CINCINNATI, OH, MARCH 11, 2026 — Mutual Dance Theatre (Cincinnati’s resident Modern Dance company) will premiere four new, invigorating works at Modern Mix ’26, May 1-2, 2026 at the Aronoff Center for the Arts. The closing performance of Embrace: A Season of Connection will explore human connection through choreography by four innovative artists, each choreographing on MDT for their first time: Joshua Ishmon (Chicago), Shane Ohmer (Philadelphia), Nat Wilson (New York), and Sirui Liu (Cincinnati), whose involvement marks MDT’s first-ever artistic collaboration with the Cincinnati Ballet.
From works by a Broadway-touring dance captain with television credits to an artist in the thick of New York’s edgiest Contemporary Dance, Modern Mix ’26 promises a wide variety. The enchanting mix is the end to Mutual Dance Theatre’s 25–26 season, which also featured the first regional presentations of guest companies Deeply Rooted Dance Theater (October) and Yue Yin Dance Company (February).
CINCINNATI BALLET’S SIRUI LIU JOINS MODERN MIX ’26 CHOREOGRAPHY COHORT
The first true artistic cross-over between the Cincinnati Ballet (est. 1958) and Mutual Dance Theatre (est. 1972 as Contemporary Dance Theater) was forged by Mutual Dance Theatre’s Artistic Director Jeanne Mam-Luft and Cincinnati Ballet’s new Artistic Director Cervilio Amador.
“I’m always eager to provide opportunities for our dancers to enhance their careers,” says Amador. “I’ve recommended Sirui as a choreographer for this program because it presents a fantastic platform for her to express herself and showcase her artistic voice as a creator.”
“This year, Modern Mix, like the rest of our season, is driven by connection first and foremost,” says Mam-Luft. “This lineup represents such a high caliber of national talent: it’s truly a privilege to support both the choreographers and the performers. Through Sirui’s collaboration, it also establishes a new relationship between Cincinnati’s two largest dance organizations — we couldn’t be more ecstatic for our first leap together of hopefully many.”
“It’s an honor to have the opportunity to create new work for Mutual Arts Dance Theatre,” says Liu who is remarkably in her 15th year with Cincinnati Ballet. “I’m thrilled to work with Mutual’s talented and passionate dancers and eager to discover what we can create together!”
ABOUT THE MODERN MIX ’26 CHOREOGRAPHERS
Sirui Liu brings a world-renowned career in ballet and contemporary performance. Liu joined the Cincinnati Ballet in 2011 and rose to Principal Dancer in 2017. Her accolades include gold medals at the Taolibei National Dance Competition (2009) and Beijing International Ballet Competition (2010), and recognition as one of Dance Magazine’s “Top 25 to Watch” (2017). Her global performance career includes appearances with Hong Kong Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, international galas in Mongolia and China, and a 2025 tour of Lady White Snake at the Lincoln Center. She has worked with leading choreographers including William Forsythe, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Justin Peck, Ohad Naharin, Alexander Ekman, Trey McIntyre, and many others. Cincinnati audiences most recently saw Liu as Odile and Odette in Swan Lake.
| FUN FACT ABOUT SIRUI LIU: In kindergarten, Liu evaded a drawing class to attend dance, instead. |
Joshua L. Ishmon was a performer and former rehearsal director with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater for many years. The Chicago-based artist brings a powerful lineage of modern, classical, and African-American traditions to the cohort. Ishmon founded Deeply Rooted’s Emerging Choreographer’s Showcase and has danced with companies across the U.S., including Winifred R. Harris’ Between Lines, Seamless Dance Theater, Ballet Chicago, and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, where he performed in the Bessie Award-winning cast of Donald McKayle’s Rainbow Round My Shoulder. Ishmon, who was voted Chicago’s “Best Choreography” (Chicago Reader, 2017) and listed as a Breakout Contemporary Dance Artist by Newcity, is also a Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist, a 3Arts Make a Wave artist, and founder of Production: COLORS.
| FUN FACT ABOUT JOSHUA ISHMON: Ishmon is a fan of manga and used to produce a podcast on Japanese graphic novels. |
Shane Ohmer, a Cincinnati original now living near Philadelphia, has performed on world stages from Chicago to Montréal and holds numerous television credits. His extensive dance credits include River North Dance Chicago, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, alongside touring musicals such as Flashdance, Phantom of the Opera, and Rock the Ballet. Ohmer has worked for New York Fashion Week, Armani Exchange, and GQ, and has appeared in global media coverage across Europe.
| FUN FACT ABOUT SHANE OHMER: Ohmer has made television appearances on Law & Order: SVU, The David Letterman Show, and ads for Dos Equis and Warby Parker. |
Nat Wilson, originally from Dexter, Michigan and now based in Brooklyn, has built an international career that includes Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, ZviDance, Visceral Dance, Ballez, LEVELdance, Cocodaco, Volta Collective, and numerous independent creators. Wilson currently performs with Yue Yin Dance Company, where they are one of only two artists certified to teach Yue Yin’s FoCo technique. Their early training included time with the Joffrey Ballet Studio Company. Wilson’s new work on Mutual Dance Theatre is a blend of Wilson’s FoCo/Yue Yin influence and original contemporary movement.
| FUN FACT ABOUT NAT WILSON: Wilson adopted their cat, Pau, whilst dancing in Israel and was able to bring him to the States. |
Mutual Dance Theatre and Arts Centers is supported this year by: the Robert & Adele Schiff Family Foundation; the generosity of tens of thousands of contributors to the annual ArtsWave Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding; the H.B., E.W. & F.R. Luther Charitable Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, N.A., Trustee; an investment of public funds from the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically; the Crosset Family Fund of Greater Cincinnati Foundation; and gifts, both large and small, from individuals like season sponsor, Karen Zaugg.
EVENT DETAILS
What: Mutual Dance Theatre’s Modern Mix ’26
When: Friday & Saturday, May 1–2, 2026, 7:30pm (plus, Friday post-show Q&A with artists and Saturday pre-show 7pm interview)
Where: Aronoff Center for the Arts
Cost: starts at $29 (early bird discount available for purchases by April 2, 2026)
Tickets: 513-621-ARTS or cincinnatiarts.org/events/detail/mutual-dance-theatre-in-modern-mix-26
More information: mutualdance.org/modernmix26
YOUR CHANCE TO DANCE
One of Mutual Dance Theatre’s passions is to bring audiences and artists closer together. Each of its concerts features an additional opportunity for the public to dance. For Modern Mix, the organization will host a class open to everyone, regardless of experience or dance background, to learn basics of Modern Dance and a snippet of choreography from the show: Saturday, May 2, 2026 12–1:30pm at Mutual Arts Hartwell (8222 Monon Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45216). $16-21, pre-register at mutualdance.org/modernmix26/#movewithmutual, led by company member Evelyn Lackney.
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About Mutual Dance Theatre and Arts Centers
Mutual Dance Theatre is the city’s longest-running Modern Dance organization and the area’s only consistent presenter of Modern and Contemporary Dance. MDT was formerly known as Contemporary Dance Theater (est. 1972 by Jefferson James) and MamLuft&Co. Dance (est. 2007 by Jeanne Mam-Luft) until their merger in 2021. Both organizations began as performing troupes, but in the early ‘90s, CDT dissolved its company and subsequently focused on presenting guest artists. The two organizations joined to create the aptly-named Mutual Dance Theatre and Arts Centers, taking enumeration from its elder half and thus celebrating its 54th season in 25-26. Mutual has honored and combined the priorities of both founding organizations: investing in a virtuosic local company with the aim of becoming a significant presence both locally and nationally, as well as the continued presentation of Modern and Contemporary Dance from across the States (and sometimes, beyond). Mutual also reaches thousands of children each year through education and its academy, as well as charity-supported outreach. Learn more at mutualdance.org.
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 