Lila Dance Festival

The sixth annual Lila Dance Festival to take place at Rochester Commons featuring dance, live music, food, vendors and more.

Rochester, NH – June 30, 2026 — Lila Dance Festival, New Hampshire’s largest dance festival will take place Saturday, August 29th from 12pm noon to 8pm at Rochester Commons Park with a Sunday, August 30th rain date. Entry is free and attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs and blankets to enjoy the festival and events throughout the day. Dance performances are a celebration of New Hampshire and greater Northeastern professional companies and choreographers including, Nsquared Dance, Saving Grace Dance Ensemble, Demeo Dance, Annex Contemporary Dance Company, SundanceX, Ballet Arts Collective, and more!

The festival will highlight new work by Montreal award winning guest choreographer Andrew Skeels, as well as the premiere of the LiLaB residency works by Trinity Leite and Jacqui Young. Leite’s piece will use rhythm-based movement to explore the emotion of joy. Young’s piece will utilize contemporary movement to explore her time working with correctional facility inmates. The program will feature a diverse range of dance styles, including ballet, contemporary, modern, jazz, tap, hip hop, cultural dance forms, and more, including a performance by returning guest artist Yuval Cohen. For the youngest audience members, Fairytales and Tutus will begin at 2pm, followed by a photo opportunity and meet-and-greet with the characters for children and families. The performance will include visits from Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, and more through an interactive and educational performance aimed to teach young audiences about the structure of classical ballets.

Live music by singer/songwriter and Portsmouth Music Hall’s 2025 emerging artists; Skye Darling, and acclaimed New England folk musician Dan Blakeslee. Other local musicians will also be featured throughout the day. Enjoy food and merchandise from local vendors including Roy Empanadas, MrSippy BBQ, Ohana Kitchen, Barking Sisters Coffee, up-cycled dance apparel by Artists in Motion, flower arrangements by Shepard’s Gate Flower Farm, and more! Guests 21+ can enjoy a beverage in the Lila beer garden featuring local breweries and Lila’s first collaboration rosé by Triad Winery. A Sensory-support area will be onsite provided by Twenty-One Senses, a non-profit dedicated to advancing inclusion for children with invisible disabilities through education and support for families and community businesses.

Whether you're discovering dance for the first time or are a lifelong arts enthusiast, we invite you to join us for a day of dance, live music, food, and community! For the full performance schedule, event updates, and additional information, visit https://lilaproductions.org/lila-dance-festival/ About LILA Productions: Our mission is to foster genuine appreciation for dance among diverse communities in New Hampshire through community outreach, educational initiatives, and live performances. We envision a dance audience that appreciates the transformative power of dance to foster empathy, understanding, and unity, ultimately creating a more compassionate and interconnected community. lilaproductions.org