As you turn the page to a fresh year and start thinking about ways to embrace movement, either through fitness, creativity, or by simply shaking up our routines, several upcoming shows can inspire you. If you’re craving inspiration that gets your heart racing and your feet tapping, Walton Arts Center’s 2026 lineup of acrobat and dance performances is your perfect motivator! From fiery tango to modern contemporary dance, eloquent stage musicals and Irish step dance, there’s something to get your heart racing and your feet tapping in 2026.
💃 German Cornejo’s Tango After Dark
Wednesday, Jan. 21 | Standard all-in tickets are $28.75 - $63.25
Start the year with both heat and rhythm! Tango After Dark brings the dramatic passion of Argentine tango to life with world-class dancers, live music and electrifying choreography.
Led by World Tango Champion German Cornejo, the performance blends sensuality, elegance and storytelling through movement, inspiring audiences to add more movement and rhythm to their own life.
What to watch for: Tango’s intimate steps and expressive style are a reminder that even subtle movement can be powerful. Seeing professional dancers in action can be just the spark you need to sign up for dance lessons or simply hit the floor with a new playlist.
🎪 Water for Elephants
8 Performances!
Feb. 24-March 1 | Standard all-in tickets are $48.30 - $120.75
The critically acclaimed bestselling novel comes to “thrilling, dazzling” life (Time Out New York) in a unique, spectacle-filled new musical! Blending circus spectacle and theatrical storytelling, Water for Elephants features puppetry, acrobatics and imaginative choreography set against a backdrop of romance and adventure.
The New York Times calls it “stunning, emotional, heart-filled and gorgeously imaginative.”
You’ll be inspired: Acrobatics and circus arts push the limits of physicality and can motivate you to try new activities that challenge your body and mind – think yoga, climbing or balletic stretch sessions.
💃 BODYTRAFFIC
Thursday, March 5 | All tickets are $10
If contemporary dance is more your style, don’t miss BODYTRAFFIC. This Los Angeles-based company is known for its innovative, boundary-pushing performances that blend ballet, modern, afro-Caribbean and hip-hop elements into a high-energy celebration of movement.
What to watch for: BODYTRAFFIC showcases how diverse and dynamic movement can be. Their performances remind us that dance isn’t just a set of steps; It’s a way to express emotion and connect with others through physical art. Resolve to explore your own way of moving, whether through dance classes or simply letting loose at home.
🎷Some Like It Hot
8 Performances!
March 17-22 | Standard all-in tickets are $48.30 - $120.75
This Broadway musical adaptation of the classic film isn’t strictly a dance show, but it’s filled with lively numbers, swing and choreography that celebrates rhythm and motion. With its irresistible combination of heart and laughs, song and dance, Some Like It Hot was the most awarded musical in the 2022-23 Broadway season with four Tony Awards® including best choreography and best costumes and a Grammy Award® for best musical theater album. It looks beautiful and sounds amazing!
Deadline calls it “a tap-dancing, razzle-dazzling embrace of everything you love about musical theater.”
Why it inspires movement: The show’s upbeat energy and musicality remind you how joyful movement can be whether dancing socially or just embracing a little swing in your step.
🍀 Riverdance 30: The New Generation
3 Performances!
June 9-11 | $46 - $205.85
A world phenomenon for three decades, Riverdance blends traditional Irish step-dance with powerful live music and rapid-fire footwork that has audiences on the edge of their seats. This spectacular production rejuvenates the much-loved original show with new innovative choreography and costumes and state-of-the-art lighting, projection and motion graphics. And for the first time Riverdance welcomes “the new generation” of performers, all of whom were not born when show began 30 years ago.
Why it inspires movement: The precision and energy of Irish step dance are incredible ... and contagious. Watching dancers pound out rhythms with athletic flair might just inspire you to try your own footwork challenge or take up a beginner class (Irish dance, anyone?).
New Year’s Resolutions? Let These Shows Inspire You!
Here are a few creative resolutions inspired by the season’s lineup:
🎯 Don’t just watch a show, take a show-themed cocktail class. It’s the ultimate theater “experience” and available for most of our Broadway shows in the new year.
🎯 Try a new physical activity each month
🎯 Attend more live performances to fuel your creativity
🎯 Host regular dance nights with friends or family
🎯 Explore movement as self-expression, not just exercise
Whatever show or class you pick Walton Arts Center provides inspiration and a reminder that movement can be beautiful, emotional and deeply human.
Ready to get moving into 2026? These shows are calling your name.