Release Date: May 27,2025
Mayor Malik Announces the 51st Season of the Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival
Internationally acclaimed, Pilobolus returns along with exceptional Ohio dance companies to help celebrate a 51-year legacy
Akron, Ohio, May 27, 2025 — Today, Mayor Malik announced that the City of Akron will celebrate the 51st season of Akron’s own Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival! Continuing its legacy of presenting free professional dance performances in city parks, the dance festival will once again offer three weeks filled with dance experience opportunities from July 25 through August 9.
Internationally acclaimed Pilobolus, plus respected Northeast Ohio dance companies Ohio Contemporary Ballet, and Inlet Dance Theatre, shape the free festival weekends this year, including a special week of workshops presented exclusively by Pilobolus in multiple neighborhoods as well as at the Akron Art Museum. Pilobolus will also be performing for their weekend at the new” Lock 3 park.
“The City of Akron is excited to once again present the Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival to our residents,” said Mayor Malik. “We’re proud to be part of such a long-sustained festival which brings the highest professional dance companies to our residents and guests for free. This is a great opportunity for Akron families to get out of the house, enjoy the summer, and discover some extraordinary dance companies.”
Featured Dance Companies and Programs
Weekend One – July 25 & 26 – Forest Lodge Park – performances at 8:45pm
The festival opens with Ohio Contemporary Ballet on July 25 and 26 at Forest Lodge Park (260 Greenwood Ave). Ohio Contemporary Ballet has been a trailblazer in the Northeast Ohio dance scene for over 35 years, captivating audiences with innovative dance performances consisting of an impressive repertoire, collaborating with over 100 choreographers. As a proud cultural ambassador, the company has toured internationally, performing in Cuba and Taiwan.
This year, the company proudly presents the revival of two of Heinz Poll’s rarely seen masterpieces: Planes/Configurations (1990) and Light Breeze (1984). These works, brought back to the stage for the first time in over 20 years, highlight his groundbreaking creativity and innovative approach to dance. Planes/Configurations impresses with bold geometric designs and athletic precision, while Light Breeze charms with its elegant blend of ballroom-inspired movements and classical ballet. This program offers audiences a unique opportunity to experience the brilliance of Heinz Poll’s choreography. Visit www.Ocballet.org for more information.
Weekend Two – August 1 &2– Firestone Park – performances at 8:45 pm
The second weekend will feature Inlet Dance Theatre at Firestone Park (1480 Girard St.).
Inlet Dance Theatre, founded in 2001 by Founder and Executive/Artistic Director Bill Wade, is one of the region’s most exciting professional contemporary dance companies with roots in American Modern Dance. This summer’s concert showcases the company’s unique aesthetic and collaborative creative process. The evenings will feature an eclectic blend of repertoire from the classic and playful to visually stunning collaborations, including moving storytelling. Performances will reflect the innovative partnering that inspired the company’s modern dance beginnings to the evolution of their highly accessible and athletic vision for contemporary work. Visit www.Inletdance.org for more information.
Weekend Three – August 8 & 9 – Lock 3 Park – downtown Akron
– performances at 8:45 pm
The festival will close week three on August 8 and 9 at Lock 3 Park (200 S. Main St.) with world-renowned Pilobolus! For over 50 years, they have tested the limits of human physicality, exploring the power of connected bodies. They perform internationally for 300,000+ people each year – and create custom performances, digital content, movement experiments, and live events. You’ve seen them at the Oscars, the VMAs, and the Olympics, and they’ve collaborated with OK Go, the NFL, Hyundai, RadioLab, Penn & Teller, and more. Honors include a TED Fellowship, a Grammy® Nomination, a Primetime Emmy® Award, and several Cannes Lion Awards. The mission of Pilobolus is to create, perform, and preserve dance; expand and diversify audiences; and teach dancers, non-dancers, and organizations to harness creative and collaborative potential through the joy of movement. Visit www.pilobolus.org for more information.
All three companies will offer master classes for advanced dance students at The University of Akron on Saturday mornings at 11 am during the festival weeks. Registration is required. See website for details.
Festival director, Jane Startzman emphasizes the importance of presenting new work as well as established choreography. “It is part of our mission to present our audiences with dance that may be familiar as well as the new and unexpected. We offer diverse programming, presenting excellent, respected professional dance companies to everyone, free of charge, as a gift to the community. This dance festival is unique in the US in that we move from neighborhood to neighborhood. We are considered one of the top four outdoor dance festivals in the nation.”
Special Programming and Partnerships!
Pilobolus @ Play: This year, the dance festival continues to reach into new neighborhoods with educational and community performances, presented by internationally known Pilobolus. Akron is fortunate to have this exceptional company work with us for a week, offering programs that utilize their collaborative creative process to help people explore their creativity, learn to collaborate, and support well-being. They travel all over the world with classes and activities designed to complement live onstage performances or to stand alone. Programs will be customized for all levels of mobility, and scaled for our communities of all sizes.
Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival, is also proud to celebrate its 51st season with partner Akron Art Museum, presenting a special theatrical Pilobolus @ Play in the Bud and Susie Rogers Garden at the museum on August 7 at 6:30pm.
Interactive pre-show children’s program: The University of Akron remains the dance festival’s residency partner, providing studio space and residency activity support for all artists, and young dancers who attend the master classes. The Dance Institute of The University of Akron offers its popular pre-show interactive program that allows young children to learn a bit of dance and experience what it is like to be onstage.
Yoga in the Park: Back by popular demand, Jen Garlando will be offering a free Yoga class at each stage site on Saturday mornings (July 26 at Forest Lodge/August 2 at Firestone Park/August 9 at Lock 3 park) at 10am. Bring a blanket or a mat!
Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival continues to welcome the support of partners Summit DD and Direction Home Akron Area Agency on Aging and Disabilities. They help us explore new ways to improve accessibility to the free park performances and improve inclusivity for everyone, supplying sensory bags, information packets and programs with larger print at their table at each performance.
The City of Akron sponsors the Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival, receiving major support from generous funders and sponsors including but not limited to, founding and sustaining sponsor, Akron Community Foundation, along with Peg’s Foundation, Ohio Arts Council, GAR Foundation, and ArtsNow. See website for complete listing of partners and sponsors. Anyone interested in donating can do so via the website or by contacting 330-990-5263.
For more information, and for a full schedule please visit www.akrondancefestival.org