Wellspring Dance Celebrates 45th Season with Retrospective Fall Concert

Wellspring's Fall Concert of Dance: Epic Moments will be presented November 21–23, 2025, at the Cori Terry Theatre in Downtown Kalamazoo's Epic Center. This vibrant program celebrates Wellspring's 45th year of creativity, connection, and community through dance, featuring a powerful retrospective of works created within the Epic Center since the company's 2000 move. Artistic Director Marisa Bianan noted the concert is thoughtfully crafted to center works created in their home as they celebrate 25 years of dance making within these walls. The 45th season promises a packed performance lineup with visionary choreography and immersive experiences in venues across southwest Michigan.

Audiences will experience the revival of founder Cori Terry's Family Altar (2001), complete with original costumes by Elaine Kauffman and set design by Paul Marquadt, and the rhythmic quintet Dervish (2002), set to music by Kalamazoo-based Blue Dahlia. The program also features the spectacular, full-company work At This Very Moment Breaking (2008), known for its sweeping lifts and striking lighting design. Balancing these classic works are two powerful pieces by Bianan: The Ground Has Thawed (2025)—originally premiered with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra's Burdick-Thorne String Quartet and performed here in its entirety for the first time—and Woven Together (2025), created for the YWCA's 140th Anniversary Gala and featuring stunning wearable chainmail art by Elaine Unzicker.

The fall concert represents Wellspring's full-production premiere of Woven Together. The professional company will be joined by guest artist Sam Crouch for the performances, which Bianan describes as more than a concert but an essential chapter in Wellspring's story. The performance schedule includes Friday, November 21 at 7:30 p.m. with a post-concert talkback, Saturday, November 22 at 2:00 p.m. as a sensory-friendly performance in collaboration with Unmask the Arts, Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, November 23 at 2:00 p.m. The Epic Center and Cori Terry Theatre are wheelchair accessible and feature hearing loop assistive listening technology.

Tickets are available for purchase online at https://WellspringDance.org/season. General admission tickets are $30, with Pay-It-Forward tickets at $40, Youth/Student tickets for those under 18 at $15, and Pay-What-You-Can tickets starting at $5 minimum. Wellspring's 45th season continues with multiple events including the Koa Fund Sunrise Gathering on December 5, 2025, ACGK Community Arts Awards on December 9, 2025, the 17th Annual RADFest March 5–8, 2026, Movement in the Museum on March 26, 2026, Student Concert of Dance on May 3, 2026, and Spring Concert of Dance May 15–17, 2026. Now in its 45th season, Wellspring stands as one of the nation's longest-standing small professional modern dance companies and has helped shape Kalamazoo's arts landscape through collaborations with professional artists and through its work as a producer, presenter, and educator.