New Works Premiere Performances 2026

 

We're thrilled to present the winners of the 2026 New Works project commissions! Learn about the winning proposals below, and grab your ticket now for an evening of exciting work from local artists.

 

Now in its fifth season, the New Works project is an initiative by Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts to promote and sustain central Indiana’s working artists and arts communities in an inclusive way by supporting the creation of new works in the performing and visual arts disciplines.

 

The winning performing arts proposals selected by the judging panel will be presented on stage at the Tarkington, with a talkback discussion following the performances. The event will also include the public unveiling of this year’s winning visual arts project.

 

They Knew They Would Dance Again
Mina Keohane

Keohane is a musician and composer who studied at the Berklee College of Music. Her project is a musical work in three movements for tambourine ensemble and voice, using oversized tambourines designed and constructed by collaborators Fred Erskine and David Melsheimer. Keohane chose to explore the simple instrument because of its mysterious origins and its widespread use throughout history by diverse cultures around the world. The title is drawn from the biblical story of the Exodus, in which the tambourine symbolized hope amid hardship.

 

Unsung Giants: Clifford Ratliff
Brandon Meeks

Meeks is a bassist and composer known for blending jazz, soul and hip-hop influences. His project, part of a broader effort to celebrate Indiana jazz history, will pay tribute to legendary Indianapolis trumpeter Clifford Ratliff with an original work for piano trio. The performance will include new compositions and improvisation by Meeks and collaborators William Menefield on piano and Cassius Goens on drums, accompanied by projected images and spoken narrative detailing Ratliff’s achievements and continuing influence on younger generations of musicians.

 

Neither and Both
Saki Morimoto

Morimoto is a professional dancer with Fort Wayne Ballet and will be joined by colleagues for the performance. Her project is a contemporary dance work inspired by her cross-cultural experience of moving from Japan to the United States at age 14, highlighting the contrasts between Japanese values of humility, harmony and community and American ideals of individuality, boldness and self-expression. The dancers’ costumes will reflect the cultural differences, and prerecorded audio will include Western orchestral music and an original collage of everyday sounds from Japan.

 

Edges of Insanity
Justin David Sears

Sears is a dancer, choreographer and founder of Justin Sears Dance Foundation. His contemporary dance project explores addiction recovery through embodied storytelling, video projections and recorded testimonials to interpret the real-life experiences of individuals who have journeyed through substance abuse to recovery. Created in collaboration with Margo Korn, Amanda Hoover, Pulse Dance Theatre and Avenues Recovery Center Indianapolis, the piece portrays a progression from isolation and suffering to community and hope, aiming to reduce stigma while highlighting the transformative power of recovery communities.

 

Folklorico
Kyle Ragsdale

Ragsdale is a fine art painter and longtime curator for the Harrison Center in Indianapolis. His project is an oil painting on canvas reflecting his interest in Mexican culture and its contributions to life in the Midwest. The content is inspired by a mariachi and folklorico dance performance he observed last year, reflecting the collaboration among the musicians and dancers. The surface will be manipulated with trowels and palette knives to create textures that accentuate the dancers’ costumes and movements. Following the unveiling, the painting will hang in the Payne & Mencias Palladium’s South Lobby for one year, to be viewed by thousands of patrons and other visitors.

 

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New Works is supported by the Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation.