Dancing Wheels Company

WeBop Family Jazz Party: New Orleans Jazz Jam

Omnium Circus

Softy

Pneumaphone

Art activities

Scribble

Word Play by Ecosistema Urbano

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Lincoln Center welcomes young audiences with autism and other developmental disabilities and their families to Big Umbrella Festival, featuring live performances, interactive installations, and digital content—all integrating accessibility and inclusion. 

You will have access to all of the below live performances and installations—both timed events and drop-in activities. Please note: the indoor performances have limited capacity and are first-come, first-served.

Check in starts thirty minutes before the first performance, at the Registration Table by the fountain at Josie Robertson Plaza. The entrance is on 63rd Street and Columbus Avenue in Manhattan.

 
 

Schedule for Sunday, September 18 from 11:00 am–2:00 pm

11:00 am–11:45 am
Dancing Wheels Company

INDOORS at the Clark Studio Theater

Under the direction of Founding Artistic Director Mary Verdi-Fletcher, the Dancing Wheels Company is recognized as the first and foremost professional physically integrated dance company in America uniting the talents of dancers both with and without disabilities. The highly skilled ensemble of stand-up and sit-down (wheelchair) dancers will perform energetic dance excerpts, lead teaching demonstrations, and share their own personal stories to explore the diversity of dance, disability, and accessibility and feature works from the company’s diverse repertory.

12:00 pm–12:45 pm
WeBop Family Jazz Party: New Orleans Jazz Jam

INDOORS at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse

Presented in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center
Join us for an imaginary trip to the birthplace of jazz as we swing and sway to the joyful sounds of the Big Easy! We’ll parade in a traditional New Orleans “second line”, dance to upbeat tunes like “Happy Feet Blues,” scat sing like the incomparable Louis Armstrong, and much more. Le bon temps roule! This fun, interactive concert will engage the whole family. Let the good times roll and enjoy an afternoon of music, movement, and imagination!

1:00 pm–1:45 pm
Omnium Circus

OUTDOORS at Damrosch Park

Omnium Circus was founded on the belief that full inclusion and representation in the arts leads to self-actualization, increased tolerance, and a better society. It's the first comprehensively inclusive and accessible circus performing arts company in the nation, bringing together a diverse cast of extraordinary talent from all over the globe. Multitalented and multi-abled, our stars transport audiences into a world of jaw-dropping spectacle and wonder, motivating them with extraordinary feats of human accomplishment and the astounding potential of the human spirit. 


Drop-in activities and installations: Pick and choose from the programming below and explore them on your own time.

Softy
OUTDOORS at Josie Robertson Plaza
Installation Design by Bryony Roberts Studio
Softy transforms the main plaza at Lincoln Center into a soft and interactive environment. Responding to the Revson Fountain and circular lines of the plaza, the project introduces colorful outdoor cushions that radiate out from the center, offering a range of social and sensory conditions. The cushions create concentrated areas for play and socializing around the fountain as well as more private areas around the edges for restorative moments, providing a quiet and soothing area away from the crowd. 

Word Play by Ecosistema Urbano
OUTDOORS at Hearst Plaza
Hearst Plaza will be transformed into a spontaneous playground by this participatory art installation where by using letters, young people and their families will be able to experiment and create messages sharing their personal thoughts and ideas with the world. This is not only an installation, but also an experience. A way of connecting to those around you and beyond. An interactive activity that engages you physically, and mentally, and artistically. A framework for young people to engage with the arts, express themselves and share their thoughts, dreams and expectations about the future.

Pneumaphone
OUTDOORS at The Deck at Damrosch Park
Presented in collaboration with Logos Foundation
Pneumaphone is a collection of pneumatically driven soundsculptures: flutes, single reeds, lips, reeds, double reeds, mirlitons, water organs, and bladder membranes make up the individual voice of each pneumaphone. By sitting, lying, rolling or rocking on pillows, participants take part in music-making as the air from the pillows travels through the musical instrument. 

Visual Art Stations
OUTDOORS at Hearst Plaza and Damrosch Park
Create your own artwork based on inspiration from nature and the world around us at one of our visual arts stations guided by Lincoln Center teaching artists. You can choose to display your creations at our Big Umbrella Gallery for the weekend or take them home with you. The visual arts stations will be accessible to all ages and abilities and will be available throughout the festival.

Pre-Scribble Family Workshop
OUTDOORS at Josie Robertson Plaza
Inspired by Bluelaces Theater Company’s Scribble, Lincoln Center teaching artists will facilitate an interactive pre-performance workshop for all ages and abilities. Please join us for a joyful, accessible art-making experience.

Scribble
INDOORS at the David Rubenstein Atrium
Bluelaces Theater Company, Emily Bruner & Leigh Poulos (Project Leads/Co - Directors) 
Join us at the David Rubenstein Atrium for an inclusive intergenerational dance party and let loose with friends—old and new. Inside Scribble, our Doodle Masters will populate the walls with imagery inspired by you as our DJs spin a mix of your requests. Scribble is a celebration of connection, self-expression, and the universal language of art. Come make your mark!

Big Umbrella Festival Campus Map Download Here »

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