Performance Garage

Performance Garage is looking for a Finance Manager

Finance Manager We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Finance Manager to provide dedicated financial support to the Performance Garage. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in financial management and a deep understanding of non-profit accounting. This role requires twice weekly in-person wor...

Saturday August 8 at 7 PM - Songfest: Magic & Mystery, a curated vocal concert
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/independentsounds-presents-songfest-magic-mystery-tickets-1990807048473

At IndependentSounds, we reimagine opera and classical music for today’s audience—intimate, immediate, and alive. Our Songfest feature is where artistry meets intention. Curated by Brian Chu, this concert is more than a collection of songs—it’s a carefully woven narrative. Each piece is chosen with a specific singer or singers in mind, illuminating the unique color, story, and emotional truth they bring to the stage.

Built around the unifying theme of “Magic and Mystery,” Songfest unfolds as a series of intimate musical portraits — each one distinct, yet deeply connected. Familiar works take on new resonance, hidden gems emerge, and every performance feels personal, immediate, and alive. This is “song as storytelling” at its most intentional: curated, collaborative, and crafted to linger long after the final note.

Please check out our other unique performances on offer this weekend at Performance Garage as part of our 2026 IndependentSounds Festival (all tickets must be purchased separately; we apologize for any inconvenience).

• Mozart: The Magic Flute – Friday, Aug 7 at 7 PM (SOLD OUT)
• Bachfest: Brandenburg Concertos – Saturday, Aug 8 at 4 PM
• Songfest: Magic and Mystery – Saturday, Aug 8 at 7 PM
• Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffmann – Sunday, Aug 9 at 7 PM

IndependentSounds presents Songfest: Magic & Mystery Songfest: Magic & Mystery, a curated vocal concert

Saturday, August 8 at 4 PM
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/independentsounds-presents-bachfest-brandenburg-concertos-tickets-1990800417640

Brandenburg Concertos No. 1, 2, and 5 by J. S. Bach
IndependentSounds reimagines opera and classical music for today’s audience—intimate, immediate, and alive. Here we invite you into the electrifying world of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, where invention, virtuosity, and sheer joy collide. Performed on historical instruments, these works shimmer with the colors and textures that Bach knew.

At the center of this program is the Fifth Concerto, a tour de force of ensemble interplay, crowned by its dazzling harpsichord cadenza as realized by Ian Watson. It’s music that still feels impossibly modern in its ambition.

A daring twist bookends this program. The natural horn—heroic, golden, and thrillingly unpredictable—steps forward as soloist not only in the First Concerto, where it famously reigns, but also in the Second, recasting one of Bach’s most sparkling concertos with a new, burnished voice. Both performed by our very own, Todd Williams, it’s a feat of artistry and endurance, bringing fresh magic to music you thought you knew.

This is Bach, up close and unfiltered: bold risks, blazing virtuosity, and the visceral thrill of sound in motion.

Please check out our other unique performances on offer this weekend at Performance Garage as part of our 2026 IndependentSounds Festival (all tickets must be purchased separately; we apologize for any inconvenience).

• Mozart: The Magic Flute – Friday, Aug 7th at 7:00 PM (SOLD OUT)
• Bachfest: Brandenburg Concertos – Saturday, Aug 8th at 4:00 PM
• Songfest: Magic and Mystery – Saturday, Aug 8th at 7:00 PM
• Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffmann – Sunday, Aug 9th at 7:00 PM

IndependentSounds presents Bachfest: Brandenburg Concertos Brandenburg Concertos No. 1, 2, and 5 by J. S. Bach

EVERY PERFORMANCE BEGINS WITH A SUPPORTER LIKE YOU

This Season, Your Gift to Dance Goes Twice as Far! A 1:1 match doubles your impact before August 31.

SUPPORT THE PERFORMANCE GARAGE:
https://www.performancegarage.org/support

Dear Friends,

Picture a place where creativity is set in motion—where every rehearsal sparks discovery and every performance begins with an idea. Your support provides artists with the time, space, and resources to create, experiment, and share powerful new work.

At the end of our fiscal year, we want to share just how far your support has carried us.

2025 was a year of real momentum for Performance Garage. We welcomed over 13,000 visitors and supported more than 2,200 artists through 397 classes and rehearsals and 75 performances, giving 116 artist-users access to flexible, affordable studio and performance space.

Our core programs—DanceVisions, DanceSpace, HubChats, and DanceFilms—brought artists and audiences together around contemporary dance. We also produced YouthMoves, our free weekly program for Franklin Learning Center students, and a well-attended two-week Summer Intensive. Most recently, three YouthMoves students were invited to join PHILADANCO!'s second company—a milestone that is a source of great pride.

Still, the road ahead is uncertain. The city has cut $1.5 million from the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and Pennsylvania Creative Industries (formerly the PA Council on the Arts) has warned that $9.59 million in dedicated arts funding may be redirected elsewhere. Cuts of this size don't pass without leaving a mark on organizations such as ours.

That's why we need your help. Before midnight on August 31, two anonymous donors will match your gift dollar for dollar, up to $20,000.

Please give generously so we can keep this work—and this community—thriving at the Performance Garage.

With gratitude,

Jeanne Ruddy, Executive and Artistic Director, Co-Founder

P.S. The match is available only through August 31—don’t miss the chance to double your support for dance!

To give, please click on the link below or send a check to:
📍 Performance Garage 1515 Brandywine St. Philadelphia, PA 19130
https://www.performancegarage.org/support

We are thrilled to announce that Performance Garage has received a 2026 grant from the ! This support provided by the Philadelphia Cultural Fund helps us continue our mission to cultivate an environment that nurtures dance artists and expands the reach, education and appreciation of dance throughout Philadelphia.

Thank you for supporting the arts!

Saturday, July 11 - The Sankofa Journey
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sankofa-sg-presents-the-sankofa-journey-tickets-1990980433071

The Sankofa Journey presents an evening-length farewell performance. An evening of remembrance and return — bringing together past works and collaborations in a final celebration before the next chapter unfolds.

Rooted in the philosophy of Sankofa - to go back and fetch what was left behind - this performance reflects on the past three years of growth, mentorship, community, and rhythm that have shaped me in Philadelphia. Through the language and spirit of Umfundalai, the evening honors the bridges built between body and intention, rhythm and remembrance - returning us to the purpose behind every step.

This is both a farewell offering and a love letter to a city that has profoundly transformed me. The Sankofa Journey is not an ending, but a return - a moment of remembrance before stepping forward.

Sankofa SG presents: The Sankofa Journey The Sankofa Journey presents an evening-length farewell performance- an evening of remembrance and return.

Friday, June 26 & Saturday, June 27
Anne-Marie Mulgrew and Dancers Company’s 40th Anniversary Concert, Sea of Memories, a thrilling immersive multimedia event for all ages.
🎟️ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/anne-marie-mulgrew-dancers-company-40th-anniversary-concert-tickets-1981603309843

Audiences will be taken on a breathtaking journey through the decades featuring memorable site specific, film, and concert works showcasing the breadth and scope of the Company’s innovative collaborations. Highlights include excerpts from Facing 9-5 (1986), Strange Tongues (1997), Unknown City (1999), Project 2012 (1996), SALT (2009), Strange Dreams (2018) plus new works.

Anne-Marie Mulgrew & Dancers Company 40th Anniversary Concert "Sea of Memories," a thrilling immersive multimedia event for all ages

Saturday, June 20 at 5 PM • Samaw Dance presents: Resonance Repertoire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NilyMKVuCG4

🎟️ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/samaw-dance-presents-resonance-repertoire-tickets-1984494006996

Samaw Dance Company (Promo Video) Samaw Dance Company is an AAPI-led dance ensemble based in NYC, dir...

Saturday, June 20 at 5 PM • Samaw Dance presents: Resonance Repertoire
🎟️ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/samaw-dance-presents-resonance-repertoire-tickets-1984494006996

Resonance Repertoire is a concert experience drawn from the world of Resonance, centering AAPI+ and LGBTQ+ stories through movement, music, and community gathering.
Guests are invited to arrive early for a pre-show lobby experience featuring an interactive art installation and opportunities to connect with local AAPI+ and LGBTQ+ organizations. It’s a chance to meet community partners, add your voice to the space, and step into the themes of the evening before taking your seat. On stage, Resonance Repertoire moves through three suites exploring societal pressures, humanizing the “perpetual foreigner,” and celebrating q***r Asian identity. The program blends jazz, contemporary, street jazz, house, and waacking to create work that is high energy, intimate, and story-driven.

Samaw Dance presents: Resonance Repertoire A concert experience drawn from the world of Resonance, centering AAPI+ and LGBTQ+ stories through movement, music, and community gathering.

✨ We're excited to welcome Geatali as our new Rental Manager! Please join us in giving them a warm welcome as they begin this new role. We're glad to have Geatali on the team! ✨

Geatali is a choreographer and dancer based in Philly, who has spent her lifetime training and diversifying her repertoire, performing, and honing her voice as a choreographer. She is most well-known for her innovative fusion choreography- blending the Indian classical dance style of Bharatanatyam with contemporary, Bollywood, hip hop, flamenco, and South Asian folk styles of dance. Geatali is also a teaching artist, and often teaches workshops here at Performance Garage!