Here&Now Dance Festival returns with ‘bold tenacity’

By Stephen NearJun 5, 2026

Indie company Aeris Körper's festival takes to the stage this weekend for a third year, showcasing local and regional dancers.

The warm weather is finally here to stay, and with it comes a hot and happening Hamilton dance festival to kick off the summer. Produced by Aeris Körper, the annual Here&Now Dance Festival is now in its third year and promises to be even better than before.

Skye Rogers, community outreach for the company, says “The focus of Here&Now is about sharing ideas that are relevant to the moment.” With a variety of choreographed dance numbers, “the entire festival looks at themes the audience can really connect to in their own lives.”

From Friday to Sunday, Here&Now features three main events: Mainstage, a triple-bill of notable choreographers from across Canada; Prospects, a series of six Hamilton-made works-in-progress of new ideas; and the Neighbourhood Moves Workshop, a publicly accessible performance session facilitated by one of the festival's professional choreographers.

As a company member and presenting artist, Rogers is excited for the chance to connect with audiences on a variety of themes around change including “dismantling and rethinking tradition, connection in a digital age, the implications of capitalism, the experience of migration and finding belonging.”

Dancer Lina Cruz of Montreal performs *Digging*. PHOTO: Steven Berruyer

The festival will be packed with other events, including pop-up film screenings at FARSIDE Bar and Last Supper Books on James Street, a live DJ set by DJ Savage Good, and a free line dancing lesson with Kitchener-Waterloo-based group Bolo Tie Line. Hosting country line dancing nights while operating safe spaces for the 2SLGBTQ+ community, Bolo Tie Line “is making line dancing not just cool again,” says Rogers,”but accessible to folks who may not traditionally feel welcome in a country setting.”

Company artistic director Mayumi Lashbrook says, “I am wowed by the bold tenacity of this year's creators” who embody “deeply intimate storytelling defying traditional expectations.” For festival director Alten Wilmot, the event offers some new lessons. “Last year, we learned Here&Now is more than just performances. It’s about connection, celebration, and creating a shared space where contemporary dance can inspire us all.”

Wilmot says this year features more local artists including Priyanka Topé, Abby Yates, Julia Garlisi, Vanessa and Veronica Ramirez, Jane-Leigh Jameson, and Taskin Anha. “We’re thrilled,” adds Rogers, “that seven out of nine presenting works are made by Hamilton-based choreographers.” Like the Hamilton-based Rogers, they all share an active relationship to the city, and are “finding creativity, connection, belonging, and joy amidst a complicated place.”

Skye Rogers, community outreach for Here&Now, and choreographer Vik Mudge perform $. PHOTO: Lauren Garbutt

The festival will also see out-of-town choreographers like Jessie Garon and Vincent Enorme from Toronto, Vik Mudge of Niagara and Montreal’s Lina Cruz, who is facilitating Sunday’s Neighbourhood Moves Workshop. “I am in great admiration of organizations invested in promoting dance across Canada,” says Cruz, “especially if they are led by creative artists, who give so much of their time, work and enthusiasm to promoting the work of other artists.”

Despite the city’s vibrant dance scene, Aeris Körper knows some audiences might still be hesitant. “Attending a dance performance can feel scary, vulnerable, or impossible,” says Wilmot, “Here&Now was built with this in mind, driven by the belief that when we feel welcome we make room for curiosity and enjoyment.”

Rogers agrees.

"There is not one “correct” way of relating to a work [and] because it's an embodied form, spectators get to bring their own lived experience to the work they see. In a way," she says, "they complete it."

Rogers stresses the importance of that relationship to the rest of the company. “That’s why we provide opportunities for audiences to actively engage in the work themselves. No matter what,” she stresses, “we want Hamiltonians to feel comfortable entering a dance space, knowing everything they bring as an audience member is essential for the artform to thrive.”

Choreographer Vik Mudge believes there’s something for everyone at this year’s festival. “What's really exciting is the expansion of community-focused programming. Getting to connect with festival artists, audience members and other creatives is one of the best parts of Here&Now.”