Misty Copeland will present her first curated program at the annual Ballet Festival at New York City's Joyce Theater, running August 4–16. The lineup spans classical repertory, contemporary work and new commissions, with dancers drawn from American Ballet Theatre, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, New York City Ballet, Paris Opéra Ballet and Houston Ballet, alongside freelancers and independent artists.

"What excited me was the opportunity to show audiences how broad ballet really is," Copeland writes in a message to Pointe. "I wanted the program to move between classical repertory, contemporary work, and new commissions, and to bring together artists from different companies, generations, and backgrounds."

Copeland built the program with the Joyce's director of programming, Danni Gee, and theater producer Ross LeClair. She stated the goal in a single phrase: to create a festival that "honors ballet's history while also looking toward its future." In an Instagram post, she added that she aims to spotlight Black, Brown, and queer voices. Gee describes the scheduling process as a "Tetris-like" puzzle of artists and works, shaped around summer performance seasons and competing festivals.

The two weeks mix long-established dancemakers — Rudolf Nureyev, Kyle Abraham, Dwight Rhoden, Bob Fosse, José Limón, Alonzo King, Roland Petit and Stanton Welch — with newer names. Copeland and the Joyce team commissioned two brand-new works: one by ABT corps member Aleisha Walker and one by Atlanta-based Afro-Caribbean choreographer Ilo.

"Part of the overarching mission is that everyone can be seen, and seen in ways you wouldn't expect," Gee says in a video call.

Some pieces fall outside ballet altogether. Ilo's barefoot Melt: From the Inside Out draws from the choreographer's work in African diasporic and house dance. Gee explains that Copeland saw a portion of the work while visiting Atlanta last year and wanted it in the festival with a cast that would bring out different elements of the choreography. That cast includes Ilo, NYCB's Olivia Bell and Kylie Takeno Williams, New Jersey Ballet's Vinicius Freire, Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet's Deven Crawford and independent artist Raven Joseph.

For ABT corps member Madison Brown, the program offers a chance to take on unfamiliar repertoire. She will perform in Mantle by ABT principal James Whiteside, the world premiere Rising by fellow corps member Walker, and the spiritual pas de deux Ave Maria by Complexions co-founding artistic director Dwight Rhoden. Fitting the work in meant navigating ABT's summer Metropolitan Opera House season and a recent gig in Bermuda. She learned Whiteside's piece from videos while abroad and rehearsed Ave Maria with her partner, Complexions dancer Joe González, throughout July. Brown hopes the festival will inspire audiences to view its artists "in a different light."

Gee rejects the notion that the artists on the bill fit a single mold. "It sounds cliché, but we're not a monolith," she says. "We're reinforcing that message, not just as dancers, but as human beings, and as people of color: We are capable of so much more than people give us credit for or expect of us. I crave the day when we're done with firsts."

The complete repertoire and casting (subject to change):

Week One (August 4–9)

• Interactions, by Ingrid Silva: independent artist Elias Re and freelancer Renan Cerdeiro
• Show Pony, by Kyle Abraham: NYCB principal Taylor Stanley
• Percussion IV, by Bob Fosse: Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's Shota Miyoshi
• Excerpt from Young Lovers, by Houston Thomas: Complexions' Joe González and Aeron Buchanan
• Sonata for Two Cellos, by José Limón: NYCB soloist Victor Abreu
• Excerpt from Romeo & Juliet, by Rudolf Nureyev: Paris Opéra Ballet étoiles Guillaume Diop and Sae Eun Park
• Ave Maria, by Dwight Rhoden: Complexions company member Joe González and artist in residence April Watson
• Rising, by Aleisha Walker: ABT's Walker and Madison Brown; Dance Theatre of Harlem's Ariana Dickerson, Carly Greene and Delaney Washington

Week Two (August 11–16)

• Clear, by Stanton Welch: Houston Ballet principal Harper Watters, first soloist Naazir Muhammad and demi-soloist Kellen Hornbuckle
• Middle Length Poem, by Andrea Miller: NYCB principal Taylor Stanley
• "Lift Every Voice," from Deep River, by Alonzo King: Alonzo King LINES Ballet guest artist Babatunji
• Excerpts from Firebird, by John Taras: Dance Theatre of Harlem's Alexandra Hutchinson and Derek Brockington
• Ave Maria, by Dwight Rhoden: ABT's Madison Brown and Complexions' Joe González
• Thaïs, by Roland Petit: Paris Opéra Ballet étoiles Guillaume Diop and Sae Eun Park (not performed August 16)
• Mantle, by James Whiteside: ABT principals Chloe Misseldine (August 15–16) and SunMi Park (August 11–14), soloists Sierra Armstrong and Jarod Curley, corps members Madison Brown (August 13–16) and Ingrid Thoms (August 11–12)
• Melt: From the Inside Out, by Ilo: Ilo, NYCB's Olivia Bell and Kylie Takeno Williams, New Jersey Ballet's Vinicius Freire, Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet's Deven Crawford and independent artist Raven Joseph

With étoiles, principals, corps members and street-rooted artists sharing one stage, the festival tests Copeland's claim about ballet's breadth against two weeks of New York audiences.