Brooklyn has a rich creative arts culture and plenty of performing art venues to support it. These six venues showcase a variety of arts, including dance, music, puppetry, burlesque, and sword swallowers. (Yes, sword swallowers.) Keep reading so you’ll know where to book your next show.
For some really family-friends arts in Brooklyn, check out Puppetworks (Park Slope). As the name suggests, this venue puts on professional puppet shows. It’s a great place to see productions of classic fairy tales in particular. (And after each performance, the puppets come out to meet the kids in attendance.) Puppetworks also offers their fun space up for private parties.
Photo courtesy of Puppetworks’ Facebook.
2014 Action Maverick Award Benefit | Streb via Facebook
Streb (Williamsburg)
The Streb Lab for Action Mechanics puts on unique, active performances that put the performer’s bodies in extreme positions. This “laboratory for artistic experimentation” is unlike anything you’ve seen before. Streb also hosts classes for both kids and adults, including a trapeze academy.
Mark Morris Dance Group | via Facebook
Mark Morris Dance Group (Fort Greene)
The Mark Morris Dance Group, headquartered right near the Brooklyn Academy of Music, is a renowned modern dance company that has performed all over the world. The company frequently puts on a variety of unique dance performances in Brooklyn. The center also holds dance classes — beginner and advanced — for both kids and adults.
truTV’s Impractical Jokers with Coney Island’s Freakshow cast | Coney Island via Facebook
Coney Island Circus Sideshow (Coney Island)
This is performance art that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The Coney Island Circus Sideshow pulls from the historic Coney Island sideshows that made the amusement park so famous. Today the show hosts sword swallowers, fire eaters, “The Midget of Mischief,” and others. It’s fun, it’s unexpected, and it’s a must the next time you visit Coney Island.
House of Yes | David M. via Foursquare
House of Yes (Bushwick)
The House of Yes is an artist collective that has hosted underground art and music shows, fashion shows, dance parties, burlesque, and circus arts performances in its performance venue. The group also provides classes and trainings for people interested in circus-related arts. The events, overall, are kooky, fun and laid back — and usually geared toward the hipster crowd of Brooklyn.
Hot Peas ‘N Butter | Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts via Facebook
Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts (Flatbush)
The Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, part of Brooklyn College, does just about everything: comedy, dance, music, plays, musicals, and kid-friendly performances. Established in 1954, it prides itself on being a community organization that represents Brooklyn through its diverse programming. Not only is the programming great, the tickets are affordable.