PERFORMANCE | American Contemporary Dances with The Hartford Dance Collective
2026-05-08 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | WDS Museum, 211 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
Member Pre-sale Now LIVE | Through March 8: $20 Members | $40 VIP
Purchase Tickets

Join us in the intimate Webb barn for the Museum’s first commissioned dance performance! Experience dance in-the-round, featuring new and established works by The Hartford Dance Collective. Rooted in themes of female empowerment, the dances explore strength, resilience, and self-expression through bold physicality and nuanced storytelling. Inspired by America’s 250th anniversary, the Collective enriches the story of our nation’s founding by amplifying women’s voices and experiences. Surrounded by history and audience alike, the dancers invite viewers into a shared space where past and present converge—where the courage to claim one’s voice echoes the spirit of those who shaped a new nation within these very walls.
About This Commission In commissioning this work, the Museum celebrates both a milestone and a continuation: bringing contemporary artists into dialogue with a site where questions of identity, purpose, and collective future have always lived.
PERFORMANCE | Friday, May 8, 7 PM

6:15 PM | Doors open
6:15-7:00 PM | Cash bar available, furnished by Vino Crudo
7:00 PM | Performance in-the-round
8:15 PM | Talkback with Hartford Dance Collective (VIP ticket holders)

TICKETS | $18 / $25 / $30 / $45
Students (16-22) | $18
Members | $25
General Admission | $30
Inner Circle VIP | $45

Premiere seating: first two rows
Post-performance talk-back with dancers and choreographers of Hartford Dance Collective
Early-admission
Reserved Parking
Access to one open rehearsal (April TBD)

Hartford Dance Collective | The Hartford Dance Collective bridges the gap between dance and community by curating unique and accessible performances led by female identifying choreographers and offering open adult movement classes that foster artistic expression, connection, and inclusivity.
Since July 2017, the Hartford Dance Collective has curated performances in unique settings, featuring female choreographers from across the nation. We have shared dance at the Connecticut Convention Center, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Mortensen Riverfront Plaza, ShapeShifter Lab, Real Art Ways, TheaterWorks Hartford, Dunkin Park, Parkville Market, & multiple breweries around the Connecticut, to name a few; and we aim to continue to share the art form with a wide range of demographics. Along with many small programs that we present throughout the year,
The Hartford Dance Collective curates the annual Hartford Dance Festival in Elizabeth Park with 25 performing groups, which is the largest free dance festival in Connecticut. Our studio space in Hartford, Connecticut, provides creatives with a home to hone in on their movement vocabulary and the opportunity for us to bring professional dancers to Hartford including dancers from Pilobolus, David Dorfman Dance, the Limon Company, the Radio City Rockettes, Doug Varone and Dancers, the Merce Cunningham Trust, and the Brooklynettes, to name a few. We hold the belief that everyone can dance and everyone should. Our professional and inspiring studio hosts open adult movement classes for the community featuring the Collective’s Resident Artists and Guest Instructors. A perfect place for a dancer to train, a former dancer to reignite their love for movement, or a member of the community looking to practice dance movement as a form of exercise, art, or meditation. Movement allows us to escape, which drives our commitment to curating experiences that allow for discovery and connection.

CLASS | Saturday Morning Arts: Open-Level Dance Class with The Hartford Dance Collective
2026-05-09 10:00 - 11:00
Purchase Tickets

Dance with us! Join us one Saturday a month at 10 am to awaken your creativity and get moving. Each month, a choreographer from the Hartford Dance Collective will lead an open-level dance class designed to build curiosity, strength, range of motion and confidence in your own movement. Classes include warm-ups, exercises in mobility, and dynamic choreography phrasework. If you’ve been dancing all your life, are a former dancer, or have never danced before, YOU ARE WELCOME HERE! Move your body freely in a supportive community, surrounded by art and our beautiful Colonial Revival Garden.
Date: May 9
Tickets:
Class Only: $20
Class + Historic House Tour: $38
The Hartford Dance Collective | The Hartford Dance Collective aims to empower women to have a voice and an equal opportunity in dance by providing choreographic and leadership opportunities. By sharing professional contemporary dance with new audiences and providing performances in diverse locations, they work to bridge the gap between the arts and the community. Their studio space at Parkville Sounds in Hartford, CT, provides creatives with a home to hone in on their movement vocabulary, and they hold the belief that everyone can dance and everyone should. www.thedancecollective.org

PERFORMANCE | American Contemporary Dances with The Hartford Dance Collective
2026-05-09 14:00 - 15:30
Member Pre-sale Now LIVE | Through March 8: $20 Members | $40 VIP
Purchase Tickets

Join us in the intimate Webb barn for the Museum’s first commissioned dance performance! Experience dance in-the-round, featuring new and established works by The Hartford Dance Collective. Rooted in themes of female empowerment, the dances explore strength, resilience, and self-expression through bold physicality and nuanced storytelling. Inspired by America’s 250th anniversary, the Collective enriches the story of our nation’s founding by amplifying women’s voices and experiences. Surrounded by history and audience alike, the dancers invite viewers into a shared space where past and present converge—where the courage to claim one’s voice echoes the spirit of those who shaped a new nation within these very walls.
About This Commission In commissioning this work, the Museum celebrates both a milestone and a continuation: bringing contemporary artists into dialogue with a site where questions of identity, purpose, and collective future have always lived.
PERFORMANCE | Saturday, May 9, 2 PM

1:30 PM | Doors open
2:00 PM | Performance in-the-round
3:15 PM | Talkback with Hartford Dance Collective (VIP ticket holders)

TICKETS | $18 / $25 / $30 / $45
Students (16-22) | $18
Members | $25
General Admission | $30
Inner Circle VIP | $45

Premiere seating: first two rows
Post-performance talk-back with dancers and choreographers of Hartford Dance Collective
Early-admission
Reserved Parking
Access to one open rehearsal (April TBD)

Hartford Dance Collective | The Hartford Dance Collective bridges the gap between dance and community by curating unique and accessible performances led by female identifying choreographers and offering open adult movement classes that foster artistic expression, connection, and inclusivity.
Since July 2017, the Hartford Dance Collective has curated performances in unique settings, featuring female choreographers from across the nation. We have shared dance at the Connecticut Convention Center, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Mortensen Riverfront Plaza, ShapeShifter Lab, Real Art Ways, TheaterWorks Hartford, Dunkin Park, Parkville Market, & multiple breweries around the Connecticut, to name a few; and we aim to continue to share the art form with a wide range of demographics. Along with many small programs that we present throughout the year,
The Hartford Dance Collective curates the annual Hartford Dance Festival in Elizabeth Park with 25 performing groups, which is the largest free dance festival in Connecticut. Our studio space in Hartford, Connecticut, provides creatives with a home to hone in on their movement vocabulary and the opportunity for us to bring professional dancers to Hartford including dancers from Pilobolus, David Dorfman Dance, the Limon Company, the Radio City Rockettes, Doug Varone and Dancers, the Merce Cunningham Trust, and the Brooklynettes, to name a few. We hold the belief that everyone can dance and everyone should. Our professional and inspiring studio hosts open adult movement classes for the community featuring the Collective’s Resident Artists and Guest Instructors. A perfect place for a dancer to train, a former dancer to reignite their love for movement, or a member of the community looking to practice dance movement as a form of exercise, art, or meditation. Movement allows us to escape, which drives our commitment to curating experiences that allow for discovery and connection.

TEA | Mother's Day Tea
2026-05-10 10:00 - 11:30
Purchase Tickets

Treat the special women in your life to an elegant Mother’s Day filled with flowers and flavor. Enjoy music and a morning stroll through our gardens with WDS Head Gardener Pete Winne, learning about the blooms and blossoms that shine in early Spring. Then share tea, cake, and conversation overlooking the beautiful grounds. Whether you’re celebrating a mother, grandmother, daughter, or dear friend, this is a gracious way to honor the women who you hold dear.
Mother’s Day Tea Menu*
Savory Bites
Egg Tartlett (DF, GF)
Smoked Salmon Finger Sandwiches
Cucumber & Cheddar Finger Sandwiches
Coronation Chicken Tea Sandwich

Sweet Treats
Assorted Scones with Cream & Jam
Fruit Tart
Flourless Chocolate Torte (GF)
Bakewell Tart

Beverages
Blackberry Iced Tea
Strawberry Lemonade
Selection of Hot Tea
*Menu subject to change. Please share allergens and food sensitivities to rdumouchel@wdsmuseum.org

Note: Each event is limited to 20 guests. To book a private tour and tea for your friends and family, contact events@wdsmuseum.org.
