been filled with inspiring teachers, talented students, and powerful moments of learning through the arts. We are so grateful for the support of Jody & John Arnhold, Monmouth Arts, and the Bevier-Evans Foundation, whose commitment makes our work possible. At the heart of what we do is a promise: to ensure that the arts remain accessible, supported, and celebrated for all.🌟 #dance #nationalartsineducationweek #move #community #arts #artseducation #apdf @nimbusartscenter @axelrodacademy

One of my annual favorite date nights of the year happened here in town at @houseofindependents last Saturday and it was such a great night out! 💫Asbury Park Dancefest is led by our friends Michael, VJ, Laura & Michelle and this is their 6th year of bringing the art of incredible dance in all forms to our little city. They donate all proceeds of this incredible night to the arts- more specifically to programs exposing and teaching kids to dance. ✨KF @roguecreativedesign designed the logo and works with them every year on new merch. I along with @marilynschlossbach donated snacks (cookies obvi) to the after party which happens at a few doors down at @parlorgallery right after the show. This was an incredible year filled with talent. No way I could pick a fave! 😮 After the after party KF and I grabbed dinner and a martini in town closing out last Saturday as a perfect date night! Give @ap_dancefest a follow so you can join us next year! ✨🪩💃🏻🕺❤️❤️ #wemoveyou #cookiecatering #datenight #asburyparknj #supportthearts #communitymagic #locallove #lifeissweetsdb #spreadthelove

ABOUT LAST NIGHT… Sending out a HUGE thank you to all of the incredible artists who brought their talent and special gifts to the APDF stage last night. You were spectacular! And another HUGE thank you to all who came out to support these incredible artists and our mission to help @artsednj ensure that every child in NJ has access to arts education! It was an evening to remember. Thank you!! #APDF2025 #ArtsEdNewJersey #Dance #Dancers #Art #Artists #LivePerformance #SupportTheArts #DancingForArtsEducation #Choreography #Choreographer #Ballet #ModernDance #ContemporaryDance #TappDance #Hip-hop #DancingForACause #WeMoveYou @invertebratenyc @chrisceliz

JUMPING FOR JOY! TODAY IS THE DAY! APDF 2025! See incredible tap artists @johnmanzari and @luke_hickey_ rock our stage along with all of the dance luminaries in this year’s fest! See you tonight Asbury, we can’t wait to dance for you! #APDF2025 #Dance #Dancers #Art #Artist #TappDance #DancingForACause #ArtsEdNewJersey #SupportArtsEducation #Choreography #Choreographer #Choreographers #LivePerformance #NewJersey #JerseyShore #AsburyPark #WeMoveYou

APDF 2025 is TOMORROW NIGHT!! We could not be more excited to have the dancers of the @verdonfosselegacy jazz up our stage with the classic STEAM HEAT! Meet @ashleyblairfitzgerald @_samfaulkner_ and @tonydalelio 👏 #APDF2025 #ArtsEdNewJersey #AsburyParkDanceFestival #TheVerdonFosseLegacy #Jazz #JazzDance #LivePerformance #DancingForCause #TheJerseyShore #AsburyParkDanceFestival2025 #WeMoveYou

MEET THE ARTISTS// We are so thrilled to have the incredible @momixofficial grace the APDF 2025 stage! Dancers Jared Bogart, Heather Conn, Nate Davis and Seah Hagan will perform an intricate and thrilling quartet from their latest production ALICE, inspired by the literary classic, Alice in Wonderland. See you Saturday Asbury! @momixofficial @trainer_nate_davis @muffet21 @heather.a.conn @jared_bogart ##Dance #Dancers #momix #MoMixOfficial #Choreography #Choreographer #LivePerformance #ContemporaryDance #ModernDance #Art #Artist #LifePerformanceJerseyShore #AsburyPark #APDF2025 #ArtsEdNewJersey #WeMoveYou.

ANNOUNCING NEW ARTISTS // Fusing the music making of beatbox and street dance, World champion beatboxer Chris Celiz and b-boy extraordinaire Anthony “Invertebrate” Rodriguez team up to close out this year’s SOLD OUT performance! These singular artists and collaborators were lead creators on the Works and Process at the Guggenheim commissioned project The Missing Elementalso presented on the plaza at Lincoln Center. We are THRILLED to welcome them to our stellar APDF’25 lineup! See you soon Asbury! @invertebratenyc @chrisceliz #Dance #Dancers #Beatbox #BBoys #Breakdancing #UeyamaPerformance #DancingForACause #ArtsEdNewJersey #AsburyParkDanceFestival #APDF2025 #WeMoveYou

The ShowRoom and Asbury Park Dance Festival proudly present Bob Fosse’s electrifying masterpiece ALL THAT JAZZ on Thursday, August 21st at 7:30 PM. This semi-autobiographical film captures Fosse’s whirlwind life of art, excess, and obsession with mortality. Among its many unforgettable moments is the cheeky, high-energy “After You’ve Gone” number, a playful reminder of Fosse’s darkly comic genius. Don’t miss this rare chance to experience one of cinema’s greatest dance films on the big screen. @ap_dancefest #bobfosse #fosse #apdf #asburyparkdancefestival #allthatjazz #theshowroom #asburypark #asburyparknj #jerseyshore #nj #betteronthebigscreen

MEET THE ARTISTS// Eric Parra @ericmannnn and Dorse Brown @deelee_jr will perform multi-awarding winning @camilleabrown ‘s TURF , an excerpt from “ink” (2017) . We are so excited for this work to come to APDF! Its power and humanity are captivating and moving. #Dance #Dancers #Art #Artist #Choreograph #Choreographer #Choreography #DancingForACause #SupportArtsEducation #LivePerformance #ArtsEdNewJersey #AsburyParkDanceFestival #WeRemoveYou #Jersey #NewJerseyShore #AsburyPark #AsburyParkDanceFestival#APDF2025